Carol Decker health: ‘It’s so easy to indulge yourself’ – dangers of alcohol
Chris Evans reveals he's given up drinking alcohol midweek
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“My biggest vice is alcohol,” said Carol Decker. “I would say that I’ve gotten myself into some bad states with booze.” During lockdown, she “tried to get some kind of help”. “I find at the end of the day when I put my feet up, if I can’t have a large glass of wine, my life just isn’t worth living,” she said. The mum-of-two – to Scarlett, 22, and Dylan, 18 – admitted that she had to “learn not to drink to excess”.
“It’s so easy to indulge yourself and it’s available in the supermarkets, it’s everywhere, isn’t it,” Carol stated.
Carol considers drinking alcohol as a “release”; she explained: “I don’t want to be logical, I know it isn’t good for me, I don’t care.”
Carol quipped that she feels “kind of stuck with it” nowadays, but it’s something she enjoys.
“I do enjoy it,” she emphasised. “I don’t know how to celebrate, socialise, relax, commiserate and accept defeat without it.”
The dangers of alcohol
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that alcohol use can lead to disease.
Drinking too much alcohol can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive issues.
Alcohol consumption has also been linked to different types of cancer, including:
- Breast cancer
- Mouth cancer
- Throat cancer
- Oesophagus cancer
- Liver cancer
- Colon cancer
- Rectum cancer
Drinking too much can also weaken the immune system, can worsen depression and anxiety, and can cause learning and memory issues.
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The NHS recommends people to drink less than 14 units of alcohol per week to be on the safer side.
The dangers of alcoholism
Drinkaware stated alcoholism is the “strong, often uncontrollable, desire to drink”.
Signs of alcoholism might include:
- A lack of interest in previously normal activities
- Appearing intoxicated more regularly
- Needing to drink more in order to achieve the same effects
- Appearing tired, unwell or irritable
- An inability to say no to alcohol
- Anxiety, depression or other mental health problems
- Becoming secretive or dishonest
The first step in treating alcoholism is acknowledging there is a problem.
Following on from that, the charity advises to seek help from your GP who can refer you to a specialist.
Other alcohol support services are available, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
The service is free and there’s no waiting list – you can call AA’s helpline on 0800 9177 650.
A doctor will diagnose alcoholism when three or more of the following have been present together in the past year:
- An overwhelming desire to drink
- An inability to stop or to control harmful drinking
- Withdrawal symptoms when stopping drinking
- Evidence of alcohol tolerance
- Pursuing the consumption of alcohol to the exclusion of alternative pleasures
- Continuing to drink despite clear evidence of harmful consequences.
Carol Decker will be on ITV’s The Chase Celeb Special on Saturday, May 29 at 5pm.
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