After-Work Wine: The Dangers of Drinking to Cope with Stress
published January 23, 2023
Photo by Denis Sousa on Unsplash
by Mia Barnes
Teaching is a difficult and often undervalued occupation and stress levels are on the rise. A recent survey of school staff in the UK showed 87% of school leaders “experienced poor mental health because of their work.”
Long hours on your feet imparting knowledge to a room full of toddlers or teens can take its toll on even the strongest-willed individuals. Teachers must be role models, educators and disciplinarians and offer emotional support for their students. Educators are multifaceted, with myriad responsibilities that are often ridiculed rather than praised. The passion most teachers possess for their craft pushes them to work harder, which can lead to negative coping mechanisms and burnout.
It isn’t surprising that many teachers turn to unhealthy coping strategies. Many occupations — like teaching — induce high stress levels that encourage drinks after work.
Winding down with a nice glass of red can calm your nerves and make you feel less stressed. However, having more than one glass may be flirting with danger.
Here are some of the risks of drinking to unwind and how to identify if you, or a friend or a colleague, may be struggling with alcoholism.
The Serious Health Consequences
of Excessive Drinking
Excessive alcohol use can have adverse effects on both mental and physical health. Drinking can lead to impaired judgment and memory loss and can affect even the healthiest relationships, not to mention job performance.
In the short-term, drinking slows down reflexes, neural pathways and chemicals in your brain, causing memory and sleeping problems and affecting mood and balance.
The long-term effects of drinking are much more intense, which is why finding a healthier way to cope with stress is so important. Drinking too much alters your heart, digestive system and kidney and liver function. Chronic conditions that can occur from drinking excessively are alcohol hepatitis, reduced gray and white matter in your brain, liver fibrosis, cancer, stroke, steatosis, cardiomyopathy and others.
In addition, it can compromise your immune system, making fighting diseases more difficult.
How Much Is Too Much?
Besides the health issues that alcohol can cause, drinking to cope with stress can adversely affect all areas of your life, including your career. A glass of wine may help some teachers relax and detach from their workday. However, the amount that’s too much for women will differ from men since they metabolize alcohol differently.
Alcohol can seep through the pores hours after someone finishes drinking. If you can smell alcohol on a friend or colleague, they could be drinking more than they should. As a teacher, this can be seen as serious misconduct and affect one’s fitness to teach, students’ well-being and ultimately the job itself. Intoxication can make someone emotionally unavailable to those who need them.
Drinking after work to de-stress in a public setting can set a bad example to students and has the potential to cause reputational damage. Drinking at home to de-stress can manifest in the following workday if teachers are hungover. The lingering effects of alcohol can affect judgment, teaching ability, mood and emotional availability for students.
Natural Ways to De-Stress
When someone begins to build up a tolerance to alcohol and pouring a drink becomes an instinctual habit, that could be a red flag. Eliminating or cutting back on after-work drinks could help reset one’s tolerance level. It’s important to ind other ways to decompress after a stressful day, like jogging or practicing mindfulness meditation.
Physical activity has myriad benefits that can boost mood and improve health. Alcohol can weaken bones, whereas exercise can strengthen them.
Other natural ways to de-stress are practicing gratitude and finding a creative outlet to express oneself. This could include writing in a journal, painting, participating in crafts or finding other mediums to reduce stress and process emotions.
Leaning on loved ones for support can also lessen the desire to drink when someone is stressed. It takes strength to ask for help, but it’s worth it and has emotional benefits and advantages for both parties.
Notice and identify the emotions stress causes and breathe through them rather than trying to find a distraction. Be mindful of how it feels to inhale and exhale. — breathing exercises interrupt the stress response and allow you to regain control of the negative emotions and let them go. Even if it’s a momentary relief, that moment could stop you or your colleague from wanting a drink.
Look for Different Ways to Cope
Long hours of teaching, grading papers after work and the time and research spent to form syllabi, lesson plans and activities for the classroom are underappreciated and cause high stress. The pressure to perform and manage a classroom on top of meeting expectations from upper management, parents, governors and students is enough to drive anyone to unhealthy coping mechanisms like excessive drinking.
Having a drink or a glass of wine a few times a week to de-stress may be harmless. But when one glass turns into two or three, it could lead to problems. Health is essential and everyone should recognize it as a top priority. Excessive drinking isn’t a reward — it’s a punishment for the body.
If you think you may be drinking to excess or if you’re concerned about a friend or colleague, seek additional help. In addition to mindfulness and implementing healthy habits, explore possible treatment plans or call SAMHSA’s National Helpline, a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service. Be mindful of the daily actions you and other teachers use to cope with stress and don’t be afraid to reach out for support.
About the Author
Mia Barnes is a writer specializing in mental health and wellness. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Body+Mind Magazine and has also written about gaining clarity through mindfulness and meditation for The Mindful Word. She has previously written for Mindful Teachers on How Mindfulness Helps Addiction Recovery and 4 Ways Teachers Can Practice Mindfulness in a Busy Day.
Related Posts
There are many more resources here at MindfulTeachers.org on self-care for teachers and coping with stress and anxiety, including the following posts: