Every year, Alcohol Awareness Week serves as an important moment of reflection on how alcohol fits into our lives, how it affects our health, our relationships and our communities. This year’s theme is Alcohol and work, more information on this can be found here.
It’s a time to talk, listen and support one another without shame or judgment.
Starting the Conversation
One of the bravest things we can do, whether for ourselves or someone we love, is start a conversation about alcohol. This doesn’t mean pointing fingers or lecturing, it means asking “How are you really doing?” and being willing to sit with the answer.
Sometimes alcohol becomes a coping mechanism. Stress, trauma, loneliness, they often hide behind the smile we wear and the drinks we pour and that’s why awareness matters.
When we know we’re not alone, when support is easy to access and stigma is stripped away, real change can begin.
Support Comes in Many Forms
Whether you’re rethinking your relationship with alcohol, actively cutting back, or supporting someone who is, help is out there:
More information can be found on Alcohol Change UK
And sometimes, support is just a friend who listens and says, “I’m proud of you.”
Little Shifts, Big Impact
Changing our habits isn’t always about dramatic declarations. It’s about small wins, choosing a non-alcoholic drink at the pub, saying no without guilt, discovering how good clear-headed mornings feel. Celebrating those wins matters.
If you’re supporting someone else, offer patience and presence over advice. Healing rarely follows a straight path and just knowing someone cares can make the journey feel less daunting.
This Week, Let’s Choose Compassion
If you’re struggling, you’re not failing. You’re human and if you’re reading this and wondering if it’s time for a change, it probably is.
Don’t go it alone. There’s a whole community ready to lift you up. Let this week be a springboard, not to perfection, but to connection.
As part of our free 12-week, adult weight management programme Re-Shape, we share information on different topics, one of which is alcohol. Including calories in common drinks, working out your units and tips to help when drinking.
Did you know a standard glass of wine can contain up to 158 calories, and some pints of stronger lager can contain up to 222 calories? So, if you’re trying to lose weight you need to think about what you are drinking as well as what you are eating.
Drinking 4 bottles of 12% strength wine a month add up to a yearly consumption of up to 32,400kcal. Drinking 5 pints of 5.2% strength lager each week add up to 57,720kcal in a year.
Source: Information from the NHS website as at 08/07/2025: Calories in alcohol – NHS. Information from the NHS website is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
If you would like to find out more about our Re-Shape programme click here.
Or if you would like to become active, why not check out our Active Lives programme, find out more here.
Warning!
People who are clinically alcohol dependent can die if they suddenly, completely stop drinking.
If you experience fits, shaking hands, sweating, seeing things that are not real, depression, anxiety, or difficulty sleeping after a period of drinking and while sobering up, then you may be clinically alcohol dependent and should not suddenly, completely stop drinking.
But you can still take control of your drinking. Talk to a GP or your local community alcohol service who will be able to get help for you to reduce your drinking safely.
As we mark Alcohol Awareness Week, take a moment. Check in with yourself. And remember, every positive change starts with a conscious choice.
