[Content warning: This episode contains discussions about drug and alcohol use. Substance use is nuanced with many contributing factors which cannot be fully covered in this episode.]
Join us for season 3 of It Can't Hurt To Ask to take a deep dive into your men's health questions and concerns.
This episode, we're tackling substance use—alcohol and drugs, including performance drugs.
You'll hear from our expert, Advance Peer Worker, Himalaya, who'll take us through some of the science and psychological factors behind drug and alcohol use, how and when to seek help, how drugs and alcohol impact the body, and the risks associated with all drug use, including performance drugs.
You'll also hear from Queensland man, Tim, about his own experiences as a young person drinking alcohol and being around friends using drugs, and from young Queenslander, Phoenix, who has a question about the risks of mixing alcohol and drugs.
For anyone who recreationally uses drugs or alcohol, is struggling with alcohol and other drug use, or is worried about family or friends, this episode is for you.
How do drugs and alcohol affect the body? Why do people use drugs and alcohol? How can I reduce my risk when taking drugs or drinking? Where can I get support for me or my family or friends? What risks are you taking when you use steroids? Listen to find out.
If you'd like to learn more about men's health, tune in to our brand-new season. Keep your ears open for our next episode.
Feel free to leave us a review too—we'd love to hear your thoughts.
Episode Resources:
Adis
If you're concerned about your own or someone else's alcohol and other drugs use. Call Adis 24/7 Alcohol and Drug Support on 1800 177 833. You can also visit their website for more information or to chat with a counsellor online.
If you or someone you know needs urgent help call triple zero (000) or go to your nearest emergency department.
Signs to look out for
If you are worried about your drug use or concerned for someone you know, there are indicators to look out for which include spending large amounts of time getting, using or recovering from the effects, using in greater amounts, needing to use more to get the same effect, difficulty stopping or cutting back, cravings, withdrawal symptoms and experiencing problems in your social life.
Not sure? Take this quiz to see if your drug or alcohol use is risky.
Alcohol guidelines
Alcohol affects everyone in different ways and it’s important to know that drinking is never completely safe.
The Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend:
- healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks in a week, and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day
- people under 18, and women who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, or breastfeeding shouldn't drink any alcohol.
Alcohol
Is one more worth it? You could be cracking open a splitting headache, with a hangover leaving you feeling tired and irritable. Wouldn’t you rather a deep, restorative sleep leaving you firing on all cylinders tomorrow?
Cutting back has many benefits to your overall health. Learn more about how reducing your drinking will have you looking and feeling your best visiting the keep an eye on your drinking website.
Drugs
Understanding different drug types will help you to recognise the effects and potential
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.