Drugs, Alcohol or Gambling

Around half of adults in the UK use alcohol at least once a week, and many of us will experiment with drugs or gamble at some point in our lives.

Other behaviours, such as shopping, gaming, sex and food are mostly an enjoyable part of our everyday lives. But any of these things can potentially become addictive and lead to problems in someone’s life. An addiction is a substance (like alcohol) or a behaviour (like gambling) that you can’t stop doing, taking or using, even though it is causing serious problems for you, or for the people around you.

Addictions can harm your physical and mental health, your relationship with family and friends, how much money you have, your studies or your job.

Substances such as drugs and alcohol change the way our body and mind work. Some drugs make you wake up and make you want to party (stimulants), and others relax you or make you forget things (depressants).

People may use drugs for different reasons. For example, to feel relief from pain, to feel energetic, or to help them feel relaxed and calm. Some people use drugs and alcohol to block out difficult emotions or make themselves feel better.

By using drugs or alcohol to deal with difficulties, it is likely to become a problem that could seriously affect your life.

How do I know when it’s becoming a problem?

How can you tell when your gaming, shopping, or alcohol drinking might be a problem? Here are some warning signs to look out for:

• having mood swings
• not being able to stop what you’re doing when you try to
• tiredness
• what you’re doing has started to get in the way of your work or studies
• finding it hard to concentrate
• hiding what you’re doing or lying about it
• not looking after how you look or keeping clean as much as you used to.

If you’re worried gambling, drugs or alcohol is harming you or people around you, or worried you might have an addiction, talk to someone you trust and let them know how you’re feeling. You can also check out our Get Help Now section below.

Top tips

If you are planning to drink alcohol or use drugs, try to stay safe:

• Start low and go slow. Pace yourself when drinking alcohol, to minimise the risk of overdose. Drinking a large amount of alcohol can be just as risky as drinking alcohol daily.
• Avoid mixing drugs and alcohol. Mixing drugs and alcohol can have unpredictable side effects and put additional strain on your body.
• Know what you’re taking. Make sure you know the dose and possible side effects of drugs before taking them.
• Make sure someone is there to look out for you. If you are using alone, tell someone where you are and what you are doing, or make sure you have a friend who isn’t drinking or using drugs if you are using in a group. It will mean someone can help if it goes wrong.
• Keep hydrated. Aim to sip a pint of water over an hour, particularly if you are dancing.
• Protect yourself. If someone you don’t know well is offering you a free drink or drugs, ask yourself what they might want in return.

If you think gambling may be causing you harm:

• Talk to someone you trust. Keeping your worries secret makes it harder to deal with them.
• Walk away from losses. Chasing losses often ends up only losing you more money.

• Set time limits to avoid losing track of the time you spend gambling. Plan another activity to do when your time is up.
• Try not to gamble when you are upset or stressed. Making decisions is typically more difficult and you may be more likely to take risks.