This is a topic few of us want to explore, simply because we’re scared to learn how much alcohol is negatively impacting our entire life.

When I discovered the impact that alcohol had on my mental health, I felt deflated. Simply put, I learned that alcohol is one of the worst things you can put in your body, period. Surprisingly, it even ranks higher than heroin and methamphetamine. The fact it’s part of our culture is one thing, but it’s probably more alarming that being a DJ is one of the few “jobs” in the world where drinking on the job is celebrated, even encouraged.

So yes, it’s nice to have a drink whilst you play. But let me be real with you. If this is habit? If you need a drink in order to play? Your mental health will only ever be stable, at best. And at worst? Well, you don’t have to look very far to see artists who have quit because of it, or worse, are no longer here on earth with us because alcohol (or drugs) quite literally destroyed their life.

It’s a sobering fact, and one that many try to play down as unimportant. The “Oh, but it won’t happen to me!” is a common thought. But here’s the thing… When shit gets hard, when your schedule loads up, when your health suffers, and alcohol is the crutch, the vice, or the tool you use to cope or enjoy life... you’ll find yourself with a challenging life and a highly ineffective way to cope.

I could loop drugs into this conversation too, but this is something that I will explore separately, because alcohol is by far the one that affects us most, both in severity and by population.

Changing your behaviour around alcohol will feel easier to some than others. For me, this was one of the hardest habits to change (and I was smoking meth most weekends for 10+ years), so that may give you some indication. However, it’s not impossible. And I’ve known friends to quit cold turkey, with seemingly no real worry at all. So don’t believe just because it was hard for me or anyone else that it will be hard for you too.

The most important ingredient for change to occur though? Honesty. Honesty to yourself, first and foremost. You cannot change this (or any behaviour) until you are willing to be radically honest with yourself. You must get honest about how much it’s impacting you.

Is it impacting your mental health? (It certainly is if you drink regularly.)
Is it impacting your sleep?
Your loved ones?
Your career?
Finances?
Health?

These are all major factors to consider, and albeit challenging to truly explore for two reasons:

a) You’ll never really know how much alcohol is affecting you until you’re out the other side, so to speak.
b) Exploring the truth of this is often confronting, which may appear to have an initial detrimental effect on your mental health.

While looking at alcohol’s impact on your life may be difficult initially, it’s an important and necessary step if you really want to get your mental health back on track. You cannot intervene in a world you cannot see, so until you are willing to look at this behaviour, you won’t really see how much it affects you.

Now, while becoming sober might appear to be a worthy goal for some, it may feel like too much of a jump for others, which is why this particular guide is about giving you the first step, along with a few tips to help you along the journey. Drinking less alcohol, in this instance, becomes a win.

If you were to define your goal by saying you’re only having 10 drinks a weekend when you would usually drink 20 or more? That’s massive.

If you were to only have 2 drinks maximum every time you play when you usually have no limit? That’s powerful.

If you were to stop drinking during the week and only then on weekends? Again, a big win.

The idea here (in this early stage) is improvement. And sometimes, when mental health is at an all-time low, an easier goal becomes far better than a goal that seems out of reach, like sobriety.

With this context, there is not one goal that’s better than another, because improvement (when it’s done from a space of honesty and committed action) will serve you well long-term.

As mentioned previously, this guide is not meant to be a complete picture, nor is it a foolproof guide to clearing your mental health up for good. It has its loopholes (like keeping alcohol on the table, as one example), but I hope it serves as a turning point: the launchpad for you to address what you’ve previously suppressed, or perhaps never been truly aware of in your life.

At this point, you might start to notice something deeper. Once you’ve started changing your drinking habits, it’s natural to hit a wall. You might find yourself wondering why it’s so hard to stop, or why you crave it in the first place. That’s where this next part comes in.

Changing alcohol purely by addressing the behaviour alone can be done, but it won’t always have lasting effects. Traumatic experiences can have a lot to do with it, so until you address the root of those experiences, you may find yourself bound to behaviours that can seem impossible to break. Or, sometimes you’ll simply find yourself swapping one addiction with another.

That said, it would be remiss of me not to mention the importance of asking for help here.

You don’t have to do this alone. If you feel stuck, or feel it’s consuming you more than you’d like and you can’t seem to find a way out, please ask for help.

You can find some relative links for support in Australia, UK & USA here, as well as a global service for anyone outside of those countries.

