Have you been drinking more during the pandemic?

Did you see the New York Times article about the recent increased level of alcohol consumption? Surveys show that nearly one in four American adults is drinking more to manage the stressors of the pandemic.

It's understandable. We all had to find ways to deal. There are lots of ways that people deal with stress: food, alcohol, marijuana, excessive sleep, no sleep, binge-watching Netflix, working out excessively, or not working out at all. My yoga practice helped me a lot. But I also found myself eating too much chocolate and switching into a super-busy mode for distraction.

Yoga and meditation are wonderful tools for dealing with the everyday stressors of life. But they require consistent practice to be effective. And sometimes we have to deal with an excessive amount of stress, as we did over the past year.

Wanting quick relief, we find ourselves reaching for things that provide us instant relief, even if the relief is only temporary (and sometimes makes the long-term situation worse). Alcohol is a popular choice for dealing with stress and temporarily numbing our feelings.

One-fourth of US adults are currently drinking more than they used to. This made me think: if there are 259 of you wonderful people reading my weekly newsletter, statistically 65 of you are drinking more ... and for some of you, that increased level of drinking might be worrisome.

So, instead of criticizing yourself for drinking more than you feel you should, accept that you had good reasons for doing so. But now that the pandemic is coming to an end (at least in the US and most of Europe), it might be time for a reset.

If you want to cut back on drinking, here are some tips:

1. Set daily or weekly limits: obviously, that limit should be lower than what you’re currently drinking; if you want to use an app for tracking your drinks, check out Drinker’s Helper, DrinkControl, IntelliDrink, R-U-Buzzed?, ALCulator, Drinking Buddy, etc.
2. Choose some alcohol-free time periods: for example, decide not to drink before 7 PM; and I’m referring to your own time zone (not “it’s 7 PM somewhere”).
3. Choose some alcohol-free days: decide not to drink some days of the week to “prove that you can do it”; for example, you might choose not to drink Mondays and Thursdays.
4. Set yourself a Challenge to not drink at all for a certain number of weeks; how about until the Fourth of July weekend?
5. Have a drink only with dinner: skip the pre-dinner drink(s), pour yourself one glass for dinner, and then put the bottle away.
6. Don’t keep alcohol in your home: out of sight, out of mind; not having immediate access to alcohol will help you cut down on drinking (or at least make it more of an effort to get that drink).
7. Pace yourself: alternate your (alcoholic) drinks with sparkling water or club soda (perhaps with cranberry juice or lime); this will keep you hydrated and help pace yourself.
8. Dilute your drinks: add some soda to your white wine to create a wine spritzer; or add lemon soda to your beer to create a "Radler" (refreshing and very popular in German-speaking countries);
9. Watch out for peer pressure: just because the people around you are drinking alcohol, doesn’t mean you have to. Pour a non-alcoholic drink into a cocktail glass and nobody will even know; and frankly, most people don’t care whether you drink alcohol or not.
10. Keep yourself busy: play games, go for a hike, read a book, play with your pet, pick up a new hobby.
11. Find alternative ways to relax: spend time in nature, meditate, do yoga (sign up for my online gentle yoga classes), breathwork, take warm baths, treat yourself to massages, etc.

If you enjoy reading memoirs, I highly recommend (especially for women) the book "Drinking: A Love Story" by Caroline Knapp. It's a candid and brave story of how this accomplished professional woman started drinking herself into oblivion and eventually got out of that tailspin.

Be well,

Christine

P.S. New or newish to yoga? Grab your free Starter Guide to Yoga: