Calls for Mindful St Patrick’s Day Celebrations

0:00A bit more people in Ireland reflecting on the relationship with alcohol, St. Patrick's Day offers an opportunity to celebrate in a different way. So to discuss the growing shift towards moderation and how people can approach the bank hold in with greater awareness, I'm joined by the Manager of Bushy Parkediction Treatment Centre, May for me knew to serve a Santos, May for a very good morning to you. Good morning, Ireland. Thank you for having me on. No, I appreciate you making time for us and St. Patrick's Day, stating the obvious may have traditionally seen as a big celebration in Ireland. From your perspective though, how, even if there is a change, perhaps a changing mood in Ireland towards moderation and we'll touch on that maybe in just a bit, how closely is St. Patrick's Day linked with alcohol in our culture? Oh yeah, absolutely, I think there's a very strong link. I think that St. Patrick's Day, although you know it is a wonderful day for us to celebrate our heritage and our culture, I think that traditionally we have, it has also been associated with increase in binge drinking and drinking culture and that perhaps met much of the celebrations and circulation around the pop and alcohol relation events, you know, and I think that

1:07that's kind of common sense that people would accept that. I suppose we're just looking at the weekend ahead as well and we have some, you know, spoiling events as well that might also increase, so I think we're potentially heading into a long weekend, a bank holiday, where there could be certainly excessive drinking as part of this celebration. And we've certainly chatted before, Maeve, on morning focus about the changing attitude in Ireland towards our relationship with drink and maybe I think of the past we focused on, maybe that's common predominantly from the younger generation, but new research and drink aware, showing that more people, maybe regardless of age, reflecting on the relationship with alcohol, it suggests over a third of drinkers would actually like to drink less often. I wonder how much that surprises you or you find pleasing to some degree. Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think it's very, very positive and I do think that the drink aware drink baramecha is a good sense of where people's attitude towards, you know,

2:12problem drinking and excessive drinking is being drinking. Yeah, you quite rightly say, Alan, that there is an increase in all cash degrees with 36 percent of drinkers saying they'd like to drink less often. And additionally, two and three adults feeling comfortable choosing no more low alcohol drinks. And I think that that's a significant shift culturally. Furthermore, they say that they don't like socializing with people when they're drunk. And I think that that's a real kind of a very positive shift in our, in our relationship, with drink. I think that the drink aware campaign, the here is to change. I think it's quite positive. It's not necessarily, you know, asking people to look at, you know, not drinking at all, but that may be making choices at work for them. And that might mean just drinking less, or choosing alcohol for all ternishes. You know, so it's all positive. And as you flag, I think our younger people are definitely more open to behaviors that would support moderation.

3:16And I think a real, you know, kind of a health focus in that and being aware of the health implications of excessive drinking, you know, so that's all very positive. I suppose though, regardless of whether generally all year round or mostly around, there is more of the leaning towards moderation, you know, same Patrick's weekend as you touched on, or even big sporting occasions, you know, maybe if this weekend we, we, we beat Scotland and if somehow England or the recent form suggests, it might be difficult to do as a favour and beat France and things work in our favour, stats wise and we win the six nations. And you know, those kind of occasions can come with an expectation to go all out and some may find that kind of social pressure quite difficult. Absolutely. I think, I think there's, there's, there's, there's certainly, I certainly would agree with you on that. And I think that the, the drinkware research would back that up also. I mean, very interesting. They're saying from their website is that 17% of adult drinkers noted that bank holidays led them to increase their

4:20alcohol consumption. And then when it came to major sporting events, that 14% of adult drinkers led to an increase in their alcohol consumption. And if we look at the men, that goes up to 21%. So those, those, those statistics are quite significant, Alan. So I suppose we're not to mention in this that we do, we do our bank holiday celebrations and our major sporting events do tend to still, as it is at the moment, still revolve around alcohol. So I think that's why the campaign such as here is to change is really positive. You know, it's, it's really promoting more mindful drinking. That's not necessarily, you know, you know, that if you're watching, if you're out watching sports or if you're out celebrating same Patrick's Day that you would focus on the game or, you know, that the parade rather than the drinks, you know. So that's all, that's, that's, I think that's within everybody's control. That's something that I think we'd all benefit hugely from. And in terms of that phrase mindful drinking, is that really what it means made that you're focusing more on the particular event than the drinking or coupled with that,

