COVID-19 has touched all our lives, increasing social isolation, boredom, anxiety and the stresses of caring and home schooling alongside the loss of familiar routines and structure to our days. This has led to many of us drinking more alcohol, more often.

If you have been drinking more, then you are not alone, The Global Drug Survey has just published its Special Edition on COVID-19. Almost half (48%) of survey respondents said they have increased the amount of alcohol they drink during the pandemic.

If you are worried about your drinking or even just curious, take this drinking quiz to see if it’s likely to be affecting your health. Lots of us drink more than we realise. Check how healthy your drinking is with this quick quiz.

If your score is 15 or more, you should have a look at our website as you would benefit from cutting back. If your score is 20 or more, you are at risk of alcohol dependence and we strongly advise you to speak to your GP or contact our specialist services that are all listed here to seek support to reduce your drinking.

Are you worried about someone’s drinking?
If you’re worried about someone’s drinking there are a number of ways you can seek advice. Adfam has a range of resources available for families on their website.

Alcohol services in Calderdale are still active and can be accessed online or by calling Calderdale Recovery Steps on 01422 415550, or The Basement Project on 01422 383063.

Calderdale in Recovery (our local recovery community) also offers a confidential peer to peer support phone line staffed by volunteers in recovery from addiction. Volunteers are not trained professionals but have lived experience and will signpost to appropriate support. The telephone number to contact them on is 07541 021553.