Inroads Program

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Inroads Program

Inroads is an online program specifically designed for young adults with concerns about their anxiety What is the Inroads Program?

The Inroads program has been specifically designed for young adults with concerns about their anxiety and drinking. This program was developed by researchers at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use (the University of Sydney) and Macquarie University, and informed by the latest research on anxiety and alcohol use problems. The program will assist you with developing new skills to manage and overcome these feelings and encourage you to think about your use of alcohol. Anxiety is very common as young people experience the new challenges of early adulthood, for example a new job or study program, establishing new friendships, and/or a new living situation. Often, people who experience anxiety drink alcohol as a way of coping with these feelings. Some people also experience anxiety as a result of drinking too much. When you are feeling anxious and perhaps drinking more often or more than you would like, alcohol can initially lift your mood and help you relax, but once these effects wear off, alcohol actually makes your feelings of anxiety worse and can affect your mood. The Inroads program is about providing you with skills to cope with your anxiety and life stresses. You will be encouraged to think about what’s important to you, and plan out the steps needed to work towards your goals. It will also help you to make and stick to choices.

06/10/2026

Weekly spotlight on low- and no-alcohol drinks for reducing alcohol consumption 💡

Low- and no-alcohol drinks have become increasingly accessible in recent years, and more people are turning to them when trying to reduce their alcohol consumption.
However, there is a lack of evidence on whether using these alternatives leads to sustained alcohol reduction, particularly for people who drink at risky levels and/or experience alcohol use disorder (AUD).

A 2025 study by Buss et al. examined how people who drink at risky levels use low- or no-alcohol drinks when trying to reduce their alcohol consumption. Using data from around 9,000 people in the UK, the researchers found that between 2020 and 2024, the proportion of participants who used low- or no-alcohol drinks to help reduce their alcohol consumption increased from 26% to 39%.

However, there was another important finding: the use of evidence-based support for reducing alcohol consumption remained low and stable, with only around 1 in 10 people seeking this type of support.

The researchers highlight the need for more research into whether low- and no-alcohol alternatives could be incorporated into alcohol reduction interventions given the increasing percentage of people already using them in self-directed reduction attempts. In the meantime, increasing awareness of existing evidence-based strategies remains important, particularly given the low uptake of these supports.

To read the research for yourself, visit: https://bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/3/2/e002775

23/09/2026

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a characterised by a pattern of alcohol use that continues despite negative consequences for your health, relationships, work, or other areas of life.
For example:
- Social: Repeated arguments with a partner while drinking.
- Work/study: Struggling to meet responsibilities because of drinking.
- Health: Developing alcohol-related health problems, such as liver disease.

Importantly, AUD isn’t defined by how much or how often someone drinks. Severity is based on the number of symptoms someone experiences.

These can include:
- Drinking more, or for longer, than intended.
- Wanting to cut down or stop but finding it difficult to do so.
- Continuing to drink despite problems with relationships, work, or health.
- Developing increased tolerance (needing more alcohol to achieve the same effect).
- And other symptoms.

This means someone can experience AUD even if they don’t drink as much as the people around them, or don’t drink every day. What matters is the pattern of drinking and how it is causing harm or difficulty in their life or the lives of others.

There are several evidence-based treatment options for AUD including psychological therapies, medications, and support groups. Different approaches work for different people, so if you’re concerned about your drinking, it’s worth exploring the options available and finding what works for you.

For more information on AUD visit:

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcoholism

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-alcohol-use-disorder

22/07/2026

Running has never been more popular! 🏃🏃‍♀️

Whether you've joined a run club, signed up for a race, or started tackling your local parkrun on a Saturday morning, you may be wondering how alcohol can affect your performance and recovery.

Here are a few things to consider:

- Dehydration: Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases fluid loss and can contribute to dehydration.
- Recovery: After exercise, your body repairs and strengthens muscles through a process called muscle protein synthesis. Alcohol can reduce this process, potentially slowing recovery after a run or workout.
- Sleep quality: Good sleep is essential for performance and recovery. Alcohol can disrupt sleep quality, leaving you feeling less rested and recovered.
- Injury risk: Running or exercising after a night of drinking can slow reaction times and coordination, increasing the risk of injury.
- Motivation: A hangover can leave you feeling tired, sluggish, and far less motivated to lace up your running shoes.

Balance is important, and everyone's relationship with alcohol is different. However, if you're training for an event, working towards a fitness goal, or simply want to get the most out of your runs, it's worth paying attention to how alcohol affects your body, recovery, and performance.

08/07/2026

Why your follow-up surveys matter more than you think!

Longitudinal research, where we track the same people over time, is considered the gold standard in psychological research. Why? Because it lets us understand how and why mental health and behaviours change over time.

The Inroads Program study measures key outcomes at 5 points in time: at the start, then at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months later. This design helps us untangle the real influenceseffect of our programs on alcohol and anxiety outcomes, and build programs that actually work.

