Inroads Program

You’ve probably heard of “hangxiety”, that anxious feeling after a night of drinking alcohol. But why does it happen?

Alcohol affects your brain in two key ways:
1. It boosts GABA (a calming chemical), helping you feel relaxed
2. It suppresses glutamate (linked to alertness), lowering anxiety and increasing confidence — aka “liquid courage”

When the alcohol wears off, your brain tries to rebalance these systems. Sometimes it overshoots, leading to the opposite effect, resulting in increased feelings of anxiety.

If you struggle with hanxiety and would like to read more about it or get help, visit: https://adf.org.au/insights/what-is-hangxiety/

Weekly spotlight on the effectiveness of cannabis for mental health treatment 💡

Researchers from the Matilda Centre at the University of Sydney have led world-first research on whether cannabis is effective and safe for treating mental health and substance use disorders.

This study comes at a time when prescriptions for medicinal cannabis are rising, despite limited evidence of how well it actually works for these conditions.

Looking across 54 clinical trials, the researchers found very limited benefits of cannabis-based treatments. The benefits cited were:
- reduced cannabis use
- reduced tic severity (e.g., Tourette’s syndrome)
- improved sleep in people with insomnia

The negative effects of cannabinoids included:
- increased co***ne cravings among those with co***ne use disorder
- no meaningful effect on anxiety, PTSD, psychosis, anorexia nervosa, or opioid use

For other mental health disorders, such as ADHD, depression, and OCD, there wasn’t enough evidence to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of cannabis for treatment.

From these results, the researchers concluded that there was little justification for prescribing medicinal cannabinoids for mental health and substance use disorders. As such, more evidence is needed if cannabinoids are continued to be prescribed for mental and substance use disorders, over other treatments that do have proven efficacy.

To read this research for yourself, visit: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(26)00015-5/fulltext

The 5-4-3-2-1 technique is a simple grounding strategy that can help reduce feelings of anxiety by bringing your attention back to the present moment. It’s easy to do and can be used wherever you are.

The exercise involves noticing your surroundings through your senses:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can touch
- 3 things you can hear
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste

By focusing on what’s happening around you, the technique can help shift your attention away from anxious or overwhelming thoughts and back to the present moment.

See here for more information:
https://www.verywellmind.com/5-4-3-2-1-grounding-technique-8639390

Weekly spotlight on the prevalence of mental and substance use disorders in Australia 💡

The National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (2020–2022), conducted by the Australian Government and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, provides one of the most comprehensive snapshots of mental health in Australia. Researchers from the Matilda Centre at the University of Sydney analysed the data to understand how common different mental and substance use disorders are across the population.

The findings show that 2 in 5 Australian adults will experience a mental or substance use disorder at some point in their lives. The most common disorders were anxiety, substance use, and mood disorders. Women were more likely to experience anxiety and mood disorders, while men had higher rates of substance use disorders.

Looking at the past 12 months, 1 in 5 Australian adults experienced a mental or substance use disorder. Young people aged 16-25 had the highest prevalence, highlighting a particularly vulnerable group. Women were also more likely than men to experience a disorder in the past year.

When researchers compared these results to the 2007 national survey, they found that the odds of having a mental health disorder are now higher, while the odds of having a substance use disorders are now lower.

Overall, the findings highlight the growing need for prevention and intervention efforts, particularly to support the mental health of young people.

To read these findings for yourself, visit: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00048674241275892

Engaging in self-care is something that is often promoted to help with mental health, but what does self-care actually mean?

Self-care isn’t just a buzzword or a trend. It’s recognised by organisations like the World Health Organization as essential for universal healthcare. Self-care is about the things that individuals, families, and communities can do to promote and maintain health, prevent disease, cope with illness and disability, even without support from health services.

That’s what makes self-care so powerful: it’s something everyone can engage in, regardless of access to healthcare or resources.

