I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the drinking culture we have in this country. I’ve never been a massive drinker, but my current job involves, amongst other things, helping people to cut down on their alcohol, which has made me think of alcohol in a slightly different light in recent months. I’ve become acutely aware that we have a huge drinking problem here in the UK, and I find this deeply concerning.
What’s the Problem?
It’s not unusual to enjoy a drink or two of an evening or
weekend. In fact, you’ll most likely be
considered a little bit odd if you don’t.
Most of us would think nothing of having a couple of glasses of wine
after work, a few pints on a Friday evening, or even getting absolutely smashed
on a Saturday night. It’s an incredibly
normal way to behave, and those who decline to participate are often made to
feel a little socially outcast.
Concern starts to creep in when you realise how easy it is
to put your health at increased risk through drinking. Even a few drinks a few times a week can
increase the risk of problems like high blood pressure, diabetes and some
cancers, not to mention weight gain. It’s
recommended that women drink no more than 2-3 units a day on a regular basis,
and men 3-4 units. Consider that a pint
or a glass of wine usually contains something between 2 and 3 units, and it
soon becomes clear that the majority of us are drinking more than the guideline
amount on a regular basis without batting an eyelid.
Unless you’re pregnant or driving, you’re likely to be mocked
for not drinking, and often bullied into consuming more. Drinking games are a key source of
entertainment for many young people, intake of enormous amounts of alcohol is usually
a rite of passage in university sports clubs, and a weekend without alcohol is
considered unthinkable by many working people.
So, as a nation, we’ve become culturally programmed to drink
to levels that are almost definitely going to harm our health. But for me, the main issue is not the mere
fact that people are drinking too much. More
importantly, we need to be asking the question: why is this happening? Yes; alcohol causes health problems, but the
way I see is, the main issue is that drinking it is in itself a symptom: a
symptom of living in a society where people no longer know how to keep
themselves healthy and happy and lead meaningful lives. I’ve talked before about how modern Westernsociety is not conducive to wellbeing. Our
drinking culture is one of the many manifestations of this problem. To speak in extremes, our collective
obsession with drinking alcohol is a symptom of deep-seated societal unhappiness.
What’s the solution?
This question has a very simple answer, and simultaneously a
very complex one! In simple terms, if
unhappiness is the cause of the problem, the solution is to increase happiness
at the population level. If everyone had
ways of maintaining their wellbeing without the use of alcohol or other
substances, binge drinking would be far less common.
Of course, if the solution really were so simple, we wouldn’t
have the problem on our hands in the first place! The perceived need to drink alcohol arises
from a complex range of factors. Workplace
stress, family situations, self-esteem, social pressure, hectic schedules,
financial hardship, emotional trauma and lack of knowledge, to name but a few,
are all things that contribute to the need to drink. Take a moment to consider the fact that it is
highly socially acceptable to use a substance to deal with everyday stress and
emotions, and hopefully you can see why I find this so concerning.
What can we do about it?
There’s actually a lot of good stuff already going on to
combat the problem of binge drinking. The
Sober for October campaign encourages people to stop drinking for the month,
with a view to raising awareness of the harms of alcohol and helping people to
realise how good they can feel for not drinking. There’s also a wealth of smaller campaigns
doing great work on helping people to cut back on their alcohol intake, for
instance, My Happy Hour and the Purbeck Pledge in my local area.
Each one of us is the master of our own wellbeing if we give
ourselves half a chance to be. That means
that you have the power to make a change to your own lifestyle and improve your
health and wellbeing.
As a starting point, you can learn more about the effects of
alcohol and the units and calories in your favourite drinks, find out how risky
your own drinking habits are and get support to make a change on the Drinkaware website. Most importantly, you can
figure out and use other pastimes and coping strategies to manage stress, enjoy
your evenings and weekends, and become healthier and happier. Try asking yourself the following questions
to explore the possibility of cutting down on drinking. Why not challenge a friend to do the same?
- Why do I drink?
- What are the pros and cons of drinking?
- What are the pros and cons of reducing my drinking?
- What impact might drinking be having on my health and other aspects of my life?
- How might my life be better if I drank less?
- How can my friends and family support me to reduce my drinking?
- What other things can I fill my time with instead of drinking?
- How much do I feel I should be drinking each week and how can I work towards this?
Whether you want to go sober for October, reduce your
alcohol intake long-term, cut it out completely, learn more or make no changes
at all, I hope you’ve found this piece interesting or helpful on some
level. I hope you’ll be joining me on
the journey towards a healthier, happier nation.
