The week of the last heatwave I stopped drinking because my daugther had a bit of a stomach upset and with the heat I just wanted to be alert and energetic to look after her as much as possible. Hey presto come Friday my mood was better than usual, and anxiety much lower. Same as a couple of years ago when I'd been through a very rough patch (and drinking a lot), then stopped drinking for about 2 months and had an absolutely flying next few months after that.
I don't want to diminish anybody's issues here, I know there are often very specific and horrible situations that we feel we can't deal with. And that modern society can be extremely anxiety inducing and at times rather depressing. But I wonder if many of the issues we have with mental health in this country are related to alcohol intake. Not easy though, some nights I could absolutely kill for a cold beer. But it's good to think of like a challenge, like an achievement - a mountain to be climbed.