June 28, 2024 • 8 mins
With Dry July kicking off in a couple days, Dougal Sutherland believes it's a good time for people to think about their alcohol consumption.
It’s a stressful time at the moment, with a cost of living crisis, workplace stresses, and drastic weather, and when times are stressful, people tend to turn to “unhealthy” coping mechanisms.
Dougal Sutherland joined Jack Tame to chat about the telltale signs that someone’s alcohol consumption may be becoming problematic, and a few tips for those thinking of taking on Dry July.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It's the twenty ninth of June, this Martariki weekend, which
means we are a day away from being halfway through
the year. That's insane, isn't it. It also means that
we're about to start July, and for many kiwiks, July
is an opportunity to take a bit of a pause
when it comes to drinking. Doogle Sutherland from Umbrella Well
(00:33):
Being as our clinical psychologist who's with us this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Counter Doogle, you're a jack happy happy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Martariki to you. Did you did you catch up with
your better half this week? Bony chance?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I did. She said she'd bumped into you, or perhaps
I don't know, bumping into your quite the right to
made herself known, to get her own celebrity.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Celebrity is a bit of a street. But it was
so nice. I was so just for our listeners and
unaware of us I was. I was standing on the
side of the street on Moldsworth Street outside outside the
Beehive the other day and a very friendly person came
up to me and said Hi Jack, Hi Jack, Hi Jack,
And I said hi and I did that thing with
just for a second, I searched her face subconsciously thinking
(01:17):
do I know that this person? I'm not sure, and
she said, oh, I'm really sorry. I'm Google Sutherland's wife.
So there you go. It was lovely, lovely to speak
with her.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, she texts me since she'd seen.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, yeah, small world. Anyway, Dry July in a couple
of days, and it is a really good opportunity, whether
or not you are participating in Dry July or otherwise,
to pause and take stock a little bit of alcohol use.
And it is just an incredibly stressful moment in time
right now, and it's kind of understandable that lots of
(01:49):
people might be drinking a bit more than they would
like to be. But yeah, you know, the stress of
this moment, whether it's the economy or anything else, can
lead to some pretty you know, unhealthy behaviors.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Right, Yeah, absolutely, I mean yeah, even without the whole
drive your life thing, it's just as you say, very
it's a stressful time for lots of people. And when
we know that when people are stressed, they sort of
and we can all do this, we can kind of
slip into unhealthy behaviors. You know, you eat a bit
more junk food than you want to, you perhaps don't
(02:24):
exercise as much. And the other thing I guess is
that you can end up just gradually drinking a bit
more and a bit more and a bit more than
maybe is ideally good for you.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, it can be a bit of a bit of
a slippery slow pain. And I think you know, and
I'm saying this from personal experience, like some of those
behaviors are kind of self rewarding, right, Like you say,
I just need to relax, or I've got through the
week and it's a reward, or you know whatever else.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean I think we often do that.
We kind of justify our alcohol use by going, oh, well,
you know, it has been tough, and I just need
this to unwine and to relax. And of course, if
you're using it to unwind and relax and it's more
stressful in your life than you might find that you're
gradually using it more and more because life is more
stressful and you do need to relax more. And so
(03:16):
as you say, it's a bit of a slippery slope,
and it can be look at cavy if it full
to take up to you lead a healthy lifestyle. It
takes willpower, and it takes a bit of you know,
it takes a bit of planning and strength and mental
strength and that kind of thing. So it's not surprising
and it's not a blame game at all. It's just
a good opportunity to recognize what you're doing and to
stop and have a bit of a look at and
(03:37):
you know what you are consuming.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Are there some kind of telltale signs that maybe your
alcohol use is becoming a bit more problematic?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I mean, the obvious one is that you're obviously spending
more money, or you know, you have more you know,
there are more bottles in the recycling or whatever. But
I think some other signs are that it becomes a
little bit more difficult to enjoy yourself or to have
a social occasion without alcohol, or somebody might have made
some sort of passing comment toy you know, oh gosh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(04:13):
yeah yeah, that sort of thing. Oh you drinking, I
think too. The other thing is that you gradually end
up drinking more days than you perhaps used to in
the past. You know, maybe you only drink alcohol on
a at the weekend, and all of a sudden that's
sort of Tuesday or Wednesday and you're having Oh, I
just don't have a bottle of you know, glass of
wine or whatever. And that's another telltale sign that it's
(04:35):
just leaking out sort of more than perhaps that you
would usually drink. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Sure, So what would be your tips then, for anyone
considering drive July or a bit of a pause on
their alcohol intake. What would you suggest?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Well, and I think even if you know, I would
say too. You don't have to be a raging alcoholic
to sort of do drive yourly if you were, I
sometimes think of it. If you dry curious, you know,
what would it be like? You know? Yeah, then make
a commitment. And we know that if people make a commitment,
either by writing it down or by telling somebody else,
(05:08):
that can often help us stick to that sort of
commitment to do a new thing. So that's one thing
is writing it down, keeping a diary, and really keeping
a diary focused on not not kind of didn't have
any drink today, didn't have any drink today, but more
what you did do instead? What actually how has your
life become a bit richer and a bit better? What
(05:31):
have you managed to fit in? Maybe you've got more
money and you're able to go out for dinner or
you know, buy I don't know, whatever it is, because
you had a little bit more money. So I think
keeping a diary to really make it salient in your life.
What benefit you're.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Getting, right, Okay, that's interesting. Yeah, So basically trying to
have some kind of third party measures for accountability, right.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah, and we know that almost
if you're writing things down, you almost act as your
own third party. If that doesn't sound too weird, Yeah,
accountable to yourself. The other thing I'd say too, is
if you do sort of cut down, don't try to avoid,
if possible, having the whole sort of notion that come
(06:17):
to the end of July, the blow out, you know,
and I'm just going to make up for it again.
It's because that's really just sort of going back into
a bit of a binging pattern. And it may it
may be that you get to the end of the
months and go and that's a really great time to
take stuff and go, actually, how has this month been
for me? What have I learned? What have I what
have I gained from this month? And how do I
(06:38):
take that and go forward with it? Rather than just
going well, that's it, and I've done it, and now
I'll just get really you know, blotto this weekend. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, I've got a lot of friends who, you know,
who in the last couple of years have have decided,
you know, to go alcohol free or to massively cut
down on their alcohol intake. And I'm yet to come
across someone who has gone through that and has said
it's been a bad thing in their life.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, absolutely, it's you know, no one seems to have had,
you know, regrets when they decide to make a decision
like that. And I suppose, you know, an opportunity to
like drive you lie, actually means that people can can
take stock a little bit and maybe take a bit
of support from having other people around them going through
you know, some of the little period.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah. I think so. You know, again, it's that sort
of accountability and not just sort of I'm accountable to somebody,
but also the sense of I'm doing it with other people,
and that often makes changing behavior easier because we know
that other people are doing it. It's not just us.
There's some support around, and I can chat to other
people and that often helps us if we're trying to
engage in some sort of new behavior. Very good.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Now, you guys have got a webinar on Tuesday, right,
so if second of July, So if you can make
it through the first of July without a drink, then
you've got a tip through you.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah. Yeah, we've got a free webinar, so it doesn't
cost anything, and we're doing it in conjunction with a
place called State of Play, who are an alcohol free
brewery and the founder of that's got a really interesting
story about he's started driving lie about four years ago
and hasn't stopped. But yeah, good opportunity just to come
along and hear some tips and some reasons. So if
(08:15):
you're thinking about it, the easiest thing is to jump
on Umbrella Wellbeing's Facebook page actually, and you can sign
up through that, but it's just it's only half an
Now you can do it in your lunch break, just
to hear a few tips and tricks and maybe that
might be the motivation that you need.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Superb love your work, Thanks so much, Google. That is
Doogle Sutherland from Umbrella Wellbeing. We'll put all of us
tips there and a link to that Facebook page so
you can sign up to that webinar. On the news
Talk ZEDB website.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to news Talk zed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It's the twenty ninth of June, this Martariki weekend, which
means we are a day away from being halfway through
the year. That's insane, isn't it. It also means that
we're about to start July, and for many kiwiks, July
is an opportunity to take a bit of a pause
when it comes to drinking. Doogle Sutherland from Umbrella Well
(00:33):
Being as our clinical psychologist who's with us this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Counter Doogle, you're a jack happy happy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Martariki to you. Did you did you catch up with
your better half this week? Bony chance?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I did. She said she'd bumped into you, or perhaps
I don't know, bumping into your quite the right to
made herself known, to get her own celebrity.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Celebrity is a bit of a street. But it was
so nice. I was so just for our listeners and
unaware of us I was. I was standing on the
side of the street on Moldsworth Street outside outside the
Beehive the other day and a very friendly person came
up to me and said Hi Jack, Hi Jack, Hi Jack,
And I said hi and I did that thing with
just for a second, I searched her face subconsciously thinking
(01:17):
do I know that this person? I'm not sure, and
she said, oh, I'm really sorry. I'm Google Sutherland's wife.
So there you go. It was lovely, lovely to speak
with her.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Yeah, she texts me since she'd seen.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, yeah, small world. Anyway, Dry July in a couple
of days, and it is a really good opportunity, whether
or not you are participating in Dry July or otherwise,
to pause and take stock a little bit of alcohol use.
And it is just an incredibly stressful moment in time
right now, and it's kind of understandable that lots of
(01:49):
people might be drinking a bit more than they would
like to be. But yeah, you know, the stress of
this moment, whether it's the economy or anything else, can
lead to some pretty you know, unhealthy behaviors.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Right, Yeah, absolutely, I mean yeah, even without the whole
drive your life thing, it's just as you say, very
it's a stressful time for lots of people. And when
we know that when people are stressed, they sort of
and we can all do this, we can kind of
slip into unhealthy behaviors. You know, you eat a bit
more junk food than you want to, you perhaps don't
(02:24):
exercise as much. And the other thing I guess is
that you can end up just gradually drinking a bit
more and a bit more and a bit more than
maybe is ideally good for you.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, it can be a bit of a bit of
a slippery slow pain. And I think you know, and
I'm saying this from personal experience, like some of those
behaviors are kind of self rewarding, right, Like you say,
I just need to relax, or I've got through the
week and it's a reward, or you know whatever else.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean I think we often do that.
We kind of justify our alcohol use by going, oh, well,
you know, it has been tough, and I just need
this to unwine and to relax. And of course, if
you're using it to unwind and relax and it's more
stressful in your life than you might find that you're
gradually using it more and more because life is more
stressful and you do need to relax more. And so
(03:16):
as you say, it's a bit of a slippery slope,
and it can be look at cavy if it full
to take up to you lead a healthy lifestyle. It
takes willpower, and it takes a bit of you know,
it takes a bit of planning and strength and mental
strength and that kind of thing. So it's not surprising
and it's not a blame game at all. It's just
a good opportunity to recognize what you're doing and to
stop and have a bit of a look at and
(03:37):
you know what you are consuming.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Are there some kind of telltale signs that maybe your
alcohol use is becoming a bit more problematic?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I mean, the obvious one is that you're obviously spending
more money, or you know, you have more you know,
there are more bottles in the recycling or whatever. But
I think some other signs are that it becomes a
little bit more difficult to enjoy yourself or to have
a social occasion without alcohol, or somebody might have made
some sort of passing comment toy you know, oh gosh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(04:13):
yeah yeah, that sort of thing. Oh you drinking, I
think too. The other thing is that you gradually end
up drinking more days than you perhaps used to in
the past. You know, maybe you only drink alcohol on
a at the weekend, and all of a sudden that's
sort of Tuesday or Wednesday and you're having Oh, I
just don't have a bottle of you know, glass of
wine or whatever. And that's another telltale sign that it's
(04:35):
just leaking out sort of more than perhaps that you
would usually drink. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Sure, So what would be your tips then, for anyone
considering drive July or a bit of a pause on
their alcohol intake. What would you suggest?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Well, and I think even if you know, I would
say too. You don't have to be a raging alcoholic
to sort of do drive yourly if you were, I
sometimes think of it. If you dry curious, you know,
what would it be like? You know? Yeah, then make
a commitment. And we know that if people make a commitment,
either by writing it down or by telling somebody else,
(05:08):
that can often help us stick to that sort of
commitment to do a new thing. So that's one thing
is writing it down, keeping a diary, and really keeping
a diary focused on not not kind of didn't have
any drink today, didn't have any drink today, but more
what you did do instead? What actually how has your
life become a bit richer and a bit better? What
(05:31):
have you managed to fit in? Maybe you've got more
money and you're able to go out for dinner or
you know, buy I don't know, whatever it is, because
you had a little bit more money. So I think
keeping a diary to really make it salient in your life.
What benefit you're.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Getting, right, Okay, that's interesting. Yeah, So basically trying to
have some kind of third party measures for accountability, right.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah, and we know that almost
if you're writing things down, you almost act as your
own third party. If that doesn't sound too weird, Yeah,
accountable to yourself. The other thing I'd say too, is
if you do sort of cut down, don't try to avoid,
if possible, having the whole sort of notion that come
(06:17):
to the end of July, the blow out, you know,
and I'm just going to make up for it again.
It's because that's really just sort of going back into
a bit of a binging pattern. And it may it
may be that you get to the end of the
months and go and that's a really great time to
take stuff and go, actually, how has this month been
for me? What have I learned? What have I what
have I gained from this month? And how do I
(06:38):
take that and go forward with it? Rather than just
going well, that's it, and I've done it, and now
I'll just get really you know, blotto this weekend. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, I've got a lot of friends who, you know,
who in the last couple of years have have decided,
you know, to go alcohol free or to massively cut
down on their alcohol intake. And I'm yet to come
across someone who has gone through that and has said
it's been a bad thing in their life.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, absolutely, it's you know, no one seems to have had,
you know, regrets when they decide to make a decision
like that. And I suppose, you know, an opportunity to
like drive you lie, actually means that people can can
take stock a little bit and maybe take a bit
of support from having other people around them going through
you know, some of the little period.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah. I think so. You know, again, it's that sort
of accountability and not just sort of I'm accountable to somebody,
but also the sense of I'm doing it with other people,
and that often makes changing behavior easier because we know
that other people are doing it. It's not just us.
There's some support around, and I can chat to other
people and that often helps us if we're trying to
engage in some sort of new behavior. Very good.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Now, you guys have got a webinar on Tuesday, right,
so if second of July, So if you can make
it through the first of July without a drink, then
you've got a tip through you.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah. Yeah, we've got a free webinar, so it doesn't
cost anything, and we're doing it in conjunction with a
place called State of Play, who are an alcohol free
brewery and the founder of that's got a really interesting
story about he's started driving lie about four years ago
and hasn't stopped. But yeah, good opportunity just to come
along and hear some tips and some reasons. So if
(08:15):
you're thinking about it, the easiest thing is to jump
on Umbrella Wellbeing's Facebook page actually, and you can sign
up through that, but it's just it's only half an
Now you can do it in your lunch break, just
to hear a few tips and tricks and maybe that
might be the motivation that you need.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Superb love your work, Thanks so much, Google. That is
Doogle Sutherland from Umbrella Wellbeing. We'll put all of us
tips there and a link to that Facebook page so
you can sign up to that webinar. On the news
Talk ZEDB website.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to news Talk zed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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