Friend or foe? Alcohol and our mental health

Have you ever found yourself reaching for a glass of something after a stressful or difficult day? Or using alcohol to reduce anxiety or lift your mood? How about ‘drowning your sorrows’ after some bad news? Chances are, you’re not alone.

We need only look at TV shows and films to see these behaviours normalised. Characters defaulting to the nearest bar after a hard day or cracking open a bottle of wine to deal with break ups, job losses or bereavements are all too familiar. They make it seem like alcohol is essential to managing difficult feelings, emotions and circumstances. But is that really the case?

This upcoming World Mental Health Day, let’s take a moment to reflect on the impact alcohol can have on our health and wellbeing.

The relationship between alcohol and mental health is complex, but it’s more of a hindrance than a help. While we may gain some short-term relief after a drink or two, our drinking habits can take their toll on our wellbeing. From fuelling hangxiety (a term used to describe the experience of feeling anxious the day after drinking), reducing our sleep quality and generally leaving us feeling ‘off’ the next day, to more long-term impacts like depression or relationship challenges, alcohol is not a sustainable means of coping with life’s ups and downs.

It is positive to see that more of us are connecting the dots between the alcohol we drink and the impact it’s having on our lives, including our mental health. Alcohol Change UK’s polling ahead of this year’s Dry January® challenge found that almost a quarter of people (24%) who drink alcohol think it negatively impacts their mental health, and this is motivating many to explore changes to their drinking habits. Those that do are reaping the rewards - after the Dry January® challenge, one in four (25%) participants said they feel happier, healthier and more energised after having a break from booze, in just one month!

When we drink alcohol, it triggers the release of extra dopamine, the mood-enhancing hormone that makes us feel more content, less inhibited and not as sensitive to physical or emotional pain. So, we can find ourselves somewhat reliant on it when looking to de-stress or feel ‘better’. Yet, over time if we drink often or heavily, our bodies may become used to these dopamine boosts and start to make less dopamine to compensate, leading us to become dopamine deficient. Symptoms of dopamine deficiency include a lack of motivation and pleasure, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep and overall wellbeing.

When it comes to sleep, if you’ve ever wondered why despite having a long snooze, you feel more tired or groggy than when you went to bed, it might be down to alcohol. The science tells us that while alcohol may help us to nod off initially, it plays havoc with our sleep quality, particularly if we're drinking right before bed. That’s because alcohol impacts the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) part of our sleep which is responsible for how rested we feel. Skipping the REM cycles reduces the quality of our sleep and leaves us feeling more tired. If we’ve become reliant on booze to get to sleep, when we start to make changes to our drinking habits, the dopamine imbalance in the brain may cause some initial difficulties getting to sleep, plus enhanced vivid dreams in the first week or so. It’s worth persevering at this point, the best rest is worth the wait!

As well as disrupting our natural dopamine production, alcohol is a depressant, meaning it slows down brain functioning. So, as any initial calming feelings subside when we continue to drink, they are often replaced with more negative emotions like stress, anxiety and sometimes anger. Like our sleep, when we stop drinking or drink less, the symptoms that we may be used to self-medicating with alcohol such as anxiety may feel worse for the first few days due to chemical imbalances in the brain and body, but over time a normal chemical balance will return.

Combined with the hangover effects of drinking alcohol - dehydration, low blood sugar and poor sleep – we can be left feeling sluggish, unwell and down in the dumps, which is not the recipe for good mental health. Beyond our bodies, alcohol use can put pressure on our relationships – with family, friends, colleagues – leading to further stress and mental health challenges.

False! While some of us use alcohol to try and manage anxiety or depression, it can in fact have the opposite effect and worsen - or in some cases cause - their symptoms, often leading to a cycle of self-medicating that can be hard to break free from.

How much alcohol we drink makes a difference too. Alcohol Change UK’s research, Harms Across the Drinking Spectrum, found that those of us exceeding the ‘low risk’ guidelines of 14 units per week (more than six pints of normal strength beer or lager or a bottle and a half of wine per week) report higher rates of depression and anxiety than non-drinkers or those keeping their consumption under 14 units a week.

In addition, reported wellbeing was significantly lower among those of us drinking above 14 units per week compared to non-drinkers. The same study also explored other measures, including sleep and daily functioning, which both see a general decline the more alcohol we drink.

Due to the environment around us, it can be easy for our alcohol consumption to creep up above 14 units per week without us really noticing. All it takes is some heavier consumption, ‘binge’ drinking at the weekend or having a few drinks every night to be falling into a pattern that may be hampering our mental (and physical) health.

If you feel that alcohol may be having an impact on your wellbeing, making changes to your drinking habits while exploring more sustainable coping strategies can make a big difference.

Different things work for different people, but here are some practical tips to get you started:

• Track your drinking: Use a journal or a free app like Try Dry® to monitor how much alcohol you typically consume each week. This can help you understand more about your relationship with alcohol and identify patterns between your drinking habits, as well as logging your mood and wellbeing over time.
  

• Spread your alcohol consumption across the week or month: Rather than in one or two heavier drinking occasions, spread your units out to give your body and brain time to recover. Pepper your week with plenty of alcohol-free days, or maybe even try a few alcohol-free weeks over the course of a month.
  
  Also, try to avoid ‘saving’ non-drinking days up for a ‘binge’ at the weekend. While binge drinking often evokes imagery of inordinate amounts of alcohol in our minds, many are surprised to find out what a binge really looks like. In numbers, its exceeding eight units of alcohol for men and six units for women on a single occasion. Eight units is around four pints of average strength beer, and six units is roughly four standard size glasses of 12% prosecco, which may surprise some of us! And, when it comes to our mental (and physical) health, alcohol's immediate risks and aftereffects are intensified in a ‘binge’.
  

• Take a break*: Many of us don’t quite realise the impact alcohol is having on us until we step back, take a longer break and feel the benefits. Rather than wait for the next Dry January® challenge, you can take a 31-day break at any time with Alcohol Change UK's free Try Dry® Anytime programme and app – this helpful (free) personal trainer in your pocket will guide you through a month off with tips, advice, tools and resources. You can also log your sleep, mood and energy levels across the month so you can look back and see how they change.
  

• Tap into a community and reach out to support services: Connecting with others who are making changes to their drinking habits or trying to boost their mental health is such a valuable tool. Why not join Alcohol Change UK’s Try Dry® online community group on Facebook, to connect with others and share in your experiences.
  

• Explore alternative ways to relax and have fun: If you rely on alcohol to unwind or cope with challenging emotions, try healthier techniques like meditation, yoga or journaling to manage stress and anxiety. Also, it can be helpful to find new and more natural ways to boost your mood that don’t involve alcohol, like doing some exercise, watching a movie or setting yourself a new challenge. These activities help to release dopamine in your brain in a healthier, more positive and sustainable way.
  

• Stay hydrated: It sounds simple, but drinking plenty of water throughout the day can help reduce dehydrating and negative effects of alcohol.
  

• Seek support: If you're struggling with alcohol use or mental health, consider reaching out to a qualified mental health professional for guidance and support.

While alcohol may feel like a short-term fix, it’s rarely the friend we think it is when it comes to mental health. By making some simple changes to our drinking habits and finding healthier coping mechanisms that work for us, we can not only protect but supercharge our wellbeing and mental health.

Still got questions? Find out more about alcohol and mental health here.

Or, tune into this video where Ambassador Lauren White gives her tips on managing trickier moments in life without turning to alcohol.

Have a story to share about how alcohol has impacted your mental health, or how you’ve managed to improve your mental health by changing your relationship with alcohol?

Submit your story here: Share your story | Alcohol Change UK.