Am I Drinking Too Much?

Alcohol can become attached to a feeling long before somebody thinks of their drinking as a problem.

The difficult meeting ends: drink. The children are finally asleep: drink. You feel lonely: drink. You cannot switch your mind off: drink.

If alcohol repeatedly becomes the fastest way to change how you feel, the habit can strengthen even when the original reason for drinking is understandable.

Work out what job the drink is doing

Before concentrating only on the alcohol, ask what you are using it for.

Is it helping you mark the end of work? Numb worry? Fill an empty evening? Feel sociable? Fall asleep? Avoid thinking about a relationship, money or grief?

Different functions need different alternatives. “Drink less” is much harder when alcohol is currently doing an important emotional job and nothing replaces that job.

Notice the short-term bargain

Alcohol may initially make you feel calmer or more detached from a problem.

But the bargain can be temporary.

Drinking can disrupt sleep, and the next day may bring tiredness, anxiety, low mood, poor concentration or regret. That can leave you with fewer resources to handle the pressure that triggered the drinking in the first place.

Change the moment before the drink

If your drinking has a predictable trigger, intervene earlier.

If work stress peaks during the journey home, decide what happens when you arrive before you reach the kitchen. If loneliness drives evening drinking, arrange contact or activity during the vulnerable part of the evening. If worry builds at bedtime, use a wind-down routine that is not centred on alcohol.

The goal is to create another route through the same moment.

Deal with the pressure itself where possible

Alcohol may be the coping method, while the underlying problem is debt, work, caring, grief, relationship conflict or chronic stress.

Practical action matters.

A debt problem may need debt advice. A workplace problem may need information about your options. Persistent anxiety or low mood may be worth discussing with a GP or counsellor.

Reducing the source of pressure can make changing the drinking pattern more realistic.

Be careful with sudden changes if your body may be dependent

This guide is about drinking used as a coping strategy, not about planning alcohol withdrawal.

If you get shaking, sweating, nausea, marked anxiety, sleep disturbance or other withdrawal symptoms when you cut down, seek medical or specialist alcohol-treatment advice before trying to stop suddenly. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous in people who are physically dependent.

Try curiosity rather than shame

“Why am I doing this again?” can become a punishment.

Try a more useful question: “What happened just before I wanted the drink?”

That question gives you information. Over time you may see that certain people, places, emotions or times of day repeatedly trigger drinking.

Patterns can be changed more easily when they are visible.

Last reviewed

6 September 2026

Important informationThis guide provides general information only and is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a substitute for professional healthcare or alcohol-treatment advice. Alcohol can cause physical dependence. If you experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop or reduce drinking, or think you may be dependent on alcohol, seek medical or specialist alcohol-treatment advice before making a significant change to your drinking.