Many of you will recognise the title of this (very overdue) entry as a ‘Mental As Anything’ song. Particularly if you are on the same side of 50. It’s appropriate for two reasons; one it refers to alcohol and two, it alludes to mental health. Because that’s what this is all about.

I happen to work in advertising, and it turns out people in advertising are particularly susceptible to bad metal health. 56% of us experience depression, 55% anxiety and 57% stress. While more than the average population, I think the situation is worse than that, certainly on the creative side. Stress is a constant companion, and anxiety is stress’s twin.

No wonder we drink.

I don’t know how much we drink, compared to other industries, but I know we drink too much. It’s our way of self-medicating. I remember working on the charity HeadSpace a few years ago and talking to the clinical psychologist who ran it. He said most of the kids who were considered to have a drug problems didn’t have a drug problem, they had an undiagnosed mental health problem and drugs were their way of treating it.

Made sense to me.

In the same way, all those beers at the end of the day, and the wines that follow are our way of de-stressing. I think they also help build a sense of team – ‘in vino fratinas’ sort of thing. Unfortunately, it only works briefly. Drinking doesn’t help sleep. Lack of sleep is a major cause of mental health issues. We stress. We drink. We don’t sleep. We stress more. We drink more……

The answer must be to drink less and drink better. Order a half bottle for the same price as a full one next time you are at a restaurant. It may not be twice as good but it will be better. Have a Farr Rising chardonnay instead of two Stonier’s. Drink champagne instead of Prosecco, or try Radenti Sparkling from Freycinet in Tasmania – you have to order from the winery as far as I can see – $40 for a very fine bubbly which would give the French a run for their money in any blind tasting

Avoid the $9 Pozzi Nero D’Avola from Dan Murphys even though it gets 92 points (really, it’s a headache in a bottle) and get… no, maybe I should give it another go. I did. It’s better when it’s been open for a day.

I drank something rather special yesterday. Yalumba Octavius Old Vine Shiraz from 1995. It is the same age as our son and being his girlfriend’s birthday, it seemed time to open it. The vines may be old, but the wine still had a youthful glint and a chocolatey intensity.

My plea to the industry would be to introduce 500ml bottles. Half bottles really aren’t enough for two and often one is too much. Or maybe I should harden the fuck up?