Since the first lockdown last March, there have been many reports of how this has caused increased drinking due to pandemic. Boredom, anxiety, stress, loneliness etc. And for more people to develop problems with alcohol. In some cases, being at home more with other family members has exposed a pre – existing condition. Family members have become more aware of how much an individual is drinking. Now that they are around them all the time. And all drinking is being done in the home rather than out and about with friends etc. The same applies to people whose ‘drug of choice’ is not alcohol but some other substance. Their using may have increased or it may just have become more obvious to family members.
Drinking due to pandemic
When all this first started – when Boris announced we must all ‘stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives’. We assumed it would be for a matter of weeks. And certainly not months. We all hoped that when restrictions started to be lifted in the Summer that we would not return to further periods of lockdown. But such has been the case.
Here at the Haynes Clinic, we have had a number of new clients. Who have come into treatment due to an increase in their drinking ‘caused by the pandemic’. In reality, most people who fall into this category had a problem prior to the pandemic. It was just less obvious – mainly to their families. And their more active lives meant they were able to hide it more. In some cases, a problem worsened due to the boredom, stress and loneliness of lockdown. Lockdown brought the ‘rock bottom’ forward to an earlier date. However, it is also almost certainly true that the pandemic and lockdown has also started off a whole new cohort of problem drinkers. On their long journey on a very bumpy and potholed road to an alcoholic (or drug ridden) rock bottom.
The impact of restrictions
It has obviously not helped that during these times the well known support group for people with alcohol problems – Alcoholics Anonymous – has had to severely reduce its in person face to face meetings. Most meetings can be accessed online and some have continued as a much smaller group. But the support offered is not the same. The fellowship aspect – going out for a coffee or for a meal or to the cinema with fellow members – has all but stopped. The online meetings have had some benefits. In that you can join several a day. If you are so inclined as they are held at all times of the day and night. This applies especially if you join meetings in another country. You can effectively attend meetings in any country in the world from the comfort of your own home.
Finding the right tools to maintain sobriety
However, it is unlikely that attending several AA meetings a day – or its equivalent for drug users Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or cocaine Anonymous (CA) – around the world will solve your problem. If you cannot stop on your own and need a little more insight into why you drink or use as you do. And you need the tools to stay stopped then you may need to go to rehab. Residential rehab is not cheap but it is value for money in that it can not only vastly improve your life but even save it.