5:25does it mean thinking about each drink you have or how many you intend to have and knowing when to draw a line, Andrew? Yeah, I mean, for me, for me, I think it's a, it's a very helpful concept. You know, if we look at it for all of us who do consume alcohol, it isn't, it isn't necessarily about, you know, complete abstinence necessarily, but it might be just actively asking yourself when you're taking a drink, you know, without judgment, why am I, why am I having a drink? Do I really want this drink? And, and perhaps in some cases, we're drinking this lead to negative outcomes. So I think overall that, you know, how do people individually to, to form a healthier relationship with alcohol, you know? And that certainly has knock on effects for people's health. And I suppose what we're talking about, Alan, is, perhaps not people who are struggling with an alcohol addiction or, you know, they're, they're alcohol uses is incredibly problematic and causing huge negative consequences.

6:28I think the drink mindfully campaign encompasses everybody who, who takes the drink and who, you know, who uses alcohol, you know, regularly or so much. So Dave, in terms of tips and advice, then what can a small steps can people take if they want to enjoy the celebrations, but avoid overdoing it? What are some practical tips for them to keep that consumption alcohol under control? Yeah, I think fundamentally, Alan, it's all about just having an awareness around it. And I think, you know, there's some really practical tips that drink aware of around just setting a personal limit before you go out. And so if you, you know, if you're, you're, you're, you're almost proactive in terms of saying, look at this is how much I'm going to drink today or tonight and, and, and sticking to that. And, and some helpful ways of, of maybe kind of sticking to that without, you know, you know, what's so been able to enjoy your drink is perhaps alternating alcoholic drinks with water or a no alcohol option. And certainly,

7:29you know, they would recommend that people would eat before and during drinking and that that might in some way also lessen kind of the negative impact of, of, of excessive drinking. I suppose it's about really just planning ahead and, you know, maybe considering a sober event or a daytime event that can be equally enjoyable. And I think going back to the mindful drinking, just thinking about your reason for drinking. I think all of these things just really support people to make positive choices and build a healthier relationship with alcohol by drinking less. If someone feels their drinking has become a problem, what signs should they look out for and where can people turn for support if they're concerned, obviously, yourselves, but I'm sure there are other services too. Absolutely. And Alan, I think if, if, if, if a person was out there and they were, you know, getting concerned about their drinking behavior, perhaps it becomes a

8:30little bit of a preoccupation or they struggle to, you know, socialize or plan events that without alcohol being present, and perhaps their relationships are starting to be impacted, you know, perhaps their, their, their drinking is leading them to get in trouble with friends or family members. You know, they might be, you know, there might be an impact in terms of their work and ability to attend work. I think if, if, if you're worried about your drinking, I think, it's, it's, it's great to explore it. We, we offer a residential treatment, as you know, here in Bushy Park, but we are quite blessed in the Midwest to have some excellent community-based services such as the Integrated Alcohol Service and the HSC Drug and Alcohol Service. And both of which are very accessible and, you know, provide counts that no project work supports for people who are perhaps wanting to reduce their drinking or perhaps wanting to help stay entirely.

9:33Yeah, so, so, so, so, yeah. So I think reaching out is always the first step and some people might find that difficult. And I suppose I'd like to also say that, you know, sometimes family members can be impacted by other people's drinking and that, not necessarily, their family members in a place where they would like to reach out for help, but I would like to say that, um, we, we at Bushy Park, we do support family members who are impacted by their loved ones and drinking, drug use or gambling. And that, uh, service is entirely free of charge and is entirely independent of whether their loved one is, is ready to reach out for support as well. Okay, we do have to leave it there, but Maeve, I was appreciate you joining us on the show and we wish you an early happy St. Patrick's Day and hope you enjoyed the celebrations. Thanks for being with us on the show. Thank you, Alan. That's it. Thank you. That's Maeve from Inuit to Silver Santos, the manager of Bushy Park Addiction Treatment Center.