‘It’s a way of differentiating the working day and the evening’: How coronavirus is affecting the way we drink

Rebekah, 22, was never a big drinker. “I’m a fitness enthusiast, and would normally go to the gym five times a week, play football with a ladies team and have regular sessions with my personal trainer,” she says. “Since moving to London and embarking on my fitness journey, I’d cut down a lot of my drinking and seen major improvements to my mental and physical health – it made me feel great. Then the lockdown happened.”

On Monday 23 March Boris Johnson bound Britons to their homes to combat the coronavirus outbreak. People are now only permitted to leave home to buy food or medicine, do exercise or travel to work as a key worker. Needless to say, this has radically changed the way many people live, not least how our social lives work. “It has thrown me completely off my routine,” says Rebekah, who suffers from anxiety. “I can’t do any of the things I would normally do to calm myself down, such as going to the gym or playing sports with friends.”

Instead Rebekah says, being at home all the time where alcohol is readily available, she has started drinking almost every evening of the week. And she is far from alone.

Since the lockdown began alcohol consumption has surged in the UK, with one study finding that 61 per cent of Britons had increased their alcohol intake since social distancing measures were introduced. The law around off licenses even had to be reviewed as they were initially classified as non-essential shops. But reports of supermarkets struggling to keep up with alcohol demand meant they were re-opened.

Meanwhile, Google searches for “wine delivery UK” had increased by 2,250 per cent in the last month while “alcohol delivery” searches have increased by 250 per cent in the same time span. Demand has also spiked for online alcohol retailers, such as Wineapp, which delivers fine wines to London residents and has seen a 1,500 per cent boost in sales, while The Whisky World reported an 82 per cent increase in revenue since the lockdown was imposed. Virtual wine and beer tastings are on the rise, too, with The Wine List telling The Independent it has seen a “huge demand” for remote tastings among colleagues.

“Normally, I would only drink when socialising with friends, but now I find that rummaging through my drinks cupboard and creating cocktails is a new source of creativity,” says Alex, 26, who has also become “hooked” on virtual cocktail-making classes and IGTV wine tastings. Jess, 27, concurs: “I'm definitely drinking more alcohol now. I see it as a 'treat', something to differentiate working during the day and relaxing in the evening.”

Chartered clinical psychologist Dr Claudia Herbert says it’s no surprise that being in lockdown has changed so many people’s relationships with alcohol. “Whatever, the individual circumstances, from a psychological perspective, this is a time that poses a lot of strain and challenges for many people and many may experience the effects of this lockdown as totally overwhelming and even traumatic. And one of the effects of lockdown has been that almost all previous sources of entertainment and distraction have stopped abruptly.”

Herbert points out that people like Rebekah also can no longer rely on their usual methods of unwinding. “So without the usual external distractors, people may feel even more drawn into trying to numb their uncomfortable feelings, and the consumption of alcohol is one way of doing so.” Herbert adds that if people have other addictive behaviours, such as excessive exercise, which may be less easily available to them at the moment, it makes sense they could transfer to drinking.

But health officials and charities have issued warnings about increasing one’s alcohol intake at this time.

The World Health Organisation, for example, urges people to abstain from drinking alcohol while on lockdown, describing it as an “unhelpful coping strategy”. Meanwhile, organisations such as The Priory are encouraging people to stick to alcohol unit guidelines (no more than 14 units a week) while alcohol education charity Drinkaware is keen to warn people that the more they drink, the more they increase their tolerance, which over time could lead to a dependency.

“Having alcohol available in homes, for many people, can be a source of temptation and lead to drinking without thinking,” says Elaine Hindal, CEO at Drinkaware. “Small things can quickly turn into habits, like opening a bottle of wine in the afternoon when you normally wouldn’t, sitting with a beer while you work, or drinking out of boredom.”

But Hindal explains that those reaching for the bottle to soothe anxious thoughts could actually be exacerbating their mental states. “Our research tells us about four in ten UK drinkers say they have had a drink to help when they’re feeling anxious, depressed, particularly stressed or nervous,” she says. “But alcohol is best avoided when you are anxious. It’s actually a depressant, and it can interfere with processes in the brain that are important for good mental health as well as contribute to symptoms of severe depression.”

Signs that isolation could be having a negative impact on your drinking habits include opening a bottle or can earlier in the day than you usually would, finding it hard to stop at just one or two drinks, drinking out of boredom, drinking to calm your anxiety, or perhaps feeling the need to drink more each time to get the same feeling, Hindal says.

For those who think they might be drinking more than they should, Hindal suggests advises keeping track of your alcohol consumption using apps such as Leaf or Drink Tracker, and switching to smaller glasses when consuming wine. “Plan at least three days of the week to go drink-free,” she adds. “And challenge yourself to come up with other activities at home instead of drinking alcohol, for example, having a games night, taking a long bath or trying a new recipe.”