Are you finding yourself drinking more since the government self-isolation rules came into force? If so you are not the only one. Sales of alcohol in the UK went up by 22% in March 2020. US online alcohol sales jumped by a whopping 243%. If we look at the link between alcohol and Coronavirus it is clear that people are drinking more to cope with the lockdown.

Drinking and Self-Isolation

We are in an unprecedented situation at the moment. The sheer numbers of people around the world who are being forced to stay at home due to the virus is unheard of. The anxiety and stress that is being created by the current situation is having an impact on our physical and psychological well-being. This means that people are trying to find new ways to cope with the new normal.

Hands up if you worried about:

• Catching the Virus
• Trying to feed your family
• Whether your job was secure
• How are you going to pay your bills with no income coming in
• Not seeing your family or feeling isolated
• Trying to home school your children

Is it any wonder that people are looking at coping mechanisms to get them through this? Alcohol and Coronavirus are linked because people are using drink as a way of switching off from the stress and worry. I should point out that alcohol will not be the only tool people are using. There is also an overeating epidemic going on as well and in countries where it is legal Cannabis sales have also gone through the roof.

Alcohol and Anxiety

In my work with my clients, there is a strong correlation between stress, anxiety and alcohol usage. A few decades ago alcohol tended to be drunk in the pub or at parties but was rarely drunk regularly at home. Then the advertisers got involved and started to sell the idea of drinking at home. My clients got used to the idea that alcohol was now a part of their home life.

If you have a bar cart, wine fridge, cocktail making equipment or even created a wine cellar then you have also bought into the suggestion that alcohol at home is perfectly acceptable. It is also worth noting that since the 1970’s more women are drinking adding to the issue.

So in years gone by after a stressful day at work, you would have had to have left the house to have a drink as a coping mechanism. As this was not practical for most people other coping mechanisms were found. Now the wine fridge is there right in front of you in your new shiny kitchen. This means if you have had a bad day you just grab a bottle of wine and start pouring yourself a glass to “relax”.

In reality, you aren’t relaxing in the conventional sense but trying to escape from unhelpful feelings or thoughts. That glass of wine or bottle of beer helps take the edge off so that after a few you have pushed whatever is bothering you to the back of your mind.

As my clients are now unable to leave the house for prolonged periods of time other coping mechanisms have also been curtailed. They can no longer go to the gym or their social clubs, visit their friends and their alcohol use steadily rises. It does not solve the problem and they suffer from the dreaded “hangxiety” the following morning but they keep on doing it as a way of getting through the lockdown.

Alcohol and Mental Health

What we are going to see in the near future is an alcohol and Coronavirus mental health crisis. No matter how much you think alcohol helps you relax the statistics show something completely different.

Drinking too much over time increases issues with anxiety and depression. This means that your ability to cope with any stress becomes more difficult. Over time you simply enter into a vicious cycle of drinking to cope with stress, the alcohol increasing your anxiety and lowering your mood and you drinking more to cope.

The drinking habits that are happening now are problematic because when this is over it won’t be simple for many people to just stop. New habits will have been created as well as alternative coping strategies. This means for many people their control over their alcohol usage just won’t be as strong as it was before this all started.

The full impact of Coronavirus on the world’s mental health may not be known for some time but it is increasingly likely that many more people are going to need psychological support over the next year. Not just for alcohol issues but for a whole range of psychological problems.

Yet despite the known health risks related to drinking it is interesting to see that many governments have not shut off licences or alcohol sales. In fact, the government in the UK actually went as far as putting shops that sold alcohol on its list of stores that must be kept open. The question is why? Did they believe that keeping the peace when people were in quarantine would be necessary and allowing people to still drink was one way of doing this?

Drink Less Therapy Program

My drink less therapy program was created as a way of helping increasing numbers of my clients who were drinking too much as a way of coping with stress or emotional issues. It is not designed for alcoholics but for the majority of drinkers who have created bad nightly drinking habits and don’t seem to know how to stop.

The program is designed to help you change classic conditioning, negative habits and increase motivation. It also helps you to address lifestyle issues which need to be altered. Remember alcohol is only the symptom of your problem but it is not usually the cause.

I see people who are drinking for various reasons and although Coronavirus and alcohol usage is one of them there are many other factors behind clients need to drink. I have already talked about stress but plenty of other emotions are drowned out through alcohol usage:

• Fear
• Guilt
• Sadness
• Grief
• Anger
• Rejection
• Lack of confidence

My job is to help my clients identify their underlying worries and help them address them in a more positive way.

Hypnosis for Drinking

I can almost guarantee that the people who are drinking more in this crisis already had underlying issues with stress or anxiety long before the Coronavirus epidemic. Usually, my client’s problems stretch back for many years. All this self-isolation has done has compounded problems that were already there. Coronavirus and alcohol consumption is much more complex than just looking at this moment in time.

This is where hypnosis for drinking can be useful in my drink less coaching sessions. It enables me to relax my clients sufficiently so that I can find out what is going on in their subconscious minds. In many cases, this unearths information that may be helpful in explaining why my clients use alcohol to switch off. Yes, I know that stress may be partly to blame but why are certain people more likely to reach for a drink whilst others do the opposite. You can try this download for yourself by purchasing it in our online store.

Self-Hypnosis for Drinking

Hypnosis has a dual usage when it comes to self-hypnosis. Firstly listening to a self-hypnosis for alcohol reduction audio like the one I created especially for my clients is deeply relaxing. Listen to it daily and it can help to reduce your stress levels.

Secondly, the download gives suggestions to your subconscious for a change of habit. Put simply if you tell your mind to do something more positive again and again it is more likely to change a habit. Think of Mohammed Ali who told everyone he was the greatest. You become what you think.

You can try my self-hypnosis for drinking less audio for yourself by heading over to my online store and downloading a copy.

Drink Less Coaching

Alcohol and Coronavirus stress is undoubtedly a toxic combination for many people. If you find that your drinking habits are getting out of control due to the current crisis there are people such as myself who can help. Just fill out the form below to get details of my Drink Less Program. This therapy is available worldwide using online therapy via programs such as Skype or Facetime.

You Might Also Want to Read:

5 Reasons Why You Drink Too Much Alcohol

How to Drink Less Alcohol in 5 Steps

How to Stop Alcohol Cravings

10 Reasons For Not Drinking Alcohol

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