Are you drinking too much alcohol?

With lots more time confined in our houses during lockdown, it's often tempting to turn to alcohol for entertainment and distraction. Rather than making us feel better, this could however be doing us more harm than good.

Drinking to cope.

I'm sure that many of us have had 'just one of those days' and look forward to opening the fridge as soon as we get home. In isolation, this is fine.  The problem arises when this turns into a regular behaviour and use as a way of coping with day to day life.

In the moment, drinking alcohol can make us feel better and give us some relief. Our blood alcohol levels increase and things seem to feel somewhat slower and more relaxed. This relief is often short lived as after around 20-30 minutes, the body starts to purge the alcohol from our blood, and we start feeling uncomfortable and possibly even more stressed. Fancy another drink anyone?

By drinking to cope, or 'self-medicating', we risk changing the chemistry of the brain, which can then exacerbate symptoms of mental illness.  So much for helping us to cope!

What are the alcohol limits recommended by the NHS?

According to the NHS, the term 'alcohol misuse' means drinking excessively.  This means not regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol per week.  If you do drink as much as 14 units, it's best to spread them evenly over 3 or more days.  It's sometimes difficult to understand exactly what a unit of alcohol is, so below are some examples of drinks and how many units are in each:

• Single shot of spirits 1 unit.
  
• Small glass of red or white wine 1.5 units
  
• Pint of low strength beer, lager or cider 2 units
  
• Bottle of red or white wine 10 units

During our mental health first aid courses we have a quiz to see what the alcohol content is in a number of drinks.  By the end of the quiz, many people are shocked as they didn't realise how many units were in each drink.  It can be a great eye opener!

Some signs you could be drinking too much

During our courses, we teach our candidates that the following signs and symptoms could indicate that someone is drinking too much alcohol.

• Drinking every day
  
• Drinking alone
  
• Always hungover in the morning
  
• Hiding alcohol use or keeping it stashed away
  
• Neglecting responsibilities at home or work
  
• Neglecting their appearance/hygiene

If you're concerned about how drinking could be affecting your life or that of someone else, there is lots of help available.  Have a look on our signposting page for helpful numbers and websites.  Visit our mental health first aid page to see how we could help in your business.