Treating yourself to a pint or a glass of Sauvignon Blanc after work or enjoying a weekend drink with friends is a far cry from how most people imagine an alcoholic to be.
However, many women do not realize when their alcohol consumption becomes problematic without having already developed an alcohol addiction. In other words, these adults become “victims of alcohol consumption in a gray area.”
The number of alcohol abuse disorders among women has increased by 80 percent in the last 30 years.
Perth-based women's health coach and accredited gray zone drinking coach Sarah Rusbatch has explored the topic in her latest book, Beyond Booze, and developed a simple checklist to determine if you're a gray zone drinker.
Are you a gray area drinker? Gray Zone accredited drinking coach Sarah Rusbatch has developed a checklist to find out if you're a victim (stock image)
After developing a troubled relationship with alcohol in 2019, Sarah decided to quit alcohol. Despite the monumental leap, the author never looked back.
Now she has made it her mission to help others who struggle with gray area alcohol consumption and help them live an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Sarah has dedicated her journey to helping other women who are stuck in their previous predicament to live healthier, happier lives.
Are you a gray area drinker?
1. Are you worried about the amount of alcohol you drink?
2. Set rules for your alcohol consumption, e.g. B. how many drinks you can drink and how often?
3. Do you secretly worry about alcohol consumption and regret decisions and conversations you made while under the influence?
4. Does alcohol feel like it's stealing your life?
5. Are you always honest with others about how much you drink?
6. Do you take breaks from alcohol but later return to old habits?
- If you checked “yes” to even one of the questions above, Sarah says that’s a sign that you’re in the gray area of alcohol consumption.
She said: “Grey zone drinking describes people who consume more than a moderate amount of alcohol but do not meet the criteria for actual dependence.”
“Most don’t think they need help, but they recognize that their alcohol use is having a negative impact on their life in some way: physically, mentally, or both.”
She concluded: “Drinkers in the gray zone have moved past the point of 'take it or leave it' drinking and are using alcohol for something else – reward, relaxation, confidence, to unwind or to numb themselves from their emotions.”
This comes after a new report found British women are the biggest binge drinkers in the developed world, with one in four women getting hammered every month.
About 26 percent admit to consuming six or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion, with experts blaming a “ladette” and “wine-o-clock” culture.
This is more than double the average rate of 12 percent in the 33 countries analyzed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
British women were followed only by those from Denmark (26 percent), followed by Luxembourg (24 percent) and Germany (22 percent).
The OECD Health at a Glance 2023 report warns that alcohol increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, liver cirrhosis and certain cancers.
British men are the third biggest binge drinkers: 46 percent have drunk the equivalent of 60g of pure ethanol once in the last 30 days.
This puts them behind Romania (55 percent) and Denmark (49 percent) and the international average is 27 percent.
Addiction expert John Britton, an emeritus professor at the University of Nottingham, said: “These figures are extremely worrying.” The suffering is happening under our noses because alcohol remains an integral part of British society and everyday life, much like it was tobacco.
“In other countries, alcohol is used as a social lubricant – a way to make social occasions more enjoyable – rather than as a way to get legless, as is often the case here.”
“Too many people also turn to alcohol to relax at the end of a stressful work day when they should be looking for healthier alternatives.”
Latest figures show that Brits each drank the equivalent of 10 liters of pure ethanol – around 111 bottles of wine – in 2021. This is an increase from 9.9 liters in 2011.
Beyond Booze by Sarah Rusbatch (Murdoch Books, £16.99).