Prevention Australia – June – July 2017

JUNE/JULY 2017 PREVENTION 89

HEALTH

like brain and liver damage and alcohol
dependence at lower levels of consumption.”
According to the Cancer Council, alcohol has
also been conclusively shown to cause breast
cancer in women, cancers of the mouth, pharynx,
larynx and oesophagus in everyone and it may
also be linked to liver cancer.
“The huge glasses used in most homes can
increase the risk because they carry 150ml to
200ml, instead of the standard 100ml serving
of wine,” cautions Kerry Armstrong, Senior
Research Fellow at the Queensland University
of Technology where she has been researching
women and alcohol.
“And that one standard serve is based on a
wine of 12 per cent when many reds and whites
are now closer to 14 or 15 per cent alcohol. So after
a seemingly harmless ‘two’ glasses a day, many
women have actually thrown back four standard
drinks, which means they are drinking at high risk.”

ARE THERE HEALTHIER WAYS TO UNWIND?
Meditation? Exercise? “Certainly,” says
Armstrong. “But most women are not going to
bust out the yoga video at 5pm when they need
to get dinner on the table.”
Breaking the cycle of reaching for painkillers
or chardonnays means coming up with new
strategies to cope with everyday life and those
daily stress-points that send you searching
through the bathroom cabinet or fridge.
Melbourne-based psychologist Meredith Fuller
advises a ‘big picture’ rethink. “This should involve

delegating and rosters so you get some help at

home, but that’s only the beginning,” she says.

Getting of the treadmill may also need you to

come to terms with making some big changes, so

your life is less stressful. “You may also need to

completely reconfigure your life and downscale

to a smaller house or job-share for a while or

refinance to alleviate the enormous stresses that

are often at the root of women’s substance use.”

A professional drug and alcohol counsellor

can help you sort through what’s needed to regain

the balance of more happiness and less stress in

your life.

“If people have chronic pain or issues like

anxiety, instead of self-medicating, it is important

they see specialists in those areas to explore a range

of lifestyle and other treatments that may help,”

says addiction specialist Dr Christian Rowan.

“Meanwhile, we need doctors, pharmacists,

the industry and the government to work together

to educate people about the appropriate use of

prescription and OTC drugs and alcohol and how

to recognise if you are self-medicating.”

Michelle Albert agrees. “I saw doctors about my

pain issues, but they never actually asked me how

many of these drugs I was taking.

“I would like to see big warnings put on the

packets of codeine-based painkillers to highlight

the risks of quickly becoming hooked on these

medications. Otherwise, like me, many women

may mistakenly think that because you can

buy these pills from the chemists, they can’t

do much harm.”

XThe main

organ

responsible

for removing

alcohol from

your body is

your liver,

which takes

about an hour

to get rid of one

standard drink.

XAlcohol

affects

the brain’s

cerebellum,

which controls

movement

and balance,

meaning

drinking makes

it hard to

move and stay

upright.

did

you

know?

DO... See your GP or a general

women’s health service for referral

to a drug and alcohol counsellor.

DO... Check out the NSW Health

website Your Room (yourroom.com.

au), which lists helplines for the Alcohol

Drug Information Service in each state,

or access the Turn to Help website at

turntohelp.com.au, an online support

network that helps people find addiction

specialists throughout Australia.

DO... Talk to friends about buddying

up to reduce alcohol intake with the

support of these online programs:

Hello Sunday Morning:

hellosundaymorning.org

Ocsober: ocsober.com.au

Dry July: dryjuly.com.au

DO... If someone you love has

a problem, support them by offering

to help them make a medical

appointment and offering to go

with them.

DON’T... Try to come off the pills

without the support of a medical

health professional and counsellor.

SEEKING HELP

If you suspect you may have a problem and need help you can

call Lifeline on 13 11 14. You can also consider the following: