Here’s another reason to try “Sober October” — a UK psychiatrist is warning about a “middle-aged drinking epidemic” that can raise the risk of cancer and even early death.
“I see many men and women in this category in my clinic,” Dr. Max Pemberton wrote Sunday in the Daily Mail.
“When I ask them about their drinking, they often fail to see they have a problem because things haven’t (yet) reached the stage where they physically depend on it — when the body becomes reliant on alcohol and the shakes kick in if they go without it,” he added.
Pemberton recommends undergoing the four-question CAGE assessment, a screening tool that may identify a substance abuse problem. CAGE — developed in 1968 by Dr. John Ewing, a psychiatry professor and addiction therapy clinician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — stands for Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty and Eye-opener.
- Cut down: Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
- Annoyed: Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
- Guilty: Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
- Eye-opener: Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?
“Answering ‘yes’ to two or more of these questions means there could be a problem that can’t simply be explained away as summer fun or rectified with Sober October,” Pemberton penned.
“Sober October” is similar to “Dry January” — they are monthlong challenges that encourage people to abstain from alcohol, which may improve their sleep and mental health, lead to weight loss, lower their blood pressure and help save money.
A quarter of Americans legally able to drink reported participating in Dry January this year, while Sober October is gaining traction around the world, especially among millennials.
Pemberton says partaking in this type of feat may reveal a problem that needs treatment.
“Reducing your alcohol intake is always a sensible thing, but if the first thing you do come the first of February or November is reach for the corkscrew then it’s a good indicator that a month off the booze isn’t going to fix things — and it could even be time to seek professional help,” Pemberton explained.
An estimated 29 million Americans — including about one in five middle-aged adults — are unable to stop or control their drinking despite major consequences.
New research suggests that no amount of alcohol is beneficial to your health — it can raise the risk of developing various cancers, liver disease, pancreatitis, brain damage, mental health struggles and sleep woes, among other problems.
