Alcohol sales have skyrocketed during the Pandemic. Lots of people thought it would be fun to drink during the day – nobody watching, make your own rules, take the edge off the anxiety and boredom, join a Zoom meeting with a slight buzz – until they started feeling lousy. Even lousier than with their regular drinking. Wasn’t so fun after all. Also, it isn’t easy to reign it in. Often impossible. Frustrating bugger, that alcohol.
Actually, ALCOHOL IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE TO HUMAN BEINGS. The more we drink, the more we “want” to drink, despite feeling lousy in countless ways. That battle in our heads feels worse than any hangover.
So if the Pandemic is one Elephant in a room of weary drinkers, what’s the other?
THE ELECTION. Yes, I said it. It’s real. We don’t like to talk about it in general, and certainly not in terms of drinking. Shhhh. Don’t bring it up. It’ll start a conversation you don’t want to have. Problem is, many of us feel like we’re walking a tightrope – waiting, hoping, holding our breath – wanting so badly to breathe a sigh of relief. That heightened state of expectation and worry has fried our nervous systems.
Four years ago, I numbed that discomfort, before and after the election, with more and more wine. It’s how I watched and read the news. And continually tamped down my growing anxiety. Thing is, each morning brought hangovers coupled with worsening anxiety – anxiety that lasted all day, and woke me in the middle of the night with a racing heart. I knew I felt quite awful, but I didn’t know that alcohol was making the anxiety exponentially worse. I was pouring gasoline, every day, on a raging fire.
Fast forward to 2020, and it feels like a form of PTSD. Those same worries, with even more to be concerned about. Am I waiting, hoping, holding my breath? You bet I am. Am I drinking? No. What else is different? Anxiety doesn’t rule over me. I sleep at night, and I don’t wake up with a headache and sick stomach. I don’t think about that day’s first drink while simultaneously planning to take the day off.
I don’t have that niggling disquiet that alcohol may actually be the problem, not the solution.
It was a big problem.
Life alone is challenging. Add a Pandemic and an Election, and some days it feels impossible. But what we don’t understand (until we do) is that alcohol isn’t helping any of it; it’s making us feel less capable, less worthy. Less hopeful. Unhealthy.
Understand the science of alcohol, and what an addictive drug does to your brain chemistry and sense of well-being. It’s not your fault you can’t drink less, or give it up. But it is your responsibility. If you’re ready to do a little work to feel a whole lot better, take that first step.
Read This Naked Mind. Get a fresh perspective. See what light bulbs illuminate your tired brain. What comes next? Find out what’s possible. And if 1:1 coaching with someone who’s been there appeals to you, get in touch.
No matter the route, it will be the best work you ever do. Pandemics and Elections aside.
Robbie is now a Certified Senior Coach with This Naked Mind!
Robbie’s training, experience and track record working with people who are ready to explore their relationship to alcohol – 1:1 and in groups, in person and online – has qualified her as a senior coach with This Naked Mind!
