You may have noticed yourself, friends, or family members increasing their alcohol intake during the pandemic. The recent quarantine has given us many reasons for an increase in alcohol use. A person might be experiencing stress from losing a job, changes due to working from home, having little personal space, or the increased strain of being a teacher to kids who are out of school. There is also easy access to alcohol throughout the day and virtual happy hours are providing a way for people to stay connected.
You might be concerned about yours, or someone else’s alcohol use. Let us start with introducing some education on alcohol so you can make informed decisions on your alcohol consumption and accurately assess where you stand in your alcohol use.
First, we need to understand what the standard drink size is. For beers, the standard drink size is 12 oz, wine is 5 oz, and liquor is 1.5 oz. These sizes are based on alcohol contents of 4% for beer, 14% for wine, and 40% for liquor. You can find the alcohol content on the labels of the individual products. If the alcohol content is higher than those reported, you will need to adjust for the drink size. For example, many craft beers are over 4% alcohol, which would mean you would get less than 12 oz in a standard drink.
The amounts for the different types of alcohols means those drinks are equivalent in their impact on your blood alcohol level. Twelve (12) ounces of beer = 5 oz wine = 1.5 oz of liquor when you calculate how much your blood alcohol level raises per drink. If you have a mixed drink, you might consider it as one drink, but it could have several standard drinks in it. For example, a long island iced tea often has a minimum of 4 different liquors; one long island iced tea is equal to 4 standard drinks.
Now that we know the standard drink size, what does that tell us about how our blood alcohol content is impacted by each standard drink? Males and females metabolize alcohol differently, therefore the blood alcohol content per drink is different between males and females. For the average male, your blood alcohol level raises 0.02 per standard drink, and for women it raises 0.03. To put this into context, the legal limit to drive in most states is below 0.08.
The time to process alcohol out of your body is similar between males and females and is between 1.5-2 hours. I like to use 2 hours as a gauge to be on the safe side when doing quick calculations.
That is a lot of numbers to remember and might seem like a buzzkill when you just want to enjoy your alcohol. Despite the apparent complexity, it is important for you to remember this information. You can unknowingly place you or your family in danger if you make the decision to drive, or do a dangerous job, when you still have alcohol in your system. The wife’s tale of no alcohol 8 hours before you go to work is only accurate if you drink an amount of alcohol that can be processed in 8 hours. For males that would be 4 drinks and females, 2.5 drinks.
Another important piece of information is understanding that alcohol can not only have negative consequences with intake, but it can also have negative consequences as you withdraw from the substance. For some people who are heavy drinkers over an extended period of time, stopping alcohol use abruptly can lead to severe complications, including death. This is one reason why liquor stores are considered essential businesses in many states during the pandemic. As money is tight for many people, and access to alcohol is limited due to stores being closed or someone being unable to leave the house, consider those friends and family members who you know drink a lot and warn them of this potential danger. Making the decision to stop alcohol use should be discussed with your therapist or medical provider.
If you have found that you have increased your alcohol use during the quarantine and want to cut back, there are many healthy coping mechanisms that might be effective. Consider trying physical activity, journaling, drawing, talking to others, mindfulness, and spirituality. Many of the alcohol support groups also have online classes/groups that you can join during the pandemic. Alcoholics Anonymous is probably the most well-known. Another option that does not have a spiritual component is SMART recovery. Find the group that is a good fit for you and your goals.
If making changes on your own seems daunting and you would like assistance, there are many effective treatments for substance misuse. Mental health providers are trained in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of a variety of mental health conditions, to include substance use disorders. Substance use disorders are often found to co-occur with other mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. By speaking with a mental health provider, you can take steps to creating change. Even if you do not think you have a drinking “problem”, but would like tools to decrease your drinking, a mental health provider can assist you. Presenting to mental health sooner versus later will lead to the greatest outcomes.
At Mindset Therapy we provide mental health services in Texas and Washington from trained professionals, via telepsychology, which allows you to attend the appointment from the location most convenient for you. Visit Mindset Therapy at: https://www.mindsettherapyonline.com/ to learn more about the services offered and make an appointment. Also visit our YouTube page, Mindset Therapy, PLLC, for the Mental Health Minute series that provides quick pieces of information for common mental health issues.