A British doctor said the “every day is Friday” mentality sparked by coronavirus lockdowns has contributed to an increase in the number of alcoholism cases he’s seen.
“When listening to the stories, these were people who, a few weeks ago, were actually functioning very well, holding down jobs, living normal, day-to-day lives,” Dr. Rob Hampton, who specializes in addiction, told the BBC. “Within three weeks, they’d become dependent alcoholic drinkers and needing detoxification rehab.”
“If you look at what lockdown meant to people’s lives — so first of all, having to get up every day to go to work and take the kids to school — all of that just stopped,” he continued. “Somebody described it perfectly to me: ‘Every day is Friday night now.’ And there’s no reason to get up in the morning.”
The BBC reported that the British Liver Trust’s help hotline has seen a 500% increase in calls since the lockdown began. The United Kingdom has also seen an increase in alcohol-related deaths over the last few decades, with alcohol-related liver disease deaths increasing by 400% since 1970.
One of Hampton’s patients, Chris McLone, said that he was active before the pandemic and didn’t depend on alcohol.
“I was in a good place before lockdown. I was keeping fit, I was swimming five days a week, I was doing well at work, and I was in a good mindset, to be honest,” he said.
Then the pandemic hit.
McLone said he began increasing how much he drank and then experienced withdrawal symptoms.
“I’ve never been like that in my life, and I had to admit that to myself. So I was drinking very early in the morning to stop withdrawal symptoms,” he said. “I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again tomorrow. Of course, the exact same thing happened the next day. And that’s when I realized I had to take big steps to get some proper treatment.”
Hampton added that both people facing job losses amid the pandemic and those with steady employment felt the pinch of isolation and stress, which contributed to an increase in drinking.
“You add that to the isolation some people were feeling, the job insecurity, all sorts of stresses and strains in relation to the uncertainty for the future,” he said. “But even those who were furloughed and felt more confident about their work, their kids were at home, they were having to get involved in home-schooling. There was just that need for a stress buster every day.”
The U.K. has reported over 327,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than 41,500 deaths since the pandemic began earlier this year.