But the research is only as powerful as the people who see it through.
We've had great participation so far:

✅ 2-month follow-up: 65.4%

✅ 6-month follow-up: 62.4%

But we need a push for our final surveys:

⏳ 12-month: currently at 55.8%

⏳ 18-month: currently at 54.1%

Our goal is 60%, and we know we can get there with your help!

If you're a current Inroads participant who completed either of our online programs, completing your follow-up survey is one of the most meaningful things you can do, - not just for the research, but for yourself and others navigating alcohol and anxiety challenges. Your experience shapes the programs of the future.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Inroads Team!

24/06/2026

Take on Dry July – starts in 1 week!

Dry July is a fundraising campaign that encourages people to go alcohol-free throughout July to raise money for programs that improve the comfort, care, and wellbeing of people affected by cancer.

Even if you're not fundraising, taking a break from alcohol can have some great benefits:

- Improved mental health: Alcohol is a depressant that can negatively affect mood. Taking a break can improve mental clarity, decision-making, and overall wellbeing.
- Better hydration: Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases fluid loss and can contribute to dehydration.
- Money saved: Even a few drinks on the weekend can add up. Four alcohol-free weekends in July could leave you with extra money in your pocket.

A short-term challenge can also feel much more achievable than giving up alcohol indefinitely. Committing to one month provides a clear goal and can be a great way to reassess your drinking habits. If you're feeling good by the end of July, you can always choose to keep going!

If you'd like to support the charitable cause, check out the Dry July website: https://www.dryjuly.com/

Whether you're fundraising or simply doing it for yourself, why not give Dry July a go?

12/06/2026

Weekly spotlight on engagement with digital mental health interventions 💡

Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) are often promoted as a way to improve access to mental health care as they can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection and device. However, access doesn’t always equal engagement. Most DMHIs are largely self-directed, and this means many people stop using them early or never fully engage.

To better understand why engagement in DMHIs is typically low, Zainal et al (2025) analysed 117 DMHI trials to identify factors linked to engagement.

They looked at 3 stages of engagement:
1. Initial uptake
2. Ongoing usage
3. Intervention completion

What did they find?

Initial uptake was higher among people with:
- Higher socioeconomic status
- Greater motivation
- Lower symptom severity
Ongoing usage was higher when:
- Human guidance/support was included
- Participants had common mental disorders rather than other conditions
Completion rates were higher among:
- Older individuals
- People with higher education levels
- Those who were employed
- Those experiencing lower stress

These findings highlight an important issue: while DMHIs have the potential to expand access to care, the people who may benefit most can also face the biggest barriers to engaging with them.

As digital mental health tools become more common, reducing barriers to access and engagement needs to remain a priority so existing inequalities in mental health care aren’t unintentionally widened.

To read the research for yourself, visit: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17437199.2025.2547610?scroll=top&needAccess=true

20/05/2026

You’ve probably heard of “hangxiety”, that anxious feeling after a night of drinking alcohol. But why does it happen?

Alcohol affects your brain in two key ways:
1. It boosts GABA (a calming chemical), helping you feel relaxed
2. It suppresses glutamate (linked to alertness), lowering anxiety and increasing confidence — aka “liquid courage”

When the alcohol wears off, your brain tries to rebalance these systems. Sometimes it overshoots, leading to the opposite effect, resulting in increased feelings of anxiety.

If you struggle with hanxiety and would like to read more about it or get help, visit: https://adf.org.au/insights/what-is-hangxiety/

08/05/2026

Weekly spotlight on the effectiveness of cannabis for mental health treatment 💡

Researchers from the Matilda Centre at the University of Sydney have led world-first research on whether cannabis is effective and safe for treating mental health and substance use disorders.

This study comes at a time when prescriptions for medicinal cannabis are rising, despite limited evidence of how well it actually works for these conditions.

Looking across 54 clinical trials, the researchers found very limited benefits of cannabis-based treatments. The benefits cited were:
- reduced cannabis use
- reduced tic severity (e.g., Tourette’s syndrome)
- improved sleep in people with insomnia

The negative effects of cannabinoids included:
- increased co***ne cravings among those with co***ne use disorder
- no meaningful effect on anxiety, PTSD, psychosis, anorexia nervosa, or opioid use

For other mental health disorders, such as ADHD, depression, and OCD, there wasn’t enough evidence to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of cannabis for treatment.

From these results, the researchers concluded that there was little justification for prescribing medicinal cannabinoids for mental health and substance use disorders. As such, more evidence is needed if cannabinoids are continued to be prescribed for mental and substance use disorders, over other treatments that do have proven efficacy.

To read this research for yourself, visit: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(26)00015-5/fulltext

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Sydney, NSW

Website

http://inroads.org.au/

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