Alcohol

Wikipedia say of alcohol: “Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is a psychoactive drug that is the active ingredient in drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits (hard liquor). It is one of the oldest and most common recreational substances, causing the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication (“drunkenness”). Among other effects, alcohol produces happiness and euphoria, decreased anxiety, increased sociability, sedation, impairment of cognitive, memory, motor, and sensory function, and generalized depression of central nervous system function.

Alcohol has a variety of short-term and long-term adverse effects. Short-term adverse effects include generalized impairment of neurocognitive function, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and hangover-like symptoms. Alcohol is addictive to humans, and can result in alcohol use disorder, dependence and withdrawal. It can have a variety of long-term adverse effects on health, for instance liver damage, brain damage, and its consumption is the fifth leading cause of cancer.”

BHF say: “Drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol can have a harmful effect on your heart and general health.

If you drink alcohol it is important to keep within the guidelines:

• Men and women should not drink more than 14 units of alcohol each week.
• You should have several alcohol-free days each week.

These guidelines apply whether you drink regularly, or only occasionally.”

Drink Drive is all about our alcohol habits. Ever wondered why alcohol and drinking is so easy to do and gets more additive? Well, the drink industry make the drinks more appealing and often its connected to a social environment.  You might say: “I have an addictive personality” – but “Addictive personality is not an actual psychiatric diagnosis,” says Michael Weaver, MD, medical director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “Personalities are very complex, and while there’s not one specific type that’s more prone to addiction than others, there are several factors that can combine to make you more likely to become addicted.”

We understand that drinking alcohol every day is not good for you, and over a longer term can damage your liver, kidneys and heart.  However, especially in these uncertain and testing times it can be a great release.

So do we really know if we have a problem? Firstly take the test and benchmark yourself.

We need to be honest with ourselves and answer the questions carefully.  If you feel you have a problem, then you should do something about it. There are several sites you can access about cutting down your alcohol intake.  The NHS give tips,  Harbour have useful info on how to cut down without experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and Drinkaware show how to cut down at home.

If you do, you may experience withdrawal symptoms – see Drinkaware information.