2020 checklist (stress, uncertainty, pressure, COVID -19, retrenchments, narcissism, addiction, binge drinking…..) the list goes on.
Surviving 2020 didn’t seem possible without some type of crutch, right?. Whether it be a substance or a behavior, addiction/alcoholism creeps in through the cracks, unnoticed, DENIAL, JUSTIFICATION. After all 2020 provided coping mechanisms that just seemed and felt right as collectively we were “all in the same boat”. With the sale of alcohol been banned at at a stage, a sense of uncertainty surfaced for all types of drinkers, from social to moderate drinkers, binge drinkers and for the alcoholic. At some point one level of “drinker” spilled over to the next level, social drinkers into binge drinkers, binge drinkers to alcoholics. Sitting in an individual session with a client once, he merely stated “I was never a big drinker but I feel to avoid going mad I need to have something to cope” or “I cant seem to stop drinking and buying alcohol, the fear of not been able to buy booze scares me more than COVID” or “I’ve just come out of rehab and my drinking wasn’t that bad, as long as I stay off drugs I’ll be ok to drink”.
As the stages of LOCKDOWN eased off, most people found that they had developed some type of unhealthy and unmanageable way of life due to risky coping mechanisms. The most common area I have recognized as an Addiction counsellor is the rise in uncontrolled drinking. Not everyone that drinks is an alcoholic don’t get me wrong, it’s the behavior, the attitudes, physical changes and consequences that ultimately contribute to this forming. Many of my clients since LOCKDOWN have increasingly become concerned that drinking patterns have followed them back to work, from drinking more often with work colleagues who have formed the same behavioral patterns and habits, to work performance dropping a level, HR departments intervening to find solutions and managers of sales teams reaching out to me for workshops to be presented to their staff as some form of support and a way for their company to encourage that they reach out if they need help. A lot of companies don’t know what to do, especially where alcohol is concerned as the difference between a social drinker and an alcoholic is difficult for companies to identify until a some type of concerning behavior or dysfunction enters the work space.
Leading up to year end functions, alcohol undoubtedly will be present at many of these functions which will pose a lot of risks and in some cases harm “problem drinkers” to carry on drinking through the festive season which in turn could carry over to January 2021. I urge companies to be responsible with their stance on alcohol especially at this time. I have been asked many times in my experience as a counsellor working in this field as to what I think the worst drug is. Naturally I think people would expect me to say Heroin, Meth, Cocaine and rightly so these are incredibly dangerous substances, however I feel alcohol is the “bad boy”, the silent slow suicide. The glamorous advertising campaigns promoting alcohol enables the social acceptance. The South African drinking culture has very little limit and promotes an acceptance of drinking been a natural way of life across all races and cultures.
At what point is this enough? At what point do companies, co-workers friends, or families intervene?. Creating an awareness around the risks of alcohol especially at this time of year, I believe will have a positive impact for companies and their staff, either it will promote a sense of individuals reaching out for help or in the manner that awareness around the relationship to alcohol needs to change. Addiction Counselling Services will be available throughout the December process. We can provide workshops to companies and teams, be available for individual assessments and our outpatient programme will also be available for individuals to attend.
With professional support been available, year end festivities don’t have to be a trigger or end in harmful circumstances.