How Drinking Affects your Health
Worried about whether drinking is damaging your health? Nearly one in five women and one in three men drink more than the NHS recommended regular daily limits of 2-3 units for women and 3-4 units for men. Drinking like this most days of the week is risky to your health, but when asked, ‘how much do you drink?’, many people actually underestimate the amount of alcohol they are drinking.
Most people who drink heavily are not necessarily ‘addicted’ to alcohol, but for many reasons they have got into the habit of consuming it regularly or in ‘binges’ of heavy drinking. Such drinking has short-term and long-term risks.
The harmful effects of drinking too much may not become obvious for a number of years. As you get older, the risks to your health increase due to the accumulated effects of years of drinking. Your body can also become less able to process alcohol, so you may find that the time it takes you to recover from a drinking session is longer than it was when you were younger.
For more information please visit our sensible drinking page.
Recognising a Drug Problem and Helping yourself
The first and most difficult step for people who misuse drugs is to recognise that they have a problem, and then admit that they need help to deal with it.
Some people realise that they have a problem but find it hard to stop taking the drug, even though they are aware of the consequences. Others may need someone else to help them realise that they have a problem.
Signs that a person may have a drug problem or addiction include:
- continually increasing the dose of drugs to get the same effect,
- a feeling of dependency on drugs or a fear of stopping using drugs,
- withdrawal symptoms if they stop taking the drug for a short time,
- sudden mood changes,
- a negative or changed outlook on life,
- a loss of motivation,
- poor performance at work or college,
- problems with personal relationships,
- borrowing or stealing money from friends and family,
- being secretive about activities and actions.
Next steps:
Please visit our Drugs Awareness page for more information and links to other drug treatment services in Bath and North East Somerset.