Mommy doesn't need wine. Mommy just needs a break. By Alyson Premo.

Mommy doesn't need wine.
Mommy just needs a break.

Back in my drinking days, I thought wine was the answer to my stress, to my overwhelm, to my anxiety, and to being the "perfect" mom.

Boy, was I wrong. The answer was I needed a break! I couldn't keep doing it all on my own, and I was scared to ask for help. I didn't want anyone to think I was weak and couldn't handle the "situation" I put myself in. That situation being a single mom, and as I'm typing this, I realize I wasn't the only one who put me in that situation. It takes two to make a baby, right? Anyway, I digress, and that topic is for another day.

I was bombarded by advertising, mommy wine memes, and society telling me just to have a glass of wine to take the edge off the stresses of everyday life. I wish I hadn't followed the crowd, and now I truly believe that when you're following the crowd, you lose yourself, which when I got sober, I started to look at a lot of things differently. I started to question other things that are marketed in our society as "fun" and the way to "relax". Because the day after my drinking, my anxiety would be through the roof. That was neither fun nor relaxing.

What we really need in motherhood isn't a toxic substance that causes more anxiety, sadness, and a general sense of feeling like garbage. We need a break! We need time to ourselves to rejuvenate. We need time just to be, and that just being includes not tending to everyone else's needs but our own. We put our own needs on the back burner, and that ultimately comes to bite us in the ass.

Don't fall for the mommy needs wine trap because it'll keep you stuck in a cycle that is only hindering you and making you worse off in the long run. Take a break without the wine, and I promise you that you'll feel much better about yourself physically and mentally. Try it and let me know how it goes.

If you're having trouble getting out of the mommy wine culture, then join me and 39 other mothers who are sick of it too for the 60 Day Alcohol-Free Challenge! This is the absolute LAST DAY to join!