ADHD and alcohol: noticing your pattern and knowing where help is

What this guide does and does not do

This guide is about noticing a pattern and knowing where help is. It does not treat alcohol problems, and it does not tell you whether alcohol is safe with your medicines. Those questions belong with a doctor, a pharmacist or an alcohol service. If you are worried right now, the last section lists where to get help.

What the research says

A 2011 meta-analysis pooled long-term studies that followed children with and without ADHD into adolescence or adulthood. Children with ADHD were more likely to go on to develop alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and other substance use disorders. They were not more likely to have ever tried alcohol. The difference was in problems, not in first use.

That is an association. It does not show that ADHD causes drinking problems, and it does not say what happens to any one person. But the risk is real enough to be worth an honest look at your own pattern.

See the real pattern

Memory is a poor record of drinking. Evenings blur, a glass poured at home is often bigger than a pub measure, and a hard week feels like an exception every week. The book's approach to health operations applies here: get the facts outside your head, where you can look at them on a calm day.

For two weeks, write down each drink at the time you have it, not the next morning. Note three things:

• What and how much. The size and strength matter. The NHS units page explains how to count units for different drinks.
• When. Day and time.
• What was happening. Alone or with others, after a hard message, to wind down, to get to sleep, because it was there.

Do not try to change anything during the two weeks. The aim is to see, not to perform.

Compare it with the guidance

UK NHS guidance advises men and women not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis. If you regularly drink that much, spread it over three or more days. If you want to cut down, have several drink-free days each week. Other countries publish their own guidance, and you can use your own national health service's figures in the same way.

Lower risk is not the same as no risk, and the guidance is for adults in general. If you are pregnant, have a health condition or take medicines, ask a doctor or pharmacist what applies to you.

Look at the when and why

The context notes often say more than the totals. A pattern of drinking after hard messages, to switch off after a long day, or to fall asleep is information. It points at a need, such as an end to the working day, a way to come down after conflict, or sleep, that may be met in other ways, with help if needed.

If drinking is your way of handling sleep, see a doctor about the sleep. If it follows hard moments, that is worth naming to a doctor or therapist too. Noticing the pattern does not replace professional help when drinking has become a problem.

Current

Two-week count done: most drinking is weekday evenings after work.

Next

Book a GP appointment and bring the count.

Check

Friday, once the appointment is booked.

Signs worth raising with a doctor

Talk to a doctor if any of these sound familiar:

• you often drink more than you planned;
• you have tried to cut down and could not;
• you need a drink to cope, or to start the day;
• drinking causes problems at work, at home, with money or with people close to you;
• you have shaky, sweaty, sick or anxious mornings that ease after a drink.

You do not need to be sure it is a problem before you ask. If shame is keeping you from asking, shame makes ADHD avoidance worse explains why the delay tends to grow.

Do not stop suddenly if you might be dependent

If you drink heavily every day, or have withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, sweating, nausea or anxiety when you go without, do not stop overnight on your own. NHS guidance says that stopping suddenly could be harmful if you are physically dependent. Get advice from a doctor or alcohol service first; they can help you stop safely.

Seizures, hallucinations or severe shaking during withdrawal are an emergency. In the UK call 999. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.

Where to get help

• In the UK: start with your GP and be honest about how much you drink. There are also free local alcohol services, Drinkline, the national alcohol helpline on 0300 123 1110, and mutual aid groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery. Families and friends can find support through Al-Anon.
• Elsewhere: a family doctor, your national health service or a local alcohol service can point you to support.

Tell whoever prescribes your ADHD medication how much you drink. They need it to give you safe advice.