Australia –  Drinking has become a problem in Australia despite the dropped numbers of accidents from bars and clubs closed where the obvious number of alcohol dependants have risen with nightmarish stories and consequences.

A woman drank half a bottle of gin while sitting at home when her company transitioned to work from home protocol, has been rushed and admitted to the emergency ward due to her uncontrolled drinking. Her being home allowed her to drink without any repercussions stated Professor Diana-Egerton-Warburton of the Monash Health hospital.

Another case was when an intoxicated man had to be held down by 5 police officers where they found out he had been drinking without any restraint at home. When Professor Egerton-Warbutron asked him how much he had drunk , the man responded with “However much I can afford to.”

“Anecdotally we are seeing a lot of increases in the severe alcohol harm. (The problem) with lockdown we have seen less of the random bar and street assaults and random injuries from people drunk on the streets and falling over hurting themselves and others, and more family violence, and more very extreme examples of people with severe dependency and intoxication who are being harmed while drinking at home.” Egerton-Warburton laments.

“For both men and women in these groups, psychological distress and challenges from stress and economic uncertainty have correlated with increases in their drinking.” said researcher, Professor Nicholas Biddle.

“In fact, in most weeks since the week ending 27th March, total alcohol spending has been down compared to the same week in 2019, This strongly suggests that the initial increase in alcohol sales was a one-off that reflected people ‘stocking up’ as they feared that the bottle shops would shut.” he mentioned as he explained how the people have access to alcohol but how much was used purely for the stock piling.

The psychological problems that come from the alcohol dependency is recognized as an actual problem with organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous to help people with their drinking problem. The effects of the dependency can range from short temperament and even domestic violence when unchecked and that it is encouraged for the greater mental health of the drinker to have their check ups and reach out to an Alcoholics Anonymous to help with the journey to recovery for the sake of health, peace of mind and clarity.