Work doesn't need to fall apart before it starts affecting our drinking.
It might be pressure that never really stops, dread on Sunday evening or a flat feeling when something we used to care about doesn’t seem to mean much anymore.
We still function, so we tell ourselves we're only tired or going through a busy period. Then a drink changes how we feel, and that becomes our answer to the same feelings the next night.
Why work can feel like a good reason to drink
If we say we've had a hard day, nobody is surprised when we have a drink. We may even be told we deserve one.
That makes it easy to treat alcohol as part of how we recover from work. We work hard, then we drink to come down. But the pattern can quietly change. We stop drinking because it has been a very difficult day and start drinking because it's the end of any workday.
And when anxiety or low mood is already there, the need for that quick change could feel even stronger.
What anxiety and depression may look like at work
Anxiety isn't always a panic attack. It could be checking emails late at night, going over the same decision, feeling tense before ordinary meetings or always expecting something to go wrong.
Depression isn't always obvious sadness either. We might feel flat, disconnected, irritable or unable to enjoy the work we used to like. Because we can still perform, we may not take any of it seriously. We just use more caffeine during the day and more alcohol at night.
Alcohol becomes part of the same problem
The first drink may slow the anxious feeling or give a flat evening a temporary lift.
But alcohol can also disturb sleep and leave us more anxious or low afterwards. The chemical anxiety cycle can make work pressure feel even harder the next day.
Then we may blame the job for everything we feel and use alcohol again to get away from it. Work might genuinely be part of the problem, and alcohol is making it worse too.
We don't always need to quit the career
When everything feels too much, we might imagine walking away from the business or job altogether.
Sometimes a work situation really does need to change. Other times, alcohol has made the pressure, sleep and mood so tangled that we can't see clearly what needs changing. Once alcohol is out of the way, it's easier to work out what the job is really doing to us. We may still need firmer limits, fewer hours, a difficult conversation or a bigger decision. At least we're making it with a clearer head.
When it needs more than a work change
Alcohol can cause or worsen anxiety and depression, but it isn't the only cause. If anxiety or low mood continues, gets worse or makes daily life hard to manage, it's worth speaking with a doctor or qualified mental health professional.
And if we feel unsafe or think we might harm ourselves, we need urgent help through local emergency or crisis services. We don't need to decide whether work, alcohol or something else caused every feeling. We can stop adding alcohol to the problem and get help with whatever is still there.
— Brent