Chapter 1

Over 90 percent of people in the Western World drink alcohol, and sadly over two million of them a year die as a direct result. Just pause and think about that number; over the course of a decade, 20 million people end up dead because of drinking. If alcohol had never existed and someone invented it today, I’m pretty sure it would never reach the shops.

Picture the scene. The inventor of this incredible new drink called ‘alcohol’ is sat in a dark, smoky bar, pitching his new invention to unsuspecting customers. ‘I’ve come up with this amazing new drink – go on, have a glass. It makes you lose your inhibitions, do dangerous and regrettable things, and forget you did them afterwards. You’ll also become emotional, argumentative, and violent. The next day you’ll almost certainly feel sick and ill, but you’ll still crave more of it because it’s incredibly addictive. If you drink it consistently over time, there’s a good chance you’ll damage your physical and mental health and maybe even lose your job, home, and family. It might even kill you in the end.’ Would you take a sip? I don’t think so. And yet this stuff is available to buy right now – I like to call it ‘cleverly packaged poison’.

Of the small amount of people who don’t drink, only a small percentage are sober because of making a conscious choice that alcohol isn’t for them. This is how deeply ingrained drinking is in our culture, to the point where many people think you’re slightly odd if you don’t drink. Very few consider alcohol to be a drug, even though it’s among the most harmful and addictive substances in the world. It’s considered socially acceptable and the ‘done thing’ in most countries. In fact, where I live in the UK you generally have to give some kind of justification not to drink. Imagine having to do that with heroin or cocaine!

On top of this, we live in a world which is dominated by a multi-billion dollar marketing industry dedicated to promoting the ‘benefits’ of alcohol on television and radio, in newspapers, on billboards, and on social media. It’s inevitable that we become brainwashed to join in the ‘fun’. I’ve even seen an advert that aligned a low-calorie beer with sporting activities to give a sense that drinking beer is part of a healthy lifestyle. Alcohol manufacturers push every boundary they can because they want you to believe that if you buy their products you’ll end up blissfully happy, with the perfect partner, in a perfect house, and successful in everything you do. This is far from the truth, and I’m surprised at how far some of their commercials are allowed to go.

Of course, many people can drink moderately and know when to stop. But for others, it can be an all or nothing affair. Whenever I do anything I have to dive in with both feet, and wine was no exception. If you’ve found that alcohol is running the show and you’re putting it ahead of important things in your life, such as your relationships, work, friends, family, exercise, and health, then it’s probably time to start questioning your drinking. Alcohol is sly and creeps up on you. It starts out as fun, but over time, it takes away more than it gives back – without exception. Every time we have a drinking session we end up worse off than when we started, and the slope becomes more and more slippery until we’ve travelled so far down it, we think we can’t get back up it again. So what do we do? We have another drink of course.

We can see what alcohol does to our lives, but what does it do to our bodies? In reality, it starts to affect them as soon as we take our first sip, so it’s important to understand the damage it can cause. I often speak to heavy drinkers who believe that because they’ve never encountered any of the issues outlined below they’re fine to continue drinking, almost as if the science and facts don’t apply to them. But just because the problems haven’t arisen yet, doesn’t mean they won’t; none of us is immune. This denial is a way of settling our minds when we start to have uncomfortable thoughts about our drinking habits.

The fact is that alcohol is a poison called ethanol or ethyl alcohol. You’ll find ethanol in cleaning products, motor fuel (ethanol has also been used as a rocket fuel), solvents, and numerous household and commercial products that I’m sure you would never consider drinking. Below is a list of the main areas of your body that can be impacted when you regularly drink alcohol (or ethanol).

If you want to look ten years older, become a heavy drinker. Have you ever looked at someone and immediately realised they’re a boozer just from their face?

Due to the dehydration alcohol causes, your skin can become dry, wrinkled, and lacking in natural colour. Heavy drinking also causes a loss of collagen and elasticity in the skin, ageing it artificially. In my coaching, I encourage people to take before and after selfies, and they almost always look years younger once their skin has had time to recover and become rehydrated.

Heavy drinking can also lead to red and blotchy skin. Studies have shown that this is often due to the body taking longer than it should to break down the compounds of the toxin acetaldehyde in the alcohol. This means the toxins stay in the body for longer than normal, creating a serious risk of high blood pressure which, in turn, increases the chances of a heart attack or stroke.

The moment alcohol enters your body it starts to affect your brain. It can cause short-term effects, such as:

● memory loss;

● lack of judgement;

● poor motor control and reflexes;

● loss of inhibition, and

● changes in mood.

● serious memory problems, including the inability to retain and form new memories;

● lack of cognitive function that can impact on almost every area including speech, vision and hearing;

● inability to concentrate or focus;

● behavioural problems;

● increased anxiety;

● depression, and

● addiction – I know this seems obvious, but with continued exposure to alcohol, your brain becomes dependent on the drug. It craves more and more of it, which can lead to withdrawal symptoms if you stop and make it hard to resist the urge to take another drink.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the damage alcohol can cause to your brain; scientists are still discovering more about the long-term dangers of ethanol.

