This week is alcohol awareness week. Last week a report was published based on research by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which highlighted how much we in the UK now drink and how the amount of alcohol consumed by the ‘average’ person is amongst the highest in the Western world. It is the equivalent of 108 bottles of wine per person per year.
Alcohol Consumption
108 bottles of wine a year for any individual is no great disaster. That is the equivalent of just over 2 bottles per person per week. If we were all drinking just over 2 bottles a week that would be acceptable in my opinion. However, the problem with this is that it masks the massive disparity in individual drinking. Some drink nothing or very little. Others are drinking to excess where it is to the detriment of an individual’s physical and mental health and has an effect on the people who love and care for them. This is the nub of the issue and these people are growing in number. They drink considerably more than 108 bottles of wine a week – probably in many cases over 3 times this number of bottles (or the equivalent in whatever is their favourite tipple).
Alcohol Dependent
What is it like to be alcohol dependent? The first thing that happens is that alcohol becomes increasingly important in your life. You start to view social occasions as ‘boring’ if there is no alcohol. You would be concerned if you did not have access to alcohol for when you felt you needed it. Alcohol becomes a habit in your life – if you do not have your ‘usual’ tipple at your ‘usual’ time it starts to bother and affect you, making you perhaps grumpy or anxious.
Alcohol Obsession
So you start to develop an alcohol obsession. That then turns into a need. If you don’t have your ‘fix’ of alcohol you start to get into withdrawal – you feel a little sick, shaky, sweaty etc. Anxiety and stress levels increase further. You may be able to use willpower to ensure you do not drink at socially unacceptable times such as in the morning but your routine drinking times become an ever more important part of your life. You anticipate them and cannot wait for that time of the day when you will get the relief you need from alcohol.
Secrets, Lies, Manipulation….
It might be that around this time you notice that people start to comment on how much you drink and you feel a need to defend your drinking habits. You might even need to hide your habits from people close to you. And so the downward spiral begins. Secrets, lies, arguments, feeling low all the time (compounded by the fact that alcohol is a depressant), anger on both sides, disappointment, inability to get a good night’s sleep….
That is the misery that lies behind the rather bald statistics of 108 bottles of wine per person per year. The average amount of alcohol per person is not the issue. The important point is the growing number of people drinking dangerous quantities of alcohol and the misery it is causing to them as individuals and to the people who love them.
If you have an issue please call the Haynes Clinic for free confidential advice on: 01462 851414