A new study from Emory University has found worse life outcomes for a specific type of drinker, and we’re not surprised.
The study looked at over 1,000 people and categorized them into three types of drinkers:
Those who drank at a low level continuously through adolescence and young adulthood
Those who showed a modest increase in alcohol intake from adolescence into adulthood
Those who showed a sharp increase in alcohol intake in the same time period
We’re guessing you can guess which group was worst off.
Turns out the third group was having a harder time in several areas of life:
Work conflict, including job-related motivation
Family conflict
Physical health, including sleep
Now, it may be that their drinking levels caused all these problems. Certainly, heavy drinking has been known to cause all three.
But the causation may also run the other way. If you are fighting with your family, struggling with anxiety and sleep deprivation, and unhappy in your work life, and if you haven’t developed strong sober coping skills to deal with the difficulties of everyday life, you may be more likely to feel you “need” a substance to get through the day.
If you’re looking to cut back or quit drinking, we’d love to help. Drinker’s Helper is an app that provides motivational exercises (like those about anxiety and depression), drink tracking and insights into why you drink, and a support group of your peers to help you make needed changes. Try it free for a week before joining!
