Drinking too much alcohol — and too often — can be bad for your brain and body, having an impact on your mental health.
We might drink to celebrate, socially or when having a rough day, but while we feel happy and relaxed at first, the effect doesn’t last — and we often feel worse as the alcohol leaves our body and brain.
Coping mechanism
Some people use alcohol to cope with life’s stresses, including dealing with mental health conditions like depression, stress or anxiety.
But alcohol is a depressant, and it disrupts the chemicals in your brain. This can affect your feelings, thoughts and behaviour.
Once the enjoyable effects have worn off, it can lead to negative feelings and can also slow down your thought processes.
In the long term, drinking too much can reduce the number of neurotransmitters in your brain, making you less resilient to mental health issues. And this can lead to drinking to cope with those feelings in a vicious circle.
Poor sleep
Alcohol has several negative effects on the body, including causing sleep problems — which can have a knock-on effect on mental health as well.
Feeling tired can spoil the whole day, making it harder to deal with life’s little knocks and challenges.
Cutting down on alcohol could mean more good days, feeling fresher and more enthusiastic about life.
Depression
Regularly drinking a lot has been linked to the symptoms of depression, and some people who have depression start to feel better when they’ve been off the booze for a few weeks.
If you think you may be dependent on alcohol, feel unable to function without a drink, or if stopping drinking causes withdrawal symptoms (like shaking, sweating or nausea), it could be dangerous to stop too quickly. You should access support first.
Alcohol shouldn’t be mixed with anti-depressants. It can make the side effects (and the depression itself) worse.
Anxiety
People with anxiety can find that drinking makes the symptoms go away briefly, but the effect is short-lived, and this can lead to alcohol dependence.
The hangover the next day can make anxiety much worse as well.
Instead of using alcohol to unwind, try doing exercise, meditation, yoga or a hobby instead.
Other dangers
Heavy drinkers can experience psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions or confused thinking — including if they suddenly stop drinking.
As alcohol lowers inhibitions, it can lead to accidents and choices you might regret in the morning.
Emergency help
If you need to talk to someone urgently or think you may attempt to take your own life, help is available from:
Samaritans 24-hour crisis helpline – 116 123
MIND – 0300 123 3393
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) – 0800 58 58 58 (5pm to midnight)
Papyrus (for under 35s) – 0800 068 41 41 (9am to midnight)
Text SHOUT to 85258, and a trained crisis volunteer will text back
