Change your drinking – without the shame

Maybe you’re not sure whether you have a “drinking problem”. You just know you’re drinking more than you want to, more often than you intended, and the promises you make to yourself about cutting down don’t seem to last.

Perhaps alcohol helps you switch your brain off, feel less socially awkward, cope with overwhelm or rejection, get through difficult feelings, or simply make being around other people easier.

Then there’s the next day: regret, anxiety, shame and another determined “Right. I’m definitely not doing that again.”

Until you do.

I offer shame-free support to help you understand your relationship with alcohol and make changes that work for you – whether you want to cut down, take a break or stop completely.

You don’t need to call yourself an alcoholic. You don’t need to hit rock bottom. And you definitely don’t need to wait until things get worse before you’re allowed to ask for help.

When ADHD, autism or AuDHD and alcohol get tangled up

For some neurodivergent people, alcohol isn’t just about having a good time. It can be a really effective coping strategy – until it isn’t.

Maybe it quietens a brain that never seems to shut up. It might take the edge off social anxiety, make masking easier, soften rejection or difficult emotions, or help you come down after a day of sensory overload and holding everything together.

If you’re ADHD, there can also be the pull of dopamine, impulsivity and “fuck it” decisions. You might genuinely intend to have one or two drinks and then find that once you’ve started, the plan has mysteriously disappeared.

If you’re autistic, alcohol might make social situations feel less exhausting or help you cope with the effort of monitoring yourself around other people. It can become part of the routine that signals “the difficult bit of the day is over now.”

And if you’re AuDHD, you may recognise bits of both – sometimes pulling in completely opposite directions.

None of this means there’s something wrong with you or that you’re simply lacking willpower. If alcohol is doing an important job for you, changing your drinking means understanding that job – and finding other ways to meet the need underneath it.

That’s something we can work on together.

Contact me for a confidential, judgement- and shame-free chat about what kind of support you’re looking for.

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As a registered BACP member, I work within the BACP Ethical Framework

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