Are you a ‘grey area’ drinker – and is that bad?
You’re not an alcoholic but find it hard to not drink for any length of time. Here’s why you might be a grey area drinker – and how to turn that around.
Sarah Rusbatch remembers when she knew her relationship with alcohol had to change.
“After a night out for a friend’s 40th, I woke up to my then five-year-old daughter saying, ‘Mummy, what happened to your face?’
“Then I remembered that hours before, I’d been leaning down to put a cigarette out and lost my balance – and because I was drunk, fell forward and landed on my face, cutting open my nose and my lips.
“It was a wake-up call – I knew I couldn’t drink that way anymore.”
It was also a moment that would eventually lead Sarah to not only become alcohol-free, but to retrain as a sobriety and grey area drinking coach.
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So, what is grey area drinking?
A grey area drinker consumes more than a moderate amount of alcohol and has difficulty abstaining from alcohol for any length of time but doesn’t meet the official criteria or description of an alcoholic.
To understand it, Sarah says, it’s useful to think of a scale from one to 10.
“One is someone who rarely drinks – maybe has a glass of champagne at a wedding.
“At the other end of the scale, a 10 is someone who’d need medical support if they wanted to stop drinking.
“A grey area drinker sits somewhere between a five and an eight.”
Who is grey area drinking?
A quarter of Australians – or five million of us – drank more alcohol in 2020-2021 than the government’s recommended alcohol guidelines.
Men were more likely than women to exceed the guidelines.
However, an Australian study released in early 2022 also shows middle-aged women are drinking at increasingly risky levels, with one in five now drinking at “binge drinking” levels, a significant increase since 2001.
Study co-author Dr Cassandra Wright, from Menzies School of Health Research, says there are a number of reasons for that statistic, including juggling multiple roles leads to heightened stress.
“Previous research from our team has shown that many women of this age group are drinking as a form of reward and to provide relief and ‘time out’ from extensive work and childcare responsibilities,” Dr Wright says.
Concerningly, alcohol may be more “risky” for women.
“Women experience alcohol harms more quickly and at lower levels of consumption than men,” Dr Wright says.
“We have to remember that alcohol use is associated with more than 200 diseases and conditions, so this does mean more women experiencing harms.”
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Signs you’re in the grey zone
Sarah says there are a few ways to identify if you’re a grey area drinker.
“These include if you’ve given yourself rules around drinking, such as no drinking on certain days of the week, or if your drinking negatively impacts you the next day, but despite this, you continue to do it,” she says.
“Routinely drinking more than you intended to or if the thought of not drinking for a week or a month seems like it’d be really challenging are also red flags.
“Most grey drinkers will also subconsciously know that their drinking has entered that problematic zone, and may have started having conversations in their heads about their alcohol consumption.”
How to turn things around
If you’re keen to improve your relationship with alcohol, Sarah says taking a break from it is the first step.
Here are some strategies to help you achieve that.
Try giving up alcohol for a month
“Commit to going alcohol-free for 30 days, seeing it as an experiment and being curious about what might happen,” Sarah says.
“And again, if you find staying alcohol-free a challenge during those 30 days, pay attention to that.”
Notice what you gain
This is all about seeing the upsides, “not what you’re giving up”, Sarah says.
“This could be anything from more energy to saving money, losing weight, increased productivity at work, a better night’s sleep and being more present with your friends and family.”
Find a replacement for alcohol
“My ethos is if we’re removing alcohol, what are we adding in to replace it?” Sarah says.
“A big part of what I teach is building a toolkit so that you’ve got 100 other things you can do instead of reaching for an alcoholic drink.”
Don’t withdraw from society
“If taking a break from alcohol means you don’t socialise, you’re going to feel lonely and miserable – and then you’ll associate being alcohol-free with those feelings,” Sarah says.
“It’s really important to keep doing things.
“It may just mean organising different types of gatherings so you can also avoid being the only person at the pub amongst your friends who isn’t drinking.”
Learn from and lean on others
“There are so many incredible books and podcasts out there, and that’s what really helped me in the beginning,” Sarah shares.
“It’s also crucial to find a community of like-minded people so you know you’re not alone.”
Sarah runs alcohol-free challenges, which come complete with a supportive and connected community.
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Written by Karen Fittall.
