Alcoholism is a real thing, if you think you drink way too much and it is affecting your life detrimentally then you probably do and it probably is. It doesn’t have to be this way and help is available, you CAN control your habits and you can make changes in your life for the better.
What is a good night out?
Does it involve getting drunk? People have different reasons behind why they drink too much on nights out. It could be to keep up with heavy drinking friends or it could be to wind down after a stressful week. Whatever the reason is this does not have to be the case and if you just try to start to control it you will notice an improvement to your nights.
So why do we need to moderate how much we drink? Medically speaking, most people who suffer health problems from drinking are not alcoholics they are those who regularly overdrink for years. Overdrinking can lead to various medical problems. These include:
- breast / mouth cancer,
- high blood pressure,
- strokes,
- heart disease
- liver disease.
From a mental health perspective, alcohol can make you happy initially by lowering inhibitions, but the depressant effect such as feeling sleepy kicks in as you drink more. Although problem drinking may not cause clinical depression, it can feed the problem by its effects on relationships and work. Alcohol misuse can also cause anxiety symptoms and unmask or accelerate an underlying predisposition to a psychiatric problem. So it’s best to get into good habits so that you don’t risk your health later on. Please see the following link for more information about the risks associated with over consumption of alcohol: link.
Why is all the advice about moderation?
Why can’t you just store up your weekly allowance for just one day of the week? Drinking enough alcohol in one session to end up drunk can be used as a definition of binge drinking. This is a major factor in accidents, violence and anti-social behaviour. Worse still, overdosing on alcohol can cause alcohol poisoning which can be fatal. Loss of consciousness after drinking too much can also pose the risk of choking on your own vomit which is again fatal. See the following NHS link for more information about alcohol misuse: link.
So if we’re talking about moderation, what are the recommended limits? Well normal limits are 3-4 units daily for men, and 2-3 units daily for women. There is a difference between the genders because women’s bodies are less effective than men’s at breaking down alcohol – putting them at increased risk of harm. Individual circumstances do mean that it may be advisable for people to abstain from drinking alcohol altogether. These include people with certain medical conditions or on medications that may interact with alcohol. If you are unsure ask your GP or pharmacist.
Drinking during pregnancy
Currently the NHS advises that pregnant women or women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol. If they do choose to drink, to protect the baby they should not drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol, once or twice per week and should not get drunk.
Using units in real life
Good drink labelling should now show the unit count on the drink container itself. If that’s not there, you can work out the units by simply looking for the number of millilitres on the container and the ABV (or Alcohol By Volume) found on its label.
Here’s the science: Take the number of mls of alcohol, multiply it by the ABV and divide by 1000 and the figure you end up with is the unit count for that drink. So for example lets take a 250ml glass of red wine, with a 12% ABV. Multiply the number of mls (250) by the ABV (12) and divide by 1000 and the number of units in the glass of wine is 3 – which happens to be the daily recommended limit in one glass!
Some handy shortcuts are as follows: For pints you can roughly halve the ABV to calculate the units straight off. And for 330 ml bottles you divide the ABV by a third to do the same. Alcopop bottles are usually 1.4 units each. Each shot of gin, rum, vodka or whisky is 1 unit if it is a small or for large shots is 1.3-1.4 units. Doubles are exactly that for their unit count based on the size of the shot. If you need more information about alcohol units, you can access the NHS website: link.
If you’re going out drinking
- It’s a good idea to eat before you go out to reduce the effects of the alcohol.
- Drink water regularly during the evening and before you go to bed.
- Take a break if you think that the drink is hitting you too quickly and drink alchohol free, soft drinks or water sometimes.
- Don’t try to keep up with friends who drink more than you – that’s their choice.
- Don’t mix alcohol with recreational drugs of any kind – it can be deadly.
- If you are on any medication ask your doctor of pharmacist if its safe to drink with it.
Staying safe
- At the start of the evening, plan how you’ll get home.
- Have the phone number of a taxi firm in your mobile, and keep the cab fare separate from your spending money.
- Don’t accept drinks from strangers or leave your drinks unattended in case they get spiked.
- During the night, avoid aggressive drinkers, just walk away if someone’s getting rowdy.
- To avoid the risk of sexual assault, don’t leave your friends to go off with somebody that you don’t know and don’t get into unlicensed cabs or a strangers car.
- Avoid walking through dark or unsafe areas on your own.
- Always carry a condom, if you have sex make sure it’s safe sex.
You and the people that love you matter. You wouldn’t let your dog drink like you do so show yourself some love too and reduce your alcohol consumption.