I personally do not believe anyone is an addict. I believe we are all human, and have become addict-ed to something (or someone!), but we’re not less than because of it. Claiming that you are an addict, whilst it has been widely celebrated as beneficial, becomes rather limiting further down the track.

It may help initially, but it also keeps a person trapped in believing they are less than what they actually are. You are, we all are, first and foremost, human beings. In a deeper sense, we are all life. Believing that you are anything less than that is yet another wall that prevents you from truly freeing yourself in this lifetime. And when you are not free, you will swap one addiction for another. You may address the behaviour (alcohol as an example), but you will become dependent upon something or someone to help sustain that change in behaviour, rather than feeling free and in control of your own existence.

There is nothing wrong with this, if that is what you choose for yourself. I’m not here to dictate what you should do, merely to offer perspective based on what I’ve learned and what has worked for me through my own experience.

For that reason, I also never refer to myself or someone else as an addict, because we are all so much more than that. I’m yet to meet a single human being that isn’t addicted to something or someone; basically saying, we’re all suffering and finding ways to cope. That’s what addiction is: a coping mechanism to address one or more life problems.

The root cause of addiction is often rooted in trauma, so if you find this topic relatable, it’s worth seeking support from trauma-informed coaches or therapists.

Also, I do not believe one person’s addiction is better or worse than another. Just because I was addicted to alcohol and certain drugs (meth as one example) doesn’t make me better than someone who is addicted to heroin. Putting yourself on a pedestal, or thinking you are less than because of what you’re addicted to, only leads to separation and disconnection; both of which are fundamental pieces of the journey out of addiction.

I repeat the point I made above: you are human. You are not better than or worse than any other human on this planet. We are all equal. Whilst we may not appear equal based on the family we were born into, ability, or any other perceived limitations, we are. We are all souls having a human experience.

And these words are merely here to help you create the kind of life and career you truly desire.

So what does all this mean in the context of our world: the clubs, the festivals, the after parties, and the culture we move in? It means we have to start seeing the full picture. Not just the fun, but the potential fallout associated when the fun becomes integrated as a coping mechanism to deal with life itself.

There is much to be said about alcohol, addiction, and trauma. I could probably write a book about the impact alcohol has had on the electronic music industry alone, citing the enormous benefits as well as the many downfalls.

In the industry, it has long been used as a tool for connection. It can help us relax. It often brings people together. It ignites dance floors. And fuck, I’ll speak from a big part of the collective: we’ve had some fun!

But the other side of the coin must be examined, especially if your mental health is a constant battle. At some point, you’re going to have to choose whether you want your mental, physical, and emotional health to improve, stay the same, or get worse.

Think of alcohol like the one big domino: the one you push at the start to make everything else fall down. Changing your behaviours around alcohol will absolutely impact every single aspect of your life.

There are the benefits everyone talks about: better health; more money; improved sleep; stronger relationships with loved ones; increased focus, to name a few.

Yet there’s also the downside: social interactions can become less bright initially. Then there’s that moment of feeling disconnected from everyone else when they’re drunk or high and you’re not. And I’m not going to pretend that DJing without alcohol wasn’t difficult for me at first either! It took practice to become comfortable, but eventually I became more confident and happy behind the decks without needing to drink.

In time, I found deeper connections and felt more comfortable in social situations when other people were drinking or taking drugs and I wasn’t. The absence of alcohol forced me to look after myself so I could feel calm whilst in the studio or on stage without relying on it.

I’m not going to lie. It takes work. But this is what the tonic is all about: helping you identify what’s hurting you, and giving you the opportunity to learn from others who understands what you’re going through because they’ve navigated the journey already.

When you voice the challenges you face as you try to change behaviour, and can relate to someone else’s experience: it becomes easier.

Lastly, admitting you find it hard to exist in the electronic music world without alcohol is fucking tough. But it does help uncover what’s actually important and what you actually love. That in itself is magic no words could ever describe.

We’re entering a new era of electronic music. An era where artists prioritise their health just as much as their music.

HEADROOM enters the chat.

Every week, I share insights, stories and practical tools designed to help you stay focused on what matters most: your success, your well-being, and your longevity in the electronic music world.

This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a shift away from burnout-as-normal, and the beginning of a culture where artists finally put their health and happiness first.

If you feel the industry is ready for an upgrade, and you want to be part of the culture that combine well-being with electronic music, then you’re in the right place.

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