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Hi Friend,
With the COVID-19 pandemic we find
ourselves living through an experience unprecedented in our lifetimes.
Most of us are now at home, either working, caring for our kids who
are out of school due to closures, or both. Our normal daily routines
are disrupted and many of our typical social supports and coping
strategies are less available to us while we deal with a tremendous
amount of uncertainty, fear and stress.
We don’t really have a choice but to find
new ways to manage these new challenges – and the added stress they
bring. That’s why we’ve compiled the below list of resources – to
provide guidance on ways to manage that stress in positive,
constructive ways.
As we assume new responsibilities, such
as remaining indoors and practicing social distancing to help protect
the medically vulnerable in our communities, we at Responsibility.org
don’t want people to forget about how drinking plays into this,
especially as we prepare to enter Alcohol Responsibility Month, this
April.
Historical data show that people
frequently drink more alcohol during tough times. An important thing
to remember is that drinking alcohol is not a coping strategy and
shouldn’t be used as such. Drinking to numb anxiety, to temporarily
forget stress or to live with frustration is just a form of avoidance.
The underlying problem gets ignored, then gets amplified as this
pattern repeats. Your mindset when you decide to drink is vitally
important. Drinking from a negative mindset is inherently risky, and
you don’t want to “cultivate habits” that are unhealthy and
counterproductive.
If you are struggling with managing
negative emotions, take this opportunity to find coping strategies
that will help you. Make a routine that includes adequate self-care.
Eat a balanced diet. Get enough sleep. Exercise. While this last point
can be difficult given gym closures and directives not to travel about
unnecessarily, know that there are options in your home. The YMCA has
free
workouts to watch and do from home, and Headspace is offering free
access to meditation resources to help manage stress.
If you choose to drink, drink a
responsible amount. Binge
drinking, meaning having four or more drinks for women and five
for men within a couple of hours, can temporarily impair
your immune system and make it harder to repel or fight
infections, including from COVID-19. Limit your consumption to avoid
this, and drink from a positive place, such as to enjoy a meal or to
spend special time with your loved ones.
For parents especially, your kids are
likely with you a lot more than usual now, and they are watching you
closely and learning. Continue modeling good coping strategies and
behaviors and talk to them about what you’re doing. Parents are the
number one influence on kids’ later drinking decisions and they can’t
read your mind. Take the time to educate them on your values and
practices.
Lastly, many of us know people who are
overcoming alcohol use disorders or other addictions. Recovering from
an alcohol or other substance use disorder is always difficult, but
there are special challenges presented by the current pandemic. Peer
support is a critical component for many people in recovery, and
regular patterns of meeting attendance and fellowship can be disrupted
as the country tries to contain the spread of COVID-19. People should
be aware that support is still out there, and that technology can
connect people who are quarantined or practicing social
distancing.
If you know someone who is working to
recover, make sure they know about these on-line resources:
In addition, there are a number of free
app-based recovery supports such as:
Our team will continue compiling
resources as they are made available, and you can find those resources
here.
The one certainty in all of this is that
this pandemic will end, even though we can’t know exactly when, we’re
going to get through this as families, as communities, and as a
country. Let’s all make sure that we come out the other side stronger
and more resilient for it.
--The Responsibility.org Team
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