All That Booze
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Related Content
- Booze - Hot, Stirred and Festive (18/11/2007)
Between pints with colleagues, wine with dinner and small and big nights out a plenty, daily drinking is completely normal for many of us. But how much is too much? The authors of Beat the Booze help us navigate those 80 proof waters.
Married Authors Helen and Edmumd Tirbutt bring to Beat the Booze two very different experiences with alcohol.
Edmund stopped drinking 21 years ago after realising he couldn't do it moderately, and Helen quit drinking two years ago after realising that life is better without booze.
But this book isn't just for those who want to remove alcohol from their lives, it's also for those who simply want to manage it better.
What is it about our society that makes alcohol consumption so prevalent?
Unlike in other countries, such as France and Italy, there is a commonly held misconception in the UK that it is impossible to have a good time without getting completely wrecked. The fact that alcohol is so cheap does not help. Because successive UK governments have been reluctant to raise taxes, the price of alcohol relative to average incomes has halved since the mid 1960s.
There is also clearly an educational issue and a lot of work needs to be done, in particular with young people, to dispel the myth that drinking alcohol is 'cool'.
It's easy to think of drinking the same way as outgoing expenses; you'd be shocked at how much you spent (or drank) if you wrote everything down. What are the first steps to figuring out if you are drinking too much?
The first step is to carry around a drink diary with you, recording how much you drink and when you drink it. This will help you identify any trigger points that need to be addressed as well as indicate by how much you are exceeding the government's recommended maximums of 21 units a week for men and 14 units a week for women. In Appendix 1 of our book we also have numerous tests that you can complete which will indicate whether you have a drink problem.
But if you are not in control of your drinking and are 'feeling sick and tired of feeling sick and tired' you probably already know the answer.
Are there universal warning signs that problems are afoot?
If you are always drinking at the same time each day or starting to put drink before other things it is fairly likely that you have developed a psychological addiction, and this could easily lead to a physical addiction in due course. Whilst it is not unusual for people to drink heavily following a traumatic event like a bereavement or relationship breakdown, if they continue to do so for over six months the alarm bells should be sounding. Denial of a drink problem is classic sign that someone does in fact have a problem. Problem drinkers often get very agitated when confronted with the issue by friends and family.
If you determine that you do have a problem, does total abstinence have to be the answer?
If you only have a psychological addiction you may well be able to revert to controlled drinking again in the future if you give up for an initial period and address the underlying problems that have been causing you to drink. But if you have a physical addiction you should never touch another drop as the response centres in your brain have been permanently altered. Even if you give up for 30 years you are likely to relapse to previous drinking levels immediately you have the first drink because your brain will recognise the smell and taste of alcohol. It is not a question of mind over matter because the matter has changed. (If you have a physical addiction you should never give up without seeking medical advice as it could cause brain damage or memory loss or even prove fatal.)
Our book provides extensive guidance on how to tell whether you have a psychological or physical addiction.
What tricks do you suggest when willpower is weak and peer pressure is strong?
If you know that seeing certain people will involve drinking heavily then try to see less of them. Also try to avoid drinking in rounds because doing so means drinking as fast as the fastest drinker. Work out an upper limit before you go out and try and stick to it, take less money with you and leave the credit cards at home.
There is also a lot to be said for alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks. You will be doubtless be called a 'bore' by some people if you give up drinking altogether but these are invariably people with drink problems themselves. It is essential to realise that they, not you, are the ones with the problem and that they are trying to make themselves feel better by reducing you to their level.
Next time you see them drunk and hear them repeating themselves every few minutes it should not take long to work out who is the boring one!
Beat the Booze is available now for only £6.49.
Edmund stopped drinking 21 years ago after realising he couldn't do it moderately, and Helen quit drinking two years ago after realising that life is better without booze.
But this book isn't just for those who want to remove alcohol from their lives, it's also for those who simply want to manage it better.
What is it about our society that makes alcohol consumption so prevalent?
Unlike in other countries, such as France and Italy, there is a commonly held misconception in the UK that it is impossible to have a good time without getting completely wrecked. The fact that alcohol is so cheap does not help. Because successive UK governments have been reluctant to raise taxes, the price of alcohol relative to average incomes has halved since the mid 1960s.
There is also clearly an educational issue and a lot of work needs to be done, in particular with young people, to dispel the myth that drinking alcohol is 'cool'.
It's easy to think of drinking the same way as outgoing expenses; you'd be shocked at how much you spent (or drank) if you wrote everything down. What are the first steps to figuring out if you are drinking too much?
The first step is to carry around a drink diary with you, recording how much you drink and when you drink it. This will help you identify any trigger points that need to be addressed as well as indicate by how much you are exceeding the government's recommended maximums of 21 units a week for men and 14 units a week for women. In Appendix 1 of our book we also have numerous tests that you can complete which will indicate whether you have a drink problem.
But if you are not in control of your drinking and are 'feeling sick and tired of feeling sick and tired' you probably already know the answer.
Are there universal warning signs that problems are afoot?
If you are always drinking at the same time each day or starting to put drink before other things it is fairly likely that you have developed a psychological addiction, and this could easily lead to a physical addiction in due course. Whilst it is not unusual for people to drink heavily following a traumatic event like a bereavement or relationship breakdown, if they continue to do so for over six months the alarm bells should be sounding. Denial of a drink problem is classic sign that someone does in fact have a problem. Problem drinkers often get very agitated when confronted with the issue by friends and family.
If you determine that you do have a problem, does total abstinence have to be the answer?
If you only have a psychological addiction you may well be able to revert to controlled drinking again in the future if you give up for an initial period and address the underlying problems that have been causing you to drink. But if you have a physical addiction you should never touch another drop as the response centres in your brain have been permanently altered. Even if you give up for 30 years you are likely to relapse to previous drinking levels immediately you have the first drink because your brain will recognise the smell and taste of alcohol. It is not a question of mind over matter because the matter has changed. (If you have a physical addiction you should never give up without seeking medical advice as it could cause brain damage or memory loss or even prove fatal.)
Our book provides extensive guidance on how to tell whether you have a psychological or physical addiction.
What tricks do you suggest when willpower is weak and peer pressure is strong?
If you know that seeing certain people will involve drinking heavily then try to see less of them. Also try to avoid drinking in rounds because doing so means drinking as fast as the fastest drinker. Work out an upper limit before you go out and try and stick to it, take less money with you and leave the credit cards at home.
There is also a lot to be said for alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks. You will be doubtless be called a 'bore' by some people if you give up drinking altogether but these are invariably people with drink problems themselves. It is essential to realise that they, not you, are the ones with the problem and that they are trying to make themselves feel better by reducing you to their level.
Next time you see them drunk and hear them repeating themselves every few minutes it should not take long to work out who is the boring one!
Beat the Booze is available now for only £6.49.
