In today’s world, mental health awareness is an important issue and is becoming more recognised in all its forms. Affecting people in different ways and sometimes even invisible to others, alcohol can be seen as a coping mechanism for many.

In relation to mental health, many people may not initially realise the adverse effects alcohol can cause. In the short term, alcohol can make one feel better about themselves bringing newfound confidence or the ability to forget their problems. Alcohol can provide a numbing effect as well as making you feel relaxed, altering your mood by affecting your brain chemistry.

But alcohol is a depressant drug and the reality is the problems will still be there waiting and will cause a more enhanced low the following day, in a spiralling effect can soon find yourself on a downward spiral of relying on alcohol.

In this article, Hilary Marsh, creator and founder of non-alcoholic drink alternative Botonique, discusses the effects of alcohol in relation to mental health and how lowering alcohol intake will lead to a more happy and productive you.

Negative effect on mental health

Mental health can be defined as a person’s wellbeing in regard to psychological and emotional state of a person. Acknowledged as a depressant, drinking on a regular basis can cause mental health problems as well as enhance issues that people might already be struggling such as depression and anxiety.

Depression is often described as being in a low mood, lasting long periods of time with the ability to alter personality and take over everyday life. If you suffer with anxiety, the form of having
uncontrollable feelings and worries, extreme phobias or fears. In these cases, alcohol can provide relief of taking away the struggles experienced by many in these circumstances and can be a way of self-medicating.

The importance of cutting down

To begin with, it is important to address alcohol consumption within a week. It might be your initial goal to quit completely but it is also a good step to cut down on alcohol. Ask about alcohol states ‘ low-risk drinking’ can reduce the risk of alcohol-related problems with women to have 11 drinks and men 17 standard drinks (containing 10g of pure alcohol) spread across the week and for both allocating 2 alcohol-free days. Once you begin to rely on alcohol less you will become to realise the extent to which you might have been relying on it and in the diversion away from it, focus on learning new coping techniques instead of turning to alcohol.

A healthier, more productive you

In the path to cutting down drinking, you will begin to notice lots of beneficial changes which will impact on enhancing your mental health. In the decreasing of your alcohol intake and dependency dropping, in the steps to learning new coping techniques, you might begin to feel empowered. Talking to people can help lift a weight off your shoulders and also provide support if and when needed to keep control of drinking levels. As well as alcohol content, many of the most popular alcoholic drinks also come with a high-calorie content so you might soon begin to see positive signs coming through into your health and body shape. Beginning to come back to life in a new version of yourself, you will have energy and enthusiasm to take on anything.

About the Author: Hilary is the creator of Botonique, The Botanical Dry Drinks for Wine Lovers. Formerly a wine merchant and restaurateur, knowledgeable nutritionist and lifelong mixologist, she is now dubbed “a modern-day alchemist” because of the clever drinks she makes, super-indulgent but super-healthy. She draws on a happy childhood making hedgerow wines and elixirs with her family, years of professional wine tasting, traditional herbal wisdom and modern nutritional science to create drinks that are perfectly aligned with proven trends towards lower alcohol consumption and enhanced health.