January is often the month were many people cut out alcohol to give their body a rest after too much overindulgence over the festive season.
But having a healthy relationship with alcohol all year around will support mental health and wellbeing much more.
Regular breaks from alcohol is a good way to detox the body, give our livers a break and overall improve mental/physical health.
Read more: NI counsellor's tips to help maintain positive mental health
After giving up alcohol or substantially reducing, most people talk about an increase in energy and productivity as well as a reduction in low moods and anxiety.
While alcohol increases anxiety levels, alcohol is often used to manage anxiety.
Many people rely on alcohol as a 'social lubricant' to take the edge off nerves in social situations. We are conditioned from a young age to believe alcohol plays a huge part in our social life, therefore, for a lot of people socialising can revolve around drinking.
Now, this isn’t a problem when drinking is kept within safe limits, however, in a binge drinking society, keeping within the limits can be a difficult task and is often over exceeded.
In Northern Ireland, 7 out of 10 adults drink alcohol and 3 out of 10 of those who drank in the week had engaged in at least one binge drinking session.
It is a common belief that drinking helps us relax, feel more confident, less stressed, or anxious; while this is somewhat true; alcohol does help to slow down the process of the nervous system which will encourage a sense of calmness to begin. Overuse and taking it too far will have an adverse effect, particularly the morning after.
On taking a drink, initially you will get a hit of the feel-good hormone, dopamine, but as the alcohol leaves the body the level of that hormone decreases, which can leave us feeling low.
Another hormone compromised by alcohol is the hormone serotonin. It can be suppressed after alcohol use. This is the hormone response for our bodily functions; such as mood stability, and bodily functions, therefore a reduction in both these hormones can leave you feeling low energy, can affect sleep and possibly contribute to a feeling of unease or anxiety. Many drinkers at some point had all been left with that next day 'fear'.
Usually people associate that feeling to the worry around how they behaved the night before or the blank parts of the evening they can’t remember or account for, while this of course will add to the feeling of anxiety, this hormone imbalance is the actual science behind it.
Another chemical which is affected is GABA – short for gamma-aminobutyric acid. This naturally occurs in the brain and allows different parts to communicate, as well as helping the nervous system stay regulated. Our mental health and wellbeing rely heavily on nervous system regulation, as a regulated nervous system brings a feeling of safety to the mind and body. A lack of GABA can increase anxiety and stress as well as produce intrusive thoughts and feelings of worry.
If you only drink occasionally or moderately the likelihood is your mood may not be severely comprised by the effects of alcohol. However, regular drinking or overconsumption may negatively impact your mental health and increase anxiety levels for a prolonged time.
If you are considering the possibility that you are drinking too much, and wish to change your relationship with alcohol, next time you reach for the bottle assess why you are having a drink. Ask yourself do you want it or feel you need it? If you feel you want it, it can be good to set a safe limit for yourself. Stick to the limit and put protective factors in place to help you achieve that.
Alternatively, if you feel you need it to go out, you may want to reflect on that reason. What causes your reliance? Identifying the core of the issue can help address it. For example, if the answer is to soothe social anxiety, perhaps consider other methods of anxiety relief before you go out. Take some exercise, breathing techniques or speak to a trusted friend about how you feel.
If you are worried about your health or drinking style speak to your GP. Ask for advice on cutting down and drinking safely, you can also find further info on NHS website to help understand and improve your relationship with alcohol.
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