Stress and Alcohol in the Workplace.

Does your job cause you stress? Do you struggle to get everything done and find it hard to switch off? Maybe you even struggle just to get the priorities done. You may have a difficult manager, colleagues, working environment or maybe there are changes happening. All these things can impact on our emotions at different times.

Maybe you have a big role, getting paid a significant amount and you just think this is how it is, its normal to struggle, feel stressed and wired.

Stop right there.

Stress can be a habit, a way of being, something that we get into or something that we just do and accept. Then we may drink to relax, to come down off the stress, or wind down at the end of the working day.

Before you know it, you are drinking 1 bottle of wine a night, maybe 2 bottles or more.

This is such a huge subject and one I could talk about for a whole day, but I will attempt to cover the most important points.

Bottom line, you don’t have to feel like this, I don’t care how important your job is or how much you get paid, it doesn’t have to be like this.

Let’s start with the alcohol. If you are drinking regularly and you are stressed, I encourage you to take a break from drinking. You might need some help with this. If you are not sure, feel free to contact me for a no obligation chat, I can advise.

Basically, you are experiencing stress, which doesn’t feel very nice and is incredibly damaging to your physical and emotional wellbeing. Click this link for more info about the impact on stress on your health https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress. You are then using a drug to manage (yes, I am calling alcohol a drug because that is what it is) or as a solution for the stress. But here is the thing, it may work for a moment, but then it’s either not going to change anything or make things worse. So as far as solutions go its not effective.

For instance, one of the side effects of drinking alcohol is anxiety, we can also experience anxiety the next day after drinking or as part of a withdrawal from alcohol. Alcohol also seriously impacts the quality of our sleep, I am sure you all know by now you need your sleep.

Alcohol is not a solution to your stress problem (well it is a solution, just not a good one).

Once you have stripped the alcohol back you can see what is happening with the stress, what specifically is the issue, it may be the hours? Environment? Manager? Etc. Then you can look at what you can change to make things easier for you. There is always something you can change. E.g. If it’s your commute that is stressful, can you work flexi-time and sometimes work from home?

Can you get support from your manager? Tell them how you are feeling, they may support you and help you come up with solutions you hadn’t thought possible.

If the issue persists, feel free to get support from an independent coach, a few sessions will help you make changes. Particularly one that specialises in helping people let go of stress.

None of this can be done though, if you are drinking. Taking a break from alcohol, gives your body and brain a break, time to repair itself, sleep properly and rest. A lot of people report that the clarity is amazing, no more foggy brain. When our head is clear we can make better decisions.

Stephanie Chivers is a habit and addiction specialist teaching people how to stop drinking and start living. For more information about coaching contact her https://www.ichange21.com/p/Tailormadecoaching