Alcohol & your psychological wellbeing

Most people use alcohol sensibly and it can be an enjoyable and positive part of peoples lives.
However at times, some people may use alcohol to help deal with the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.

This can become problematic and can quickly make things worse.

Your drinking may be becoming a problem if?

• You drink more to cope with anger, frustration, anxiety or depression
• Your drinking affects your relationships with other people
• Your drinking makes you feel gloomy, aggressive or makes you think about harming yourself
• You stop doing things that you used to and spend more time drinking
• You feel shaky/anxious the morning after drinking the night before
• Alcohol tends to be a poor long term solution to managing anxiety and depression and can often be a barrier to people
• getting effective treatment. It is usually best to cut down or stop drinking for a period of time as part of a plan to address your anxiety and depression.

Inclusion Thurrock recognise that anxiety/depression and alcohol use can often occur together. As such we will want to ask some questions about your drinking to understand whether it may be a complicating factor.