The Golden Mean of Drinking

A new, large study of people in Britain and Sweden shows that heavy drinkers and teetotalers both have higher rates of depression and anxiety than people who drink moderately.

The happiest people, in contrast, were those who averaged about two glasses of alcohol per week.

Looking for reasons why non-drinkers are more depressed, they offer two: some people don't drink because they are in poor health, and people who don't drink report having fewer friends and going out less.

"We see that this group is less socially well-adjusted than other groups”, Stordal says. “Generally when people are with friends, it is more acceptable in Western societies to drink than not to drink. While the questionnaire recorded non-drinkers’ subjective perception of the situation, a number of other studies also confirm that teetotalers experience some level of social exclusion. ”