Self-care can show up in lots of different areas of life, including:

- Physical: nutrition, movement, sleep
- Psychological: mindfulness, time offline, hobbies
- Emotional: gratitude, noticing emotional triggers
- Spiritual: meditation, self-reflection
- Professional: work–life balance, meaningful work
- Environmental – a safe, clean space, time in nature
- Social: boundaries, connection, support
- Financial: budgeting, planning, reducing stress around money

There’s no perfect way to engage in self-care; it’s about finding what works for you. Below are some resources to learn more and help you create a self-care plan that fits your life:

https://www.who.int/health-topics/self-care =tab_1

https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Importance-of-selfcare-planning.pdf

Ever thought “I should probably cut back on my drinking”… but then wondered what actually counts as too much?

In Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) sets guidelines to help reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms among people aged 18+ years. Their advice is:

- No more than 10 standard drinks per week
- No more than 4 standard drinks on any one day (for both men and women)

To implement this, you need to know what a standard drink is, which changes depending on what you’re drinking.

The NHMRC has provided standard drinks guidance for popular drink choices:
- Light beer (2.7%) 425 mL
- Mid-strength beer (3.5%) 375 mL
- Full-strength beer (4.9%) 285 mL
- Regular cider (4.9%) 285 mL
- Wine or sparkling wine (13%) 100 mL
- Fortified wine (e.g., port or sherry 20%) 60 mL
- Spirits (e.g., vodka, gin, rum 40%) 30 mL

What if your drink isn’t listed?
A standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol. You can work it out using this website:
https://drinkwise.org.au/standard-drinks-calculator/

Alcohol sold in Australia must also have standard drinks on the label so look out for that. If you’re unsure you can use this website if you’re trying to track your drinks to stay within the NHMRC healthy drinking guidelines.

Weekly spotlight on the co-occurrence of alcohol use disorders and depression 💡

Alcohol use disorders (AUD) and mental health difficulties often go hand-in-hand. A 2024 study by Bohman and colleagues analysed how this co-occurrence in adolescence impacts long term trajectories of mental health and AUD.

Using diagnostic interviews collected when participants were aged 16-17, and again around age 30, the researchers examined whether experiencing both AUD and depression in adolescence predicted long-term mental health outcomes.

The findings were striking. Adolescents who experienced both AUD and depression during adolescence were much more likely to face depression, anxiety, suicidality, and ongoing AUD in adulthood, compared to those who had neither condition in adolescence. More than one-third of adolescents with both AUD and depression went on to experience both conditions as adults, compared to just 7% of those who had depression alone during adolescence.

These results highlight how important it is to identify and address adolescents’ mental health, especially when they present with another condition so they don’t persist or re-emerge later in life.

To read the research for yourself, follow this link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-024-02596-3

Summer is often a time many of us look forward to for the sunshine, longer days, holidays, and fun events.

But it can also come with things that trigger anxiety, like extreme weather, homes that become uncomfortable or unbearable in the heat, or the transition back to work or school after a holiday (whether it was a draining or restful holiday break).

So if you’re feeling a bit uneasy or anxious at this time of year and not quite sure why there may be good reasons and you’re definitely not alone in feeling this way!

Happy New Year from the Inroads Team!

January often comes with fresh starts, New Year’s resolutions, and drinking-reduction challenges like Dry January.

While going alcohol-free can be a great goal for some, for others it can feel like too big a leap and if it doesn’t go to plan, it can be easy to slip straight back into old habits.

If Dry January works for you, that’s great. But smaller changes count too. Cutting back by a few drinks or not drinking on select days of the week, or swapping to low-alcohol options, can be just as valuable and often more sustainable in the long run.

Box breathing is a simple but powerful relaxation technique: inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4… then repeat.

Research shows breathing techniques like this can ease anxiety by engaging mindful focus and reducing physical stress responses such as a racing heart (Balban et al., 2023).

Next time you feel anxious, try box breathing, a small practice that can make a big difference in the moment.