" I like my glass of wine"

I heard it today. I hear it almost every day. A female in her mid 30's to late 40's and even older who everyday enjoys her glass of wine. What's the harm. It is the end of a long day--car pooling, working out in the gym, lunch with the girls, a quick trip into Nordstrom's, more car pooling, ballet class, dinner, homework. Who among us wouldn't need a glass of wine after a day like that?

Is a glass of wine really so bad? The medical answer is no. It has been very well documented that there are several health benefits to judicious use of wine. The definition to judicious wine consumption is 4-8 ounces of wine per day; preferably red.

So in the above scenario it is not so much the wine as the reason for the wine. What is hidden underneath this story is a lack of coping skills and the use of the glsss of wine as a "tranquillizer".

This is the secret addiction. White collar/Yuppie addiction. Cleaner and more civilized than a ball of heroin or a crack pipe. Yet there are thousands of house wives across America who are addicted to their glass of wine. they think they are much different from those who fill the ranks of addiction programs across the country but n reality they are not. Many of them become closet alcoholics who smolder for many years until the liver disease sets in. In reality they are luckiest when they get their second DUI (the first one is discounted) because then someone will do something about it before the irreversible illness sets in.

How many people do you know who can't go one day without a glass of wine. Who insist that it is just casual use--we know the truth. They usually do to. they just don't want to admit it.