Adrian Chiles first tasted beer at the age of 14. What the popular TV presenter’s former self could not have predicted at the time was that this event would foretell an unhealthy relationship with alcohol for decades. The presenter charts his journey to sobriety in his new book The Good Drinker.
Speaking on ITV‘s Good Morning Britain, Chiles revealed the extent of his excess.
He would drink 36 units of alcohol a day – that’s more than double what men and women are recommended to drink in a week.
Part of the problem stems from the way alcohol consumption is framed by the medical community, Chiles said.
“We have this idea of the ‘alcoholic’ or ‘alcoholism’, which implies it’s a disease which we have or haven’t got.”
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He started to look more lucidly at the problem: “The first drink gives you a change of emotional state – you feel good.
“Every subsequent drink you then have is a fruitless attempt to recreate the first drink. I became mindful of that.”
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The physical toll it was taking on his body also drove him to recovery.
“I suffered from anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, reflux stuff. All those things have improved.”
Those dark days are behind Chiles now but he keeps his relationship with alcohol in mind’s eye.
“The problem with moderation is that it’s always a work in progress,” he explained.
“You don’t know where it starts or ends.”
If you’re concerned about your drinking or someone else’s, a good first step is to see a GP, says the NHS.
The Good Drinker by Adrian Chiles (Profile, £14.99)
Source: Daily Express
