Lawyers blame stress of job for alcohol abuse

Many lawyers are unable to cope with the stresses and strains of their profession, counselling service LawCare has warned.

A survey of callers to its helplines found two-thirds were suffering from ‘intolerable’ stress and 80 per cent said their abuse or addiction to alcohol was a result of their stress levels.

Some 30 per cent of male lawyers and 20 per cent of female lawyers said they drank ‘to excess’.

Lawyers, as a profession, had the highest national mortality rate related to chronic liver disease and other alcohol-related diseases, said LawCare.

The death rate from cirrhosis among lawyers was also double the national average, it warned.

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Stress, depression and alcohol or drug abuse within the profession were often putting careers and marriages or personal relationships at risk, it added.

www.lawcare.org.uk