 Can you drink or take
recreational drugsÂ
& still look after your
mental health?
I know it’s controversial to say that if you drink or take recreational drugs, you can still look after your mental health. I receive a lot of criticism for this view, and have been told over and over that the message should be total abstinence.
However, that’s not reality.
There are millions of people in Australia, let alone the rest of the world, who drink and take recreational drugs and are not going to completely quit.
Whatever your view on it, drinking and recreational drugs are part of our culture. They can be a lot of fun and make us feel good, but they can also be a double-edged sword.
The problem we face is that too many people are mindlessly and habitually consuming them too often, and it is a significant contributing factor to the levels of anxiety and depression that we are seeing throughout society.
Unfortunately, there is no single answer or solution to the problem.
Many of us have grown up in a culture where binge drinking is normalised, and it’s commonplace to take recreational drugs.
I don’t need to tell you how much this plays a role in our society (If you need more clarification around this, just go and look up the 2022-2023 National Drug Strategy Household Survey).
However, I do want to share with you my thoughts on what I believe are some contributing factors, and how confusion is causing us to make decisions that can inadvertently end up hurting us.
There are many different reasons why people drink and take drugs, and not all of them are bad. Yes, some people are dealing with horrific trauma and trying to escape reality, and a lot of our resources should go to helping those people. For some people, sobriety is the only solution.
Yet, there are a lot of people out there who, even though they are struggling and not feeling themselves, are still not ready to go completely sober.
See, it would be pretty simplistic to say “If you are struggling, stop doing them” - and I wish it was that easy.
Though to understand and help people, you need to understand psychology and human behaviour.
We’re living through a mental health pandemic. People are confused—about how they’re supposed to feel, what’s good or bad for them, and who they can or can’t trust.
This confusion, combined with the constant bombardment of social media, junk food, gambling, drugs, and alcohol, creates a toxic cocktail leading to addiction, depression, and suicide.
Global Companies spend billions on marketing to ensure we keep consuming, our fast-paced society keeps delivering unnatural dopamine hits at every corner, and we’re quickly losing our ability to regulate our emotions.
This should be enough to make us stop, right?
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WRONG!
In fact, we don’t want to stop because the things that are perceived as bad for us often bring us pleasure, and our brains want more.
The things that can harm us don’t come in disgusting, poisonous wrappers. They come in tempting packages that promise instant gratification, relief from stress, and joy.
A chance to escape our reality and feel happy, allowing us to dance and socialise with friends. So, no wonder a lot of people don’t want to quit.
And you know what? It’s not always the worst thing in the world if you don’t. However, it can have real-world consequences.
To understand what can be causing confusion in people’s minds, and to give you some insight into your own internal debate, I have a hypothetical question for you.
If I could give you a pill that would take you back to before you first had a sip of alcohol or touched a drug, and you could make the decision, knowing what you know now, to never touch them, would you take that pill?
If it meant you were never harmed by any drugs or alcohol, they never had an impact on you, but it also meant you never got to experience them in your entire life—never experienced getting drunk or high, never enjoyed a few cold beers or a glass of wine. Are you taking that pill?
If your answer is yes, your vision should be very clear - and you should be doing everything you can to achieve full sobriety for the rest of your life. There are many resources available to help you achieve this, so please reach out and I can put you in touch.
If, on the other hand, you are conflicted with your answer, this could be contributing to your confusion.
The Confusion
Drugs and alcohol can be fun, we have memories of amazing times socialising with friends, dancing, and connecting. People enjoy doing them because they bring us feelings of joy and ecstasy.
We rarely hold any events, dinners or parties without alcohol present and for many of us, drugs often aren’t far behind.
At most music events, there will be a range of drugs flowing. People join communities to go to festivals; nightclubs every weekend are surging with them; and people are relaxing at home with a quiet joint, and the psychedelic movement is rapidly increasing.
Drugs and alcohol provide us with emotional highs, so are we willing to give that up?
We have all seen the video of the grandmas smoking weed for the first time, and we are constantly told, “Don’t go to your deathbed with any regrets,” so for a lot of people, they ask questions like:
How much do we mitigate risk to stay healthy?
If we’re going to die one day, do we allow ourselves a bit of pleasure?Â
Meanwhile, if it’s not your own curiosity driving you to partake, there is often massive peer pressure that people feel to do them to be accepted and included.
