America Has a Pandemic-Related Drinking Problem
Having a glass of wine, a brewski, or a couple of shots sometimes helps take the edge off a tense workday; we all get it.
The problem is that maybe one day someone will have two beers, or perhaps some other day in the future, the same person, after drinking alone for so long, will start thinking that suicide is the way out of their mental pain. Drinking is not okay when it becomes a compulsive habit and takes control of your life.
People in America started to drink more due to the psychological pressure of the pandemic.
People in America started to drink more due to the psychological pressure of the pandemic.
According to the data I will refer to in this article; people are drinking a lot more and, as with any compulsive substance consumption this habit is likely to stick around even in post-pandemic times, whenever that may be.
People don’t enjoy regularly getting “hammered” and dealing with hangovers. Alcohol is often used as an emotional anesthetic or, better said, as an escape from pain, anxiety, and other discomforts. Today our reality seems to be pulled out of some Stephen King novel, which hasn’t been easy for anyone. Horror stories in the media, and the death of loved ones due to a merciless virus, amongst other factors, will do a number on our mental health, mine included. Restrictions imposed on our freedom to meet with family and friends and leave our houses have brought us great stress. Many of us have chosen to deal with these issues by drinking alone.
This is important because too much booze is directly related to adverse health and social consequences. The climbing omnipresence of alcohol in everyday life can make diminishing the number of drinkers difficult.
four smiling millennial women holding cups of the beer wearing flannels in a crowd at a festival beer drinking excessively covid jump too much alcoholic
Based on statistics, people started drinking more when the Covid pandemic got severe last year — data from Nielsen shows a steady increase in alcohol purchases compared to 2019 in the week ending on March 21, 2020.
At the same time the pandemic got worse, so did Americans’ drinking. I mean, come on, How are people supposed to cope? I’m not being judgmental; on the contrary, the point here is to try to put ourselves in other people’s “shoes.”
- “According to this survey, three-fourths of Americans drank more alcohol during the pandemic, while women increased their alcohol consumption by 39% compared to 2019.
- The American Psychological Association this year found that nearly 25% of Americans reported “whetting the whistle” more often, specifically to deal with pandemic-caused stress.
- Unsurprisingly, Americans are trying to deal with the pandemic stress by drinking more because increments were also seen following other catastrophic events. The covid pandemic triple drinking increment is different; this time, more people started to drink alone due to isolation.
- Sales of bottled sparkling, flavored distilled alcoholic beverages rose during the pandemic, which is especially worrying as distilled alcohol is more accessible to abuse than beer or wine with lower alcoholic content.
- Solitary drinking has been seen to cause depression and suicidal ideation in people, more so than others socially consuming alcohol.
While the pandemic globally produced stress, drinking more was mostly an American response as it has been in the past according to this article.
We are still far from reaching the habits of our forefathers; Americans in the 1800s drank much more than we do now, even though it wasn’t uncommon to see people in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s drinking in the office. We have no idea how going back to in-person social events will affect drinking habits. However, to-go cocktails will stick around as open-minded pandemic times allow bars to sell on-the-go cocktails.
Booze is a legal drug and an increasingly socially accepted one with growing availability. According to the NIAA/NIH is the third-leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. Quarantine, social distancing, as well as other factors were undoubtedly related to a higher frequency of alcohol consumption while socializing online and in the presence of children, but negatively to a higher frequency of episodic binge drinking. Anxiety symptoms were associated with a higher incidence of binge drinking, higher alcohol consumption while socializing online, and drinking before 5 p.m. Higher earnings were more associated with all the alcohol-related behaviors observed. Women reported less alcohol use before 5 p.m. and less episodic binge drinking during the pandemic.
Quarantine during the COVID-19 crisis appears to affect alcohol-related behavior and mental health indicators, such as anxiety symptoms. This study is the first initiative to measure lockdowns’ consequences on behavior related to alcohol consumption and mental health. Given the associations found, screening tests and brief interventions to address alcohol use and mental health are needed.
Alcohol is a drug that, in small amounts, can slow down your reactions and, at the same time, make you feel relaxed, liberated, and happy; however, in high doses, it produces intoxication and poisoning and can seriously affect your central nervous system and your physical health.
Excessive alcohol consumption also increases the risk of death from traffic accidents, injuries, homicide, and suicide.
A person who has a drinking problem may experience some of the following symptoms:
- Drinking to feel confident
- Loss of control over the amount they drink
- She often wants one more drink
- Drinking when they don’t plan to
- Experience withdrawal
- Blackouts or casual memory loss
- Guilt
Excess alcohol is dangerous and may accelerate the risk of certain cancers (liver, mouth, esophagus, brain, colon, stomach, and lung, among others). Liver disorders, alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver (reversible), liver cirrhosis (irreversible). Pancreatitis, heart disease, brain disorders, loss of cognitive function, and dementia.
Likewise, drinking alcohol during pregnancy may cause malformations in the fetus.
Excessive alcohol consumption also increases the risk of death from traffic accidents, injuries, homicide, and suicide.
Alcoholism is a complex disease, as it can take up to 10 years to become a disease. Once an addiction is full-blown, it is not detected until the patient has noticeable medical or behavioral problems. Alcoholism is not found alone. It is usually mixed with the use of drugs, especially stimulants such as cocaine. Cocaine is used to avoid feeling drunk but, in the long run, makes them consume much more alcohol. A compound called cocaethylene is also formed in the body, which is a deadly toxin in the blood of these individuals and may lead to heart failure.
People can tell if they abuse alcohol by asking the following questions:
- Have you ever had the feeling that you should cut down on your alcohol consumption?
- Have you ever been upset that someone mentioned that you drink too much?
- Have you ever felt guilty about your alcohol use?
- Have you ever had alcohol first thing in the morning to get rid of a hangover?
It is okay not to be okay. We are not machines; we are human beings and sometimes, it hurts to be alive. You don’t have to go through alcohol dependency alone; many people live in similar situations, and many others have successfully pulled through. The sad part is those who do not, and sadly we forget big-name stars or musicians hurt by the disease. Reach out to a rehabilitation center to find out how to live without alcohol and give yourself a chance to be happy. Why? Because you are a beautiful and unique human being, that’s why!
