Agony advice

Columnist and trained counsellor Fiona Caine advises a single mother dealing with grief, and a woman who’s started drinking too much in lockdown.

HAVE I DEVELOPED A DRINKING PROBLEM IN LOCKDOWN?

I live alone and, since lockdown, have been working from home, which has suited me fine as I’m really not that sociable a person. However, I’ve found myself drinking most days, sometimes to excess, when I’ve felt bored and fed up.

I barely used to drink before this – at most, once a week maybe. It’s got to the point now that I have a drink most mornings by about 11:am and usually knock back at least a bottle of wine each evening, and sometimes several glasses of spirits as well.

IONA SAYS: IT’S GOOD YOU’VE RECOGNISED THIS

If you’ve developed a drinking problem during the pandemic, you’re certainly not alone. Research has shown that a lot of people are drinking more – although some who are enjoying home-working and feel secure are actually drinking less. Stress and isolation are two of the many reasons people have turned to alcohol, and whilst you may not have been aware of stress, it has certainly become a part of most people’s lives. None of us are sure what to do for the best; few people feel they can trust the advice they’re being given, which has changed so frequently, and most people are worried about the future. On top of that, many of our routines will have changed, and that makes it hard to keep on top of things, like drinking, as you’ve found.

You don’t mention exercise at all, but getting out for a walk or a run each day will also help you. This is also something you could try for your trigger points – do you, perhaps, top up your drinking at the end of your working day? If so, when you down tools, get outside for some exercise – it will delay you, yet again, from turning to a bottle.

Trying to do this alone might not be easy however, and an additional problem during lockdown has been the way in which services are being stretched. I would suggest you start by talking to your GP though, who can refer you to local services. If you find there is a delay in getting help though, then reach out to some of the organisations that can support you. Alcohol Change UK (alcoholchange.org. uk) can offer help, support and advice that I think you’d find useful. As they say in their information about themselves, they are not anti-alcohol but support a future in which people drink as a conscious choice, not a default as you are doing right now.