Am I drinking too much?

• Why do you drink alcohol? 
  
• How much is too much?
• The role of drinking in your life 
• Physical symptoms
• Mental health
• Time to get support?
• Case study: Andy's story

You only drink because you enjoy it, and there’s not a park bench or a paper bag in sight when you’re on the beers. So you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, right?

Maybe not.

There’s a sliding scale of drinking too much but it starts at a much lower volume than most people would expect.

If you share a bottle of wine with your partner most nights of the week, or go for a couple of pints after work every week night,  you’re probably drinking too much. And doing so could have consequences on your long term health.

'Problem' drinking tends to be divided into three categories. And you might be surprised at how easy it is to fall into the first...

Increasing risk

In Great Britain, just under a third of men and one in five women regularly drink more than the Government's daily unit guidelines (2-3 units a day for women or 3-4 units for men) (1). Even if you’re not out dancing on the bar every night, you may still be drinking too much. Just two large glasses of wine will take you over the guidelines. You should steer away from everyday drinking to avoid health problems, and to keep looking and feeling your best.

Higher risk

Regularly drinking double or more than the Government’s daily unit guidelines is higher risk drinking, which equates to 6 or more units for women and 8 or more units for men. A total of 8% of men and 2% of women in Great Britain drink more than the levels regarded as 'higher risk' – that’s 50 units a week for men, 35 for women (2). That’s an awful lot of alcohol, isn’t it? But in reality, if you’re a woman, drinking two large glasses of wine every night would take you to this level before the week is out. And if you’re a man a bottle of wine on your own five nights a week gets you very close. Drink in this way and you may become dependent on alcohol and develop long-term physical and mental health problems.

Alcohol dependent

If you become dependent on alcohol you may feel the need to drink throughout the day, drink large amounts at a time, or experience withdrawal effects between drinks. More than one in 25 adults are dependent on alcohol. Alcohol dependence affects 4% of the population in England aged 16-65 years old - this is approximately 1.1 million people (3).

It’s easy to argue that you’re in total control of your drinking – it doesn’t affect your life, you can take it or leave it. But your drinking may still be affecting your health. As well as doing the maths on the number of pints you put away, have a look at the way you behave around booze. Any of the following sound familiar?

Routine drinking: Religiously opening a bottle of wine after a stressful day or finding it impossible to get ready for a social event without a drink in your hand.

Needy drinking: Avoiding a situation or event because you know you wouldn’t be able to have a drink while you’re there. Feeling anxious or worried about where your next drink is coming from.

“Just one more” drinking: Finding you can’t just go for a half pint, it always has to turn into a full drinking session.

Closet drinking: Drinking in secret or even just telling a little lie about how much you drink.

Dodgy drinking behaviour: Regularly regretting the things you’ve done while drunk – and we’re not just talking about poor karaoke performance. Arguing with friends or family, for example, or being involved in accidents or fights.

When you’re drinking too much, you might spot some physical signs. These can include:
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Loss of appetite
• Stomach problems
• Memory loss, blackouts

These are just the short-term effects. In the long term, drinking too much can lead to a host of health problems from heart disease to cancer.

And it can play havoc with your appearance too – from encouraging those love handles to blossom to causing spots and red patches on your skin.

Disturbed sleep and getting agitated and anxious are likely to be the first noticeable effects too much alcohol has on your mental health and wellbeing. But heavy drinking can lead to work and family problems, which in turn can lead to isolation and depression.

Drinking alcohol also slows down your brain function, affecting things like concentration and memory.

If you think your drinking is a problem, the chances are it is.

Dr Sarah Galvani, Principal Research Fellow at the University of Bedfordshire, recommends keeping a drink diary and recording what you drink, how much and who with. “This can help you to get a picture of your drinking and how you can help yourself make some changes,” she says.

If you’re still worried when you see it down on paper, the worst thing you can do is ignore it. “Never be too proud to ask for help,” says Dr Galvani. “That first phone call may need a little courage but professionals will not judge you, you will be welcomed.”

If you have any concerns about your drinking, speak to your doctor or call a professional helpline such as Drinkline – open 24 hours 0800 917 8282. They can also give you the contact details of alcohol services in your local area.

Since he was a teenager, Andy Ball, 36, was able to drink more than his mates. He’d always have a couple of cans more than anyone else at a party, although he’d never feel that drunk. Soon he was putting away half a bottle of vodka in his bedroom before a night out.

“I wouldn’t get drunk every day,” says Andy. “I didn’t wake up thinking of alcohol or have the shakes or anything. But alcohol was always there, a constant in my life. And I’d always have a drink before I went out.”

Towards the end of his twenties, Andy says he got more deceitful about his drinking. “I used to have an orange juice and lemonade in the day when I was working and I’d put some vodka in that.”

Andy was always aware of how many units he was having and knew he was drinking too much. As he was younger, he felt it was okay, he’d stop when he got older.

“But things do creep up on you,” says Andy. “I knew I could stop drinking if I wanted to but it took me to be really ill before I did.” In 2001, Andy was diagnosed with the liver disease cirrhosis, which causes the liver to stop working properly.

 “People need to be honest about how much they drink,” he says. “A lot of people are alcohol-dependent to some extent because few of us would choose to socialise without a drink in our hand.”

References

(1) http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/003_Health_Lifestyles/Alcohol_2011/NHSIC_Statistics_on_Alcohol_England_2011.pdf. p.29. Proportion of men all ages drinking over 21 units per week (26%). Proportion of women all ages drinking over 14 units per week (18%)

(2) http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/003_Health_Lifestyles/Alcohol_2011/NHSIC_Statistics_on_Alcohol_England_2011.pdf. p.29. Proportion of men all ages drinking 51 units and over per week. Proportion of women all ages drinking 36 units and over per week.

(3) Alcohol – use Disorders. Diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. The British Psychological Society and The Royal College of Psychiatrists (2011) http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13337/53190/53190.pdf

Page last updated by

Unknown, 10 May 2012.

Page checked on

27 Aug 2009