It’s a fact that alcohol significantly increases your chances of developing cancer, especially of the mouth, throat, bowel, stomach, colon, and oesophagus. If you’re a woman your chances of breast cancer are dramatically increased if you have a heavy drinking habit.

Alcohol is clearly linked to high blood pressure, also called hypertension. Over time, the raised pressure causes strain on your heart muscle, which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

The liver processes around 90 percent of the alcohol you consume. If you drink heavily it can struggle to function properly, becoming unable to filter and remove harmful substances. You might have heard of how resilient livers are, being able to regenerate themselves, but the fact is that every time you drink alcohol some of your liver cells die. With prolonged heavy drinking, your liver can lose its ability to fully regenerate – and you only have the one. You can also end up with numerous liver-related health issues, including fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis.

Alcohol kills some of the good bacteria that live in your throat and mouth, leaving room for unwanted bacteria to multiply. Regular heavy drinking, therefore, leaves you more susceptible to serious illnesses and respiratory problems, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, and sepsis.

Alcohol encourages your stomach to produce more acid than usual, which can irritate your entire digestive system. The acid can cause the lining of your stomach to become inflamed (gastritis), leading to stomach pains, diarrhoea, vomiting, and even bleeding.

If you’re a man, heavy drinking is proven to increase the chance of erectile dysfunction. It can also lead to a low sperm count and therefore contribute towards infertility. If you’re a woman who drinks a lot, you can suffer from fertility and menstrual problems. And we all know that drinking during pregnancy can lead to long-term damage to the baby.

Regular drinking can increase the risk of thinning bones (osteoporosis) because your stomach can’t absorb the amount of calcium and vitamin D it needs for healthy bone density and growth.

Alcohol prevents the smooth flow of calcium through the muscle cells, which is responsible for making them contract naturally. This can cause muscle pain or cramps, as well as a feeling of weakness in your muscles.

Alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories, so heavy drinking is a great way to pile on the pounds.

When you drink regularly you don’t experience refreshing and restorative sleep (even though you may not realise it). As well as causing a lack of energy, it also makes you look tired. Dark shadows under the eyes are common in heavy drinkers.

When you drink, your body tries to hang on to as much water as possible and this causes bloating. It can affect your face, body, hands, and feet, and make them look swollen.

These can become brittle when you drink regularly, and studies have even shown that alcohol can cause hair loss.

If you drink red wine, like I did, you’ll be familiar with the purple ‘morning tongue’ that never seems to fade even after brushing your teeth multiple times. On top of this, red wine and coloured drinks can stain and damage your teeth.

Alcohol stinks and that’s a fact. When you’ve been drinking (including the morning after) people will be able to smell it on your breath and often on your skin as it seeps from your pores. I used to spend hours trying to hide the smell and appear ‘normal’.

On top of all of this, alcohol is directly linked to many mental and physical health problems, from anxiety and depression through to cancer and ultimately death. It is also highly addictive, so there’s no need to blame yourself if you feel hooked. That’s what’s meant to happen – it’s what alcohol is designed to do.

Have you experienced any of the issues above, or been worried about them? Jot down a list. I know I used to be paranoid about damaging my liver and was self-conscious about people smelling alcohol on me when I was at work. Pause for a moment and ask yourself if you’re happy to continue drinking a substance that has been proven to cause this kind of damage. I’m pretty confident the answer will be ‘no’, even if you’re not sure how to stop drinking at this stage.

The good news is that the tide appears to be turning and recent reports suggest that as many as a third of young people are now not drinking regularly, with more and more of them deciding that a life without alcohol is the right choice. Drinking is usually a learned behaviour, as it was for me when I saw my dad drink. If the younger generation can have a different attitude towards alcohol then everyone else can as well. The fact that you’re reading this book means you’re probably already aware you have a problem; this is a significant step because you’re on the right path and taking positive action.

However, becoming aware of a problem can be painful. It’s natural to feel worried if you know something is wrong but you don’t know how to fix it. That’s where this book comes in, with the advice you need so that you can learn how to move from the initial stage of awareness of the issue, through to discovering how to solve it. The day can come when you’ve mastered the art of living a sober and happy life, in which alcohol no longer features, I promise you.

And if you’ve already quit drinking (well done!), please use this book as your companion and go-to solution for anything that arises in the months, years and lifetime ahead. It aims to help you through the common challenges.

In a later chapter, I’ll explore how helpful keeping a journal is on your journey. But for now, all I’d like you to do is grab a notebook and reflect on your answers to the following questions:

What are your drinking habits now? How much? How often? What drinks do you have?

Compare your answers and think about your drinking trajectory. If you’re like almost all the people I work with, you’ll find you’re drinking more now than you were before – that’s how sly alcohol is. Did you give it a thought until now?

Quitting drinking means being mindful and staying aware of your behaviours, habits, beliefs, feelings, thoughts, and emotions. As you move through the book, I’ll arm you with the tools and tactics you need to start bringing them out into the open so that you can work towards making a lasting change.

Chapter 1

What you need to know about alcohol