Alcohol Awareness Week 2020

Alcohol Awareness Week 2020 will take place from 16 – 22 November 2020 on the theme of Alcohol and Mental Health. It is a week of awareness-raising, campaigning for change and more.

Alcohol is the most widely available drug in the UK and it is used by many as a coping mechanism to manage their stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.

You may relate to this. A lot of people self-medicate with alcohol to get through life’s difficult situations.

We use alcohol to in a variety of ways to deal with our day to day life.

We Use Alcohol To:

be more confident
relax
de-stress
help us socialise
get to sleep
be less shy
relieve boredom

Basically, we self-medicate with alcohol to cope with any uncomfortable situation or emotion. But does it really help our mental health?

Unfortunately, no.

Although initially alcohol may feel like it is helping us, the effects are short lived. Drinking alcohol overtime will actually exacerbate your mental health problems not help them.

Negative Effects of Alcohol on Your Mental Health

Using alcohol to manage your uncomfortable feelings means you are not addressing the underlying cause
When the alcohol leaves your system, you are left feeling worse then before you drank
Post drink hangovers leave you with heightened anxiety and/or depression as well as the usual headache and nausea – Hangxiety is a real thing
Whilst you are busy drinking, you are not sorting out your daily problems
Over use of alcohol can make your mental health problems worsen overtime

During Alcohol Awareness Week 2020 why don’t you take a look at when you’re using alcohol to manage or mask your mental health problems.

I can guarantee you; alcohol will be making it worse rather than better.

There is a wealth of information from the Alcohol Awareness Week coordinators Alcohol Change UK and for more help and support check out some of my other articles relating to sobriety and maintaining good mental health.