Home > There is little comfort in alcohol: foster healthy coping tools that will last long beyond Covid-19.

Alcohol Action Ireland, Mental Health Ireland. (2020) There is little comfort in alcohol: foster healthy coping tools that will last long beyond Covid-19. Alcohol Action Ireland blog,

External website: https://alcoholireland.ie/little-comfort-alcohol-f...


Alcohol Action Ireland provides a set of advice guidelines to help people understand the risk of turning to alcohol in these difficult times. This advice, developed with Mental Health Ireland, comes at a time when the alcohol off-trade business is reporting exceptional sales as people look to stock-up with excessive amounts of alcohol at home.

  •  Stay within the weekly low-risk alcohol guidelines 
  •  Look after your mental health & wellbeing 
  •  Stick to routines 
  •  Find alcohol-free ways to manage in these tough times? 
  •  Take a break from the 24-hour news cycle

Help is still available 

There are useful self-help strategies at Ask About Alcohol which go through the steps of deciding to change, planning to change and actually changing drinking behaviour.

If you are currently in recovery or indeed would like to access individual help for the first time, you may be concerned about how you will receive it under ‘physical distancing’ conditions.  There are lots of great options for receiving support online or over the phone:

  • The HSE Drug and Alcohol Helpline and email support service is open Monday to Friday 9.30am -5.30pm and is available at 1800 459 459 and at helpline@hse.ie.
  • Some AA meetings are still going ahead and you can check them by calling the contact number for your area as listed on the Alcoholics Anonymous website www.alcoholicsanonymous.ie/
  • There are also online meetings through www.smartrecovery.org
  • Al Anon helpline – For people troubled by someone else’s drinking is open every day 10am – 10pm, Call (01) 8732699 Email info@alanon.ie and online at www.alanon.ie 

For mental health support, the HSE’s new phone service gives information about different supports and services available and how to access them. The number is 1800 742 444.

The Samaritans can be contacted 24/7 either by phone on free to call 116 123, or by email to jo@samaritans.ie.

[Online resources]

Alcohol Change UK: Coronavirus information hub

Adfam: Briefing: Alcohol and domestic abuse in the context of Covid-19 restrictions

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