So not only is there a lot of internal reward tempting us, but also a sense of belonging and connection and not wanting to miss out, all playing on our psyche.
And while you are subconsciously making these decisions about whether you should partake or not, it’s not even a black-and-white answer as to whether that is what’s causing your mental health struggle.
See, even if you never touched them, avoiding them doesn’t guarantee you won’t face mental health battles—financial stress, trauma, hopelessness from the wars around the world, dissatisfaction in your career, losing loved ones, dopamine overload from other areas. These things still contribute negatively to your overall well-being.
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The final layer that can add to the confusion is that these substances are now being used in therapy, and slowly being recognised as medicine.
Doctors are using these substances to treat and cure anxiety, depression, PTSD, and they are becoming legal around the world, not only for medicinal but also for recreational purposes.
The world isn’t black and white, nobody has clear answers and I think these are some of the thoughts that swirl around in people’s minds, either consciously or subconsciously, when they make a decision to consume drugs and alcohol.
So, while yes, these things can be enjoyable and fun, and I am all for letting people make their own decisions, there are way too many people out there doing them mindlessly, and it has turned into habitual behaviour which is starting to become damaging, and people need help.
That’s why I created Mind Health Bender.
Why I createdÂ
I was in an interesting phase in my own life and was on my own health journey. I had become a dad; I was experimenting with finding my own balance, and I was testing all sorts of weird and wonderful strategies to look after my mental and physical health.
I was also coaching footy, and I saw way too many people struggling with their own mental health, but either not resonating with the help available, or being resistant to taking the first step to get help.
I was just about to make a career change into behavioural economics and marketing, but I knew I could make a difference in people’s lives. I knew the culture, and I knew people needed more resources and early intervention that resonated with them.
So, I decided to change my entire life trajectory and dedicate myself to helping people improve their mental health and well-being.
Before I go any further, let me introduce myself…
Hi, I'm Nick Blair. I was a sparky by trade, specialising in power quality, and I grew up in the typical "tradie" and footy culture, which often involved excessive drinking and recreational drug use.
I’m not going to lie—I loved it. I was the instigator, rolling out of nightclubs on a Sunday morning and being known as the full-time footy trip coordinator. I spent my twenties in a constant loop of chasing the party, drinking, and smashing recreational drugs.
But over time, I had experiences that led me down a different path. I became fascinated by human psychology and how our mental and physical health shape our lives.
I’ve grappled with why so many people struggle in our fast-paced society, the sadness of standing at another mate’s funeral who couldn’t see a way out, and the countless conversations with people who’ve felt the same way.
There have been times when I myself felt stuck in a hole, even though I’ve always prided myself on being mentally strong - this turning into my biggest teacher.
For years, I experimented with every strategy out there—hours of meditation, vegan diets, cold showers, breathwork classes, yoga, and heaps of other weird shit.
While I felt great doing all of it, I couldn’t find anyone teaching strategies that work consistently in real life for me. Sure, the hard things felt good - but a lot of these hard things went out the window as soon as I was sick, tired, and busy.
I also struggled to find teachers who advocated balance and incorporating alternative strategies to their own. It was either their way or nothing. It started to give me insight into why people weren’t taking the first steps to get help.
I wanted to build a platform where people were free to come and be themselves – without feeling judged or pressured. Â
I went out and acquired formal education—a diploma in Positive Psychology and a certificate in the Neuroscience of Brain Health. I studied under some of the best experts in the country.
I then assembled a team of experts, including Psychologists, a drug and alcohol practitioner, and world-renowned teachers in Positive Psychology and Neuroscience, to create and review the Mind Health Bender platform.
I now run an online monthly mentorship program, as well as speak at events, and hold workshops around the country.
So that brings us back to the million dollar question - can you drink or take drugs and look after your mental health?
Unfortunately, it’s not a question that can be answered in a general sense and you are the only person who can decide what balance looks like for you.
All I know, is that providing a space to be mindful and becoming aware of what you need to support yourself is most likely going to lead to reduction. It’s going to lead to healthier behaviours, for some it’s going to lead to deep healing and if that means you decide to completely quit or find a balance that doesn’t control your life, that can only be a good thing.
Thank you for reading. Whether you attend one of my speeches, join my mentorship, or just enjoy my content on social media, I hope I’ve shifted your perception, even a little, and helped you make some healthy changes in your life.
For information on my mentorship Click Here
For information on my speaking packages Click HereÂ
