Research by Drinkaware looked at the drinking patterns of 18 to 75-year-olds in the UK and found nearly 38 per cent of people who had drunk alcohol in the last year said they had done so to forget their problems at least some of the time.
John Beasley is a Christian social worker and volunteer with Hope UK, a charity that provides drug and alcohol education.
He told Premier News Hour the findings were "disturbing".
"Everyone has problems and there are positive ways to cope with problems," he said.
"Obviously it depends what those problems are but drinking alcohol doesn't solve any of those problems and so often it makes them worse."
Two out of five survey respondents said that they had drunk alcohol because it helps when they feel depressed or nervous, with 54 per cent of these people having done so at increasing levels of risk.
Beasley advised Christians to stay away from it altogether, explaining that alcohol can become a "drug".
He said: "If all Christians adopted a healthy and safe alcohol-free lifestyle, they would be setting a great positive example to so many other people, demonstrating how you can have fun without drinking any alcohol at all.
"It disturbs me that so many people damage their health by drinking... and many people don't realise that alcohol is actually a drug."
Beasley encouraged churches to engage with people struggling by helping them deal with their root issues.
Listen to John Beasley speaking with Premier's Alex Williams here:
