A New Take on Life

Gradual

The thing about addiction is that we often tend to think it happens to ‘other people’ and that things have to be extreme to be classed as serious. It’s the idea that alcoholics must drink all day every day, sipping vodka or gin first thing in the morning, and that drug addicts are permanently using narcotics. Of course they are myths that still need to be debunked because in reality anyone can become an addict, no matter what their age, gender or background.

And in a lockdown situation people may have found themselves turning to other things to help them escape their feelings or simply to fill the time that might have been spent out of the house socialising and enjoying different pastimes.

But the most frightening thing with addiction is that it tends to happen so gradually that you might not even realise it’s a problem before it’s too late. For example, that extra glass of wine in the evening – because ‘why not I’ve nowhere to be’ or ‘it will help me relax’ – might eventually turn into a bottle and before long you find you can’t cope without it, that your whole evening revolves around it.

For some this grows even more as alcohol and drugs only offer a temporary escape. The crashing lows experienced the next day might prompt further use to keep the good feelings going. ‘Hair of the dog’ to help the hangover or another drug hit to combat the comedown. It’s a cycle that can be difficult to break.

Indeed boredom and the lack of anything else to do could be the reason for shopping addition to take hold. With the shops closed and online browsing such a huge thing now there’s pretty much nothing you can’t order at the click of a button. And who doesn’t feel that little high, that tinge of excitement when the delivery van pulls up outside and a package gets dropped in the porch?

With little else to spend hard-earned working-from-home cash on, online shopping might have started small, a little treat here and there, telling yourself you had to buy it as the shops were closed. Then before long it’s become a problem, because the high of the delivery arriving is short-lived and it’s onto your next fix, buying anything, stuff you don’t need, just to get that rush of excitement.

It’s a similar cycle with gambling. Online betting is huge and taking part brings excitement at the possibility of winning a fortune. If you’re struggling financially too, there’s the idea that one big win could be all it takes to sort it out and then all the cash problems will be over.

When your spending starts to spiral, however, and debts mount up, suddenly you could find yourself in deeper trouble.

The first step

The first step to recovery is realising you have a problem – and admitting it to yourself.

If you know your spending is out of control, your reliance on alcohol or drugs is taking over your life or you find yourself spending too much on things that you can’t seem to stop, for example, then try to be as honest with yourself as you can. Listen to loved ones who might have raised concerns, do some research and read up on how addictions can affect people.

It can be frightening but don’t be afraid to take action, especially now. Coming out of lockdown means face-to-face services are starting to operate again and the potential to get help could be more readily available.

Graham Beech, from Action on Addiction, says: “Addiction has the potential to have a far-reaching negative impact across the whole of society. The much better news is that recovery from addiction can also be far reaching – a force for good that is positively life-changing. One of the lessons from the pandemic is that it has never been more important than now to invest in evidence-based recovery that will give people the chance to live their lives free from the ravages of addiction.”