Alcohol and Me: A Different Question
An Aviation Psychology Reflection on Alcohol Awareness Week
An Aviation Psychology Reflection on Alcohol Awareness Week
This year's Alcohol Awareness Week carries the theme "Alcohol and me". It invites us to reflect on the role alcohol plays in our own lives.
One of the things I find interesting about working with pilots and other aviation professionals is that they very rarely ask for help because of alcohol.
They come because they're exhausted.
Or they're struggling to sleep.
Or they've lost confidence.
Or they're feeling anxious.
Or they simply tell me they don't feel like themselves anymore.
Sometimes alcohol enters the conversation later.
Not because they're drinking excessively, but because alcohol has quietly become part of how they recover. To me, that's often a more robust indicator that something needs attention than the number of units someone consumes.
Looking beyond the rules
Most aviation professionals understand the rules around alcohol extremely well. Being fit to fly is one of the fundamental responsibilities of every pilot and, thankfully, the overwhelming majority take that responsibility extremely seriously.
Very occasionally something goes badly wrong and it makes the headlines. Those cases rightly attract attention because of the potential consequences for safety.
Fortunately, that isn't what most of us see in day-to-day aviation.
Modern aviation increasingly recognises the value of seeking help early. Across the industry there are now confidential support services, occupational health teams, peer support programmes and well-established recovery pathways designed to support people before concerns become safety issues.
Most of the people I work with aren't drinking irresponsibly. They're drinking legally, safely and without any discernible impact on their work. What interests me is something rather different. If alcohol has quietly become part of the way someone recovers from work, it's worth asking whether it's actually doing the job they've recruited it to do.
That's the reflection I'd like to encourage during Alcohol Awareness Week. Not how much alcohol people drink, but what role it has quietly come to play.
Alcohol isn't just a drink
One of the reasons alcohol is such an interesting topic is that it isn't simply a drink.
It's often part of how we connect with other people.
Reach the hotel after a day's flying and it's not unusual for the first question to be:
"Who's coming down for a drink?"
Meet friends to watch the football.
A summer barbecue.
A glass of wine in the garden after work.
A birthday celebration.
None of those situations are inherently problematic. In fact, they're often enjoyable because they involve something much more important than alcohol itself: human connection.
That's one reason I think conversations about alcohol can become unnecessarily polarised. We can end up asking whether drinking is "good" or "bad" instead of recognising that, for many of us, alcohol has become woven into the rituals of relaxation, celebration and friendship.
Those everyday moments are simply worth noticing.
What job have you recruited alcohol to do?
Sometimes the answer is celebration.
Sometimes it's simply because a cold beer in the sunshine is enjoyable.
Neither of those particularly worries me.
What interests me clinically is when the answer begins to sound something like:
I need to switch my brain off.
I can't unwind without it.
I need something to help me sleep.
Those are very different reasons.
They suggest alcohol is no longer just a drink.
It's becoming part of the way someone manages the transition from being "on duty" to being "off duty".
Decompression isn't always recovery
If we're asking alcohol to help us unwind, sleep better, recover from work or leave a difficult day behind, it's worth asking whether it's actually achieving those things.
Alcohol may create a short-lived feeling of relaxation or make it easier to fall asleep, but the evidence suggests it can also reduce sleep quality and the restorative value of that sleep.
In other words, it may feel as though it's helping us recover while quietly reducing the quality of that recovery.
That doesn't mean alcohol is inherently a problem.
It simply means it's worth asking whether it's really doing the job we've recruited it to do.
Final thoughts
Aviation doesn't become safer because we're good at dealing with crises. It becomes safer because we notice things early, understand them properly and take proportionate action before they develop into bigger problems.
I think the same principle applies to psychological wellbeing.
During Alcohol Awareness Week, perhaps the most useful question isn't:
"How much do I drink?"
Perhaps it's:
"What role has alcohol quietly come to play in my life?"
If the answer is simply, "I enjoy sharing a drink with friends," that's one thing.
If the answer is that alcohol has become your main way of switching off, unwinding or moving from being "on duty" to being "off duty", it may simply be worth asking whether it's really doing the job you've recruited it to do.
That's the reflection I'd like to encourage.