The increase in alcohol consumption is rarely out of the news these days and one of the most alarming trends appears to be middle-aged, middle-class drinkers who regularly knock back far more than the Government’s recommended daily number of units.

This week, the Department of Health launched a “know your limits” television and poster campaign aimed at warning middle-class imbibers of the dangers of social drinking and to make people aware that drink measures are getting bigger, with some containing double the number of units.

There are many reasons for the reported rise in booziness among a section of society that one might think “should know better”, but I suspect one cause is the steady increase in divorce and separation.

Alcohol is widely perceived as a “prop” when things go wrong, partly because of the initial buzz it provides. For people who are suddenly thrown into a life of isolation or loneliness through enforced singledom, drink can all too quickly become a kind of companion. The bottle doesn’t ask awkward questions or demand a certain mood or type of behaviour.

The problem is, however, that your favourite tipple can also be your worst enemy, because alcohol is a depressant. You might feel a bit happier after a couple of glasses of wine, but by the time you’ve sunk the best part of a bottle – because there’s no one to share it with – your mood is likely to darken: regrets, anger and sadness over your marriage break-up are exacerbated rather than lessened.

This is bad enough, but drinking also removes inhibitions, so you are more likely to phone your ex and unleash a torrent of tears or abuse, or bash out a vitriolic email or text message. It might make you feel better at the time, but in the morning you may well feel embarrassed and remorseful. Your ex probably won’t be too chuffed either, and a worsening relationship between the two of you can make the divorce process, and its aftermath, more difficult and unhappy.

If you’re aware you may be drinking too much, try to cut down – or cut it out completely – before it becomes a serious issue. If the first thing you do when you walk through the door in the evening is pull a beer out of the fridge, switch to putting the kettle on instead. Rather than whiling away the evenings in front of the TV with a bottle at your side, find other ways of passing the time in which alcohol plays no part: gardening or decorating, for example.

If you go out for the evening, make a point of driving so that you can’t drink more than a glass even if you’re tempted to do so.

Drinking can quickly become a habit, especially if you’re living alone and feeling down, but drowning your sorrows in drink won’t kill them off or make them go away: it might dull them for a while, but in the cold light of day they will still be there and may seem even worse (especially when you’re having to face them with a thumping headache). You also risk saddling yourself with an extra problem – alcohol itself.