What can happen if I drink too much?
Alcohol can
- make you do things you wouldn't normally do e.g. fight or sleep around.
- make you lower and sadder in your mood.
- affect your health.
- affect your ability to do your work properly e.g. you are more likely to make mistakes if you have a hangover or you may be more likely to sleep in for work.
- affect your ability to function at home e.g. you may not cook proper meals for yourself or your family because the hangover has caused you to be too tired.
- affect your sleep pattern.
- affect your relationships.
- make you feel more anxious or bad tempered.
It can affect your health
If you drink heavily you have more risk of getting health problems such as damage to your liver, stomach and heart. You are also more likely to get high blood pressure. If you are a heavy drinker you are more likely to die early.
It can affect how you behave / act
It can affect how you behave eg if you drink too much you will be more likely to stagger, stumble and hurt yourself. You may show yourself up and do or say stupid things. The drink may also cause you to get into fights. You may fight with people in the pub or you may be more likely to argue with your close friends and family.
Drink can affect how you feel the next day. Hangovers make you feel ill. You can get a sore head, feel sleepy or feel as if you are going to be sick. Because you feel bad you may find it hard to do your job at work and you may be more likely to make mistakes. You might not feel up to looking after the kids the next day and instead hide away in bed.
It can affect your mood
Drinking can at first make you feel happier. It can brighten you up. Often if you drink too much you can end up feeling low. This then causes you to feel bad the next day. You may have a hang over or feel anxious, jittery or even guilty. It can trigger panic attacks. This causes you to drink again because you think it will make you feel better. Because you are relying on it, it lowers your self esteem, and because you rely on it you are more likely to feel less in control. Drinking can affect how you feel in your mood. Although you may take a drink to make yourself feel better, in the long run it is a depressant drug which actually makes you feel down.
