“The pandemic has taken a significant toll on my mental health. I don’t think I am an alcoholic, but I am worried that I’m approaching dangerous territory with my pandemic-induced drinking habits. It seemed normal at first to have a glass of wine in the evening to decompress, but this has become a habit. I’ve been experiencing a lot of insomnia and am growing to depend on alcohol just to calm down my racing thoughts enough to fall asleep at night. I used to enjoy social drinking with my friends a lot, and I have always been a drinker. But now I use it more than ever before as a way to escape from the reality of my life. I’m routinely waking up with a hangover, feeling groggy and in a mental fog, which only compounds my anxiety surrounding my stunted research and my fears regarding bleak job prospects. It’s a difficult pattern to break out of, but I’m trying to replace alcohol with other self-care routines in the evenings including skin-care regimens, meditation, and calming herbal tea.”
