{"id":259635,"date":"2020-06-28T06:25:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T10:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=259635"},"modified":"2020-06-28T06:25:04","modified_gmt":"2020-06-28T10:25:04","slug":"drinking-surged-during-the-pandemic-do-you-know-the-signs-of-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/06\/28\/drinking-surged-during-the-pandemic-do-you-know-the-signs-of-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Drinking Surged During The Pandemic. Do You Know The Signs Of Addiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Retail alcohol sales jumped by 55% nationally during the third week of March, when many stay-at-home orders were put in place, according to Nielsen data, and online sales skyrocketed. (Pexels photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the lack of dine-in customers for nearly 2\u00bd long months during the coronavirus shutdown, Darrell Loo of Waldo Thai stayed busy.<\/p>\n

Loo is the bar manager for the popular restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, and he credits increased drinking and looser liquor laws during the pandemic for his brisk business. Alcohol also seemed to help his customers deal with all the uncertainty and fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrinking definitely was a way of coping with it,\u201d said Loo. \u201cPeople did drink a lot more when it happened. I, myself, did drink a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many state laws seemed to be waived overnight as stay-at-home orders were put into place, and drinkers embraced trends such as liquor delivery, virtual happy hours and online wine tasting. Curbside cocktails in 12- and 16-ounce bottles particularly helped Waldo Thai make up for its lost revenue from dine-in customers.<\/p>\n

Retail alcohol sales jumped by 55% nationally during the third week of March, when many stay-at-home orders were put in place, according to Nielsen data<\/a>, and online sales skyrocketed.<\/p>\n

Many of these trends remained for weeks. Nielsen also notes that the selling of to-go alcohol has helped sustain businesses.<\/p>\n

But the consumption of all this alcohol can be problematic for individuals, even those who haven\u2019t had trouble with drinking in the past.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sarah Johnson, medical director of\u00a0Landmark Recovery<\/a>, an addiction treatment program based in Louisville, Kentucky, with locations in the Midwest said that, virtual events aside, the pandemic has nearly put an end to social drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not as much going out and incorporating alcohol into a dinner or time spent with family or friends,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cLots of people are sitting home drinking alone now and, historically, that\u2019s been viewed as more of a high-risk drinking behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are some objective measures of problematic drinking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines heavy drinking as 15 or more drinks a week for a man or eight or more for a woman.<\/p>\n

But Johnson said that more important clues come from changes in behavior. She explains that, for some people, a bit of extra drinking now and then isn\u2019t a big deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they are still meeting all of their life obligations, like they are still getting up and making their Zoom meetings on time, and they\u2019re not feeling so bad from drinking that they can\u2019t do things, and taking care of their children and not having life problems, then it\u2019s not a problem,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s when people start to have problems in other areas of their life, then it would be a signal that they are drinking too much and that it\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there are signs to watch out for, she says. They include:<\/p>\n