When one isn’t enough

Despite changing attitudes towards poor mental health, it seems that stigma remains around problem drinking. Fiona Evans explores the link between the two.

Have you found yourself drinking a bit more than you should during the pandemic? If so, you are not alone. Almost one in three drinkers (29 per cent) had been drinking at increasing risk or high risk levels - more than 14 units per week - over the past six months, according to a recent survey.

Given the current situation this perhaps comes as no surprise, as we navigate our way through these choppy times.

The research, commissioned by the charity Alcohol Change UK, found that more than half of drinkers said they had drunk alcohol to cope with how they were feeling – such as feeling anxious, stressed or worried, feeling bored, having trouble sleeping, or feeling sad or low - at least once in the past six months.

But it seems that the struggle with alcohol has yet to shed the stigma once also widely shared by poor mental health. Alcohol Change UK points out that while there has been a concerted effort to challenge the stigma around mental health problems in recent years, there’s been little change in the stigma facing those with alcohol problems and their loved ones, despite the two issues being closely linked.

Respondents to the charity’s survey, carried out in October, felt more confident they would be supported if they were to have a mental health problem than an alcohol problem, whether by their GP, family members, friends or employer.

When asked whether ‘people with this problem deserve our sympathy’, 65 per cent of people surveyed agreed with this statement in relation to mental health problems, but only 41 per cent in relation to alcohol problems.

However, when people have known someone with an alcohol problem they showed a much higher level of tolerance and sympathy.

“There remains far too much stigma around mental health, but this new research suggests that the stigma surrounding alcohol problems runs far deeper,” said Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK. “Stigma isn’t just painful for those suffering from alcohol problems and their loved ones— it can also prevent people from get-ting the help they so desper-ately need and deserve.

"COVID-19 has negatively affected our nation's mental hea lth, and hasled millions of us to drin km ore heavily. Chal-lenging the stigma and shame that many of us feel when we realise our drinking has got out of control is more impor-tant now than ever."

The survey, which ques-tioned 2,003 UK adults, of when 1,296 said they were drinkers, revealed that anxi-ety, stress or worry were the most common reasons given for drinking.

But it also found drink-ing actually worsened mental hea Ith for giver cent of drin k-ern. The negative impact on their mental well-being they experienced as a result of drinking at least once in the past six months included: feel..., ing anxious, stressed or worried: trouble getting to sleep; waking during the night or not sleeping well; memory loss; feeling sad or low.and feeling imitableor angry.

Some of the inequalities seen over the course of the pandemic were also found to be reflected in people's drink-ing habits, for example those of young people and people from BAME backgrounds.

The survey also revealed that parents of children under the age oft8 were more likely than others to have drunk alcohol fora mental health-re-fated reason, with 39 per cent of people with children under 18 in their household report-ing doing so over the past six months, compared to32 per cent of those with children aver the age oft13, and 42 per cent of those with no children.

'This isn't a niche issue,- said Dr Richard Piper. -This research shows that six in ten of us have known someone with a drinking problem. Any ofus can find ourselves drink-ing too much.

-"So it's time we started talking about it: talk to your friends and fa mily about your own and their drinking M a non-judgmental way, and ask for support if you need it. Its the bravest and best thing you can do."

For information on where to get suppor, visa: alcohol-change.org.uk/help-und-sup-port/get- elp-now.