Beer – Dealing to the Dark Side

Somehow, 2020 has managed to simultaneously feel like both the shortest and longest year ever. It seems only yesterday we were enjoying the long tail of summer, and Covid-19 was something only news-nerds had heard of.

Yet somehow the shutdown month of April seemed – particularly for those with young children – to last a decade. Without the usual distractions of work, school and social engagements, days felt like weeks. Minutes like hours. Time itself seemed to bend – the usual rules just didn’t apply. Was it Tuesday today or Wednesday?  I really don’t remember.

Amid the weird time-bending and constant threat of a nasty disease, we had financial ruin added to our list of stressors. Those without solid work were left in a precarious position. Even those with apparently solid work soon realised it wasn’t as solid as they’d hoped.  Wondering if you’re going to be able to make rent or pay the mortgage beyond next month is a pretty potent source of stress.

It’s therefore unsurprising that many of us have turned to alcohol as a quick-acting pressure-release valve. Maybe that daily pint turned into two or three over the shutdown period; or maybe your weekend-only drinking continued into Monday … and then Tuesday, Wednesday and so on. When times are tough, we drink more booze to cope. If this sounds just a little bit too close to home, then congratulations: you’re human.

The problem with habits is that they’re difficult to shake – so you’re probably finding that those poor drinking habits that you accumulated during the shutdown have followed you into Alert Level 1. But these habits are not your friend. They probably never were – even that night when you were super-stressed and just needed one more beer, wine or whatever to calm things down. Booze is a salve – a temporary lubricant that paints over core problems and helps us forget them for an hour or so. The good stuff tastes delicious and is a lovely social lubricant – but there’s copious evidence of the harm that comes from drinking even a little bit too much.

To use a Star Wars analogy, we must recognise that there’s both a Light Side and a Dark Side to drinking. Yes, booze is The Force in this analogy. The Dark Side is ever-present. It’s waking up with a throbbing hangover when you’d promised to take your kids fishing. It’s saying or doing something really stupid when you’re tanked. And it’s the life-shortening chronic diseases that stem from consistently drinking too much. Yes, life is short, but why make it shorter on purpose?

We must always be searching for balance in The Force. This means adding some Light Side habits to your routine. Firstly, take a stocktake of how much you are drinking. Ask yourself if you’ve let some nasty habits control your drinking lately. Next, get into a habit of planning your drinking every week. Start with a “budget” of 10-15 standard drinks, and see how well you can spread them out. You may not hit the mark right away, but that doesn’t matter. What really matters is getting into the habit of holding yourself accountable for how much you’re drinking. Having at least a couple of days away from booze every week will remind you that, when it comes down to it, you don’t actually need it. It’s a luxury, a nice-to-have. Instead of lifting a glass, take your family for a walk instead.  You won’t regret the switch. And please remember: all of this rambling is just a note-to-self. I need this advice as much as you do.

Jason Gurney