ARE YOU A GREY AREA DRINKER?ARE YOU A GREY AREA DRINKER?
Recovery Recharged with Ellen Stewart Pushy Broad from the Bronx
Do you know how much you actually drink? Like anything else described as being in the grey area, grey area drinking occupies that middle ground. Wondering what “grey area drinking” is and whether it applies to you? Sober Lifestyle Coach Cindy...
1:00:53•19 Dec 2023
Grey Area Drinking: The Hidden Middle Ground of Alcohol Use
Episode Overview
- Grey area drinking sits between light social drinking and severe alcohol dependence, and may include up to 80% of drinkers.
- Key warning signs include hiding alcohol, constantly thinking about drinking, and needing alcohol to sleep or socialise.
- What looks like “self-care” at wine o’clock can become self-sabotage, harming both mental and physical health.
- Taking a 30-day break from alcohol can reveal changes in sleep, anxiety, mood, and overall wellbeing.
- Honest self-reflection and reaching out for support or coaching can help grey area drinkers avoid sliding into alcohol use disorder.
“I used to think it was a form of self-care, my five o’clock glass of wine. It was actually a form of self-harm.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on Recovery Recharged shines a light on a group many people don’t realise exists: grey area drinkers. Ellen Stewart, known as the Pushy Broad from the Bronx, chats with sober lifestyle coach and recovery specialist Cindy Johnston from Sydney about what it means to live in that “middle ground” with alcohol.
Cindy explains grey area drinking as the broad space between “hardly ever drinking people” and those who need medical help to stop. On a scale of 1 to 10, she places most drinkers around a 5, noting that “around about 80%” of drinkers may sit in this zone. You’ll hear Cindy’s story of starting alcohol at 13 to fit in, moving through binge drinking in the Navy, and later becoming a high-functioning mum who relied on “wine o’clock” every evening.
What began as “self-care” gradually turned into self-sabotage: “It became the wine dictating when I needed to have it.” She talks candidly about hiding bottles, waking up anxiously at 3am, and realising that dependence had quietly taken hold. The episode breaks down red flags like constantly thinking about drinking, needing alcohol to sleep or socialise, and making endless rules such as “I’ll only drink on weekends” but never sticking to them.
Ellen contrasts grey area drinking with binge drinking and highlights how medical definitions often class this behaviour as alcohol abuse, even when someone appears “high functioning”. Cindy shares how health scares, depression, perimenopause, and lack of support pushed her to reassess her relationship with alcohol, leading to over five years alcohol-free. Together, she and Ellen talk about being sober curious, experimenting with 30-day breaks, and swapping wine for new evening rituals.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Do I have a problem, or am I just like everyone else?” this episode might be the nudge to take an honest look and ask yourself: what is alcohol really giving you—and what is it taking away?
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