Just as I took up my new role at Alcohol Change UK, the pandemic hit, causing us to make big adjustments as we navigated a cycle of constant change. Along with many other organisations, those early days were focused on staff – supporting the executive team to make sure everyone had what they needed to work from home so that we could continue to deliver our important work in supporting all those affected by alcohol harm.
May 2022 |
10 minutes
Fiyaz has been Chair of Trustees at Alcohol Change UK for over two years – appointed just as the pandemic hit. Here he talks about some of the key challenges during that period and beyond, and about his own struggles with alcohol.
It quickly became clear that the pandemic was having a profound effect on the way some of us were drinking.
Very early on in the pandemic, we saw many more people visiting the support pages on our website for help. It quickly became clear that the pandemic was having a profound effect on the way some of us were drinking. We led three pieces of research over the course of 2020 to understand this better, looking at people's drinking habits in and out of lockdown. It showed that 1 in 3 people who drink alcohol, drank more in 2020 than in 2019, and 1 in 5 felt concerned about the amount they had been drinking since COVID-19 restrictions began in March 2020. That's confirmed by research throughout the period. We also saw the huge increase in alcohol death rates which tragically rose by 20% in 2020, the highest increase since records began.
It’s been a time like no other, with many of us left feeling stressed, anxious and lonely. But it’s also been a time for some optimism. In January 2021, as we plunged into another lockdown, we saw a huge increase in the number of people wanting to take a month off alcohol in January and a big increase in the number of people wanting to take on Dry January®. We’ve seen that again in our latest Dry January® campaign in 2022 - with more people downloading our free app, Try Dry®, than ever before.
Looking back on my first two years, it’s tragic to see so many lives lost to alcohol. But it is so inspiring to hear stories from people who have experienced alcohol harm, have turned their lives around and who have then gone on to push for the social changes we need. I’m proud of all that Alcohol Change UK has achieved so far, while recognising that we still have so much more to do.
I’m proud of all that Alcohol Change UK has achieved so far, while recognising that we still have so much more to do.
My interest in alcohol though started long before I took up my role at Alcohol Change UK. It started through my own experience of drinking.
As a British Muslim, my parents looked down on alcohol use and it was the wider sentiment in British Muslim communities that drinking was wrong. The reality, I now know, is that guilt and fear do nothing to help those who have problems with alcohol. They just make matters worse.
I started drinking when I was 45 years old, when multiple social pressures converged in my life. I turned to alcohol as a means of coping at a time of internal and external flux where I felt very alone and with no support around me. At those times of extreme loneliness, I turned to alcohol as a form of support which saw me drink between 4-6 times a week, anything from half a bottle of wine to two on binge nights.
The result over four years was devastating to my life. My health deteriorated, and my short- and long-term memory were markedly affected. Anxiety and stress levels rose over time and my judgement began to unravel, but I still sought out those times when I could drink and stop the pressures from invading my internal world, even just for a few hours a day. Increasingly, I was becoming dependent on alcohol.
It all ended one evening in 2019 when I was robbed at a bar and I could not recollect who was involved or how it happened. That night was a turning point for me and then came the dawning realisation that alcohol had taken away my ability to keep myself safe. It took months of painful detoxification, emotional pain and self-reflection to understand that there was much more to my drinking – including childhood trauma, my sense of who I was and a deeper lack of security that I believe came from the dislocation of being a refugee from Idi Amin’s Uganda in 1972.
Like many others who have changed their relationship with alcohol, my journey here wasn’t an easy one but I’m proudly sober now. This has fuelled my passion to help others.
I know that many British Muslims enjoy drinking. Some will feel in control of their drinking and some will not. Many though will not be aware of the dangers of heavy drinking. Without a history of alcohol consumption in their families, they might become more vulnerable to the harmful impacts of excessive drinking. This does not make them “lesser Muslims” as some moral guardians in the community might believe. It just means that we need to do more as a charity to reach out to them and to those in all communities, not just white British communities, who want to be able to feel in control of their drinking and to be able to make informed choices.
Like many others who have changed their relationship with alcohol, my journey here wasn’t an easy one but I’m proudly sober now. This has fuelled my passion to help others.
I hope that by sharing my story, others in my position can find a way to reach out and get support if they feel they need it, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
As a trustee, I’m honoured to support Alcohol Change UK in its aim to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive drinking, so that people can choose to drink whilst being as informed as possible about the downsides of excessive drinking. We are not against people drinking, we are about giving people information and support to choose the approach to drinking that is right for them, free of external pressures.
I wanted to be Chair of Alcohol Change UK because I want us to reach every section of society, everyone who needs our help. I hope that by sharing my story, others in my position can find a way to reach out and get support if they feel they need it, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
If you need some support to manage your drinking there’s help available and there’s no shame in seeking it.
