Alcohol is a huge part of our culture, whether it is going for after work drinks, socialising with friends, or family get-togethers. Studies have repeatedly found alcohol is the most commonly used legal drug in Australia.

Alcohol can have hugely detrimental effects on our physical health, mental health, and emotional wellbeing. Abusing alcohol can lead to impacts, such as liver damage, heart disease, high blood pressure, as well as increased risk of developing or exacerbating depression and anxiety symptoms. Taking some time off alcohol can help reset the body and the mind from the effects of alcohol and lead to numerous health benefits.

The impacts of alcohol

Alcohol, despite being legal and widely used, can have huge impacts when used in excess. The Australian Guidelines recommend healthy adults should drink no more than two standard drinks on any day to cut the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury. That being said, almost two million Australians are drinking more than six standard drinks per day.

Studies show alcohol can lead to both short-term and long-term impacts on our physical and mental health, as well as affecting our social relationships, our work performance, and tendency towards crime.

Short-term impacts can last for hours or even days after drinking. Impacts include a reduction in concentration and work performance, and an increase in impulsiveness and aggression. Alcohol can also impact memory, causing intense moods and black outs.

Long-term impacts include invisible liver, brain, and nervous system damage, heart disease, high blood pressure, and an increased chance of developing cancer. It can also cause financial and legal consequences.

Reducing your alcohol intake can improve the quality of sleep, and make you feel more energised, while improving work performance, concentration, and motivation. It can improve your physical health, by decreasing the fat in your liver and lowering blood glucose. It is also linked to weight loss and improved mental health.

Alcohol and mental health

Many of us use alcohol as a coping mechanism to handle stress or difficult feelings. Alcohol can numb difficult thoughts or feelings and help us avoid stress; however, alcohol as a coping mechanism can be counter-productive to long-term mental health. This is because alcohol:

• Only provides temporary relief: the stresses people try to avoid by using alcohol do not get solved by drinking. Putting these off leaves them unresolved, causing more stress in the long-term
• Is a depressant drug: alcohol lowers the serotonin levels in your brain which are essential in helping you regulate your mood
• Reduces your sleep quality: having poor sleep quality can lead to higher stress levels, making concerns or worries seem worse
• Triggers or worsens mental health symptoms: studies have found alcohol can trigger anxiety, as well as worsen symptoms of depression
• Can lead to social difficulties: increasing aggression, reducing inhibitions, and other impacts which can affect your ability to stay present in your relationships
• Interacts negatively with other medication: alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of other psychiatric medication, such as antidepressants, and increase the chance of adverse side effects
• Reduces inhibitions and impacts decision making: this can lead people to make impulsive decisions including risky behaviour.

It is natural to want to avoid difficult thoughts and feelings due to how unpleasant they make us feel; however, by not addressing these difficulties head-on, alcohol can only provide short-term relief and lead to larger long-term difficulties. This is why alcohol is considered an unhealthy coping mechanism. Reaching out to family and friends, journalling, exercising, mindfulness exercises, and seeking counselling are all healthy coping mechanisms.