Man dies from using alcohol to cope with anxiety
An inquest has heard how a man drank himself to death by self medicating and using alcohol to combat his anxiety.
According to The Buxton Advertiser, Keith Hay from Buxworth had a history of depression and anxiety, and he was discovered dead by his partner after he went to bed one evening. He died from cirrhosis of the liver, which is caused by alcoholism, and paramedics declared him dead on the 23rd of April.
Ms Cullen, his partner who discovered his body, told the inquest that Mr Hay was "a man who liked a pint," but who started drinking excessively heavily. In fact, Mr Hay started drinking a bottle of sherry a day when his anxiety was at its worst.
She believes if doctors had told Mr Hay to stop drinking he would have. Instead, he was only told to cut down, which he did - he had reduced his consumption to half a bottle of sherry each day. However, the coroner said that alcoholics were not advised to stop drinking because it could prove fatal. The pathologist explained that alcoholics are advised to reduce consumption gradually to avoid the affects of withdrawal.
"His major problem was anxiety and he used the alcohol to subdue it," explained Ms Cullen.
Many people self medicate with alcohol as a way of dealing with underlying issues. Counselling and life coaching courses can help the person drinking alcohol excessively to tackle the reasons behind the destructive behaviour, addressing the real problem that will in turn make it easier to stop drinking.
