In the coronavirus pandemic, the focus is often on the direct health and economic damage caused by the corona crisis. An addiction counselor tells of increased alcohol consumption - and a study gives alarming figures.
- Coronavirus pandemic * : In the Corona * crisis , the immediate consequences are often the focus.
- An addiction counselor is now reporting on "collateral damage" from Covid-19 * - and who it affects.
- Existential fears caused by the corona pandemic and additional pressure at work apparently increase alcohol consumption - that says a study from Nuremberg and Mannheim.
Munich - What is Corona * doing to us? This question is asked everywhere. A study has shown a worrying result, and an addiction counselor made the findings tangible in an interview: Many people in Germany drink more alcohol in and because of the Covid 19 pandemic * . And across all social classes.
Coronavirus pandemic in Germany: Doctors warn of a higher risk of addiction
"It is known from previous epidemics that the associated stress can promote addictive behavior and risky alcohol or tobacco consumption," the German Medical Journal recently warned.
And: A study by the Central Institute for Mental Health (ZI) in Mannheim and the Nuremberg Clinic showed, according to an anonymous online survey with 3,200 participants, that more than a third (37 percent) of those surveyed consume more alcohol than usual.
In an online study we ask, among other things, what the current psychological stress is like in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Please support our research and take part. It takes around 15 minutes to answer. 🙏 @witthoef @unikonstanz @uni_mainz # COVID19 https://t.co/VYAceFuAkM
- Central Institute for Mental Health (@zi_mannheim) July 3, 2020An addiction counselor has now made these alarming findings tangible. “Many problems are only just getting worse. Because only now is the collateral damage of the crisis emerging, such as existential fears. I know a lot of people whose income has been zero in the past few months. For some of them, alcohol is a way of getting through it all. The classic "comforter of the soul", explained Bernd Thränhardt in an interview with Focus Online.
Corona pandemic in Germany: increased alcohol consumption in the home office?
The journalist and sports scientist was once an addict himself, wrote a book about this time (“Ausgesoff”) and today advises people on how to escape their addiction and / or deal with it.
He says: “From some research we now know for sure that there was much more drinking during the crisis. For example, the numbers of alcohol sales in supermarkets suggest this. A friend of mine is a manager in a large corporation. He told me that some of the employees were already sitting drunk in the video conferences at noon. Nobody smells. ”Increased alcohol consumption from home office?
Alcohol and Corona: Consumption is increasing in the coronavirus pandemic, even among educated people
From Thränhardt's statements it can at least be concluded that also (or in particular) more educated people from socially higher professions are affected by this tendency in the coronavirus pandemic .
He says: “That only the socially weak develop alcohol problems is a huge fallacy. On the contrary, there are open studies by the Heidelberg University Clinic that those at risk are more educated, well-off people between 40 and 50. People with high social prestige, for whom it is almost a status symbol to have a bottle of wine in the eveningdrinks. They then drink expensive wine for 40 to 50 euros a bottle, but of course it's just as addictive as the cheap "
In his opinion it is conclusive “that these people have the highest increase in addicts with alcohol . Many of these people are under high professional and social stress and are perhaps doctors in a hospital. Of course, I also have doctors among my clients. You are at high risk of developing addictive diseases. The stress, the enormous fear of making mistakes, "he says and claims:" There are many doctors who operate under alcoholic conditions. There was before Corona * , during Corona and there will be afterwards. "
Corona crisis: Covid 19 situation makes people resort to alcohol more
As the Nuremberg Clinic writes about its study, the survey shows "that participants with a lower level of schooling and a higher, subjective sense of stress increasingly resorted to alcohol and tobacco". Whether (supposedly) socially weaker or well-off - the increased alcohol consumption in the Corona crisis apparently affects all population groups. (pm) * Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network
