5 Ways the Covid (Not) Changed Our Relationship with Alcohol

“Should I drink less?” I asked myself in my post a month ago. At the end of the post, I’ve decided to give up alcohol for one month. And that turned out to be hard in an unexpected way. Read bellow my experience and four stories that you shared with me about your relationship with alcohol during the quarantine.

#1 Unipony’s Dry Diary

1 Monday 

Dear Diary, nothing happened today. Just hung out at home. Stepped on a scale to see my weight just in case this info comes handy later…

2 Tuesday

Went for točená zmrzlina with Alex, although beer was an option. And it definitely came to my mind.

3 Wednesday 

Had lunch with S. We almost always drink together. This time we had coffee, ice cream, and jahodová limonáda. No one mentioned alcohol. Although it came to my mind, but I wasn’t craving it. I blame my autopilot.

4 Thursday

Had ice cream with Matt. We walked around and then had iced tea and some Birell at Lucerna. Wow, Birell is actually quite good. Kind of forgot that. Later, Alex and I went for salsa lesson and had another Birell for dinner – with my burger.

5 Friday

Hi, Diary, just hanging home. No alcohol thoughts.

6 Saturday

Today there’s a big family celebration of everything. Haven’t seen most of them since before Christmas. The beginning of the reunion was super awkward as always. But the social anxiety went eventually away. I was relaxed, chatty, and had fun. Usually, I’d give credit to alcohol for that.

Also felt kind of sick afterwards. I’d give credit to alcohol for that either. But I guess I just ate like a pig. Besides, I felt no guilt for “saying something stupid because I was drunk”. Every stupidity that came out of my mouth was soberly calculated.

7 Sunday 

No alcohol-related news. I have a headache, I’m anxious and don’t feel super mentally fit. Too much coffee? Hormones? Moon? Who knows…

8 Monday

Lunch with S. Having a burger and channeling my new found love for the non-alcoholic beer. This time with Patron from Chotěboř. Wow, wouldn’t even recognized there was no alcohol.

9 Tuesday

Lunch with Matt. It doesn’t bother me at all he has a glass of wine. Non-alcoholic beer is here to save my day. I don’t really like almost any non-alcoholic options anywhere. I don’t like sweet drinks, soda drinks, by lunchtime I’m usually over-caffeinated, I must be in the mood for tea, and I find water ridiculously over-priced. But non-alcoholic beer… you’re here for me.

10 Wednesday

Feeling anxious and could use a glass of wine. Instead had a banana milkshake after lunch and non-alcoholic beer with my dinner.

11 Thursday

Ugh, Diary, I really want a drink. The weather finally cleared up and I took a walk through Prague and saw all the people enjoying their drinks outside. Of course, all those bastards had beer or wine or Aperol spritz. Nobody drinks nealko. Nealko isn’t cutting it for me anymore, I want the real stuff. The line, “I’d kill for a glass of beer,” actually crossed my mind. But I also remembered that when I was quitting smoking I had similar thoughts and when I just gave it a little bit time it went away. So I fixed my frustration with Mrož ice cream.

12 Friday

Met up with friends by the river. Not drinking doesn’t bother me today. Nobody really drinks anyway. But I’m not really feeling the non-alcoholic beer today. I feel tense and I’m super thirsty.

13 Saturday

I’m sick. Probably some infection.

14 Sunday

Still sick but definitelly better. Drinking a lot of tea.

15 Monday

Oh, Diary. Had a challenging day at work. Could use a glass of wine. Or four. Thank god I can’t drink. I’d get druuunk. I’m meeting Káťa at náplavka. Zero fucks given that Káťa drinks cider and I don’t. But I don’t like my Birell “classic” today. Tried to order one of the fruity Birells from a tap. Wow, that’s good! Refreshing and not that sweet at all.

I feel a bit tense again. Mental note to myself – do I drink too much coffee?

16 Tuesday

I’m not feeling great. But can’t tell if or which of my physical or mental symptoms are related to drinking or not drinking alcohol. I think there is some infection my body is fighting off right now so… I’m generally not feeling too fabulous the past couple of days. For the first time in a long time I haven’t practiced yoga. Although I love it.

17 Wednesday 

I’m working from home. No alcohol thoughts. I have the energy to do things. Did some yoga in the morning. Then I opened my personal to-do list and got done everything I could. That really helped with my anxiety.

18 Thursday

Super busy day at work and I loved doing everything. It was exhilarating and I felt important. After our salsa lesson, Alex and I went for a burger again. I had a red-current limo. No alcohol thoughts.

19 Friday

Hey, Diary! I kick ass in an incredible way! Managed to do all my work to-do list. Even tasks that lingered there for ages. I “cleared my desk” and can focus now on the super enjoyable work tasks. I feel energetic, healthy, and motivated. No alcohol thoughts.

20 Saturday

Still feeling really energetic, kick-ass, motivated, happy, and like an accomplished person, who knows how to get things done. Wooohooo, I’m on fire! No alcohol thoughts.

21 Sunday

Heading for a whole-day canoe trip on Berounka. Of course, there is alcohol, but no pressure to drink. I didn’t even feel like drinking… until the end of the day. I wouldn’t have minded to finish off the day with one beer. And I don’t see why that would be a problem, just between you and me, dear Diary.

22 Monday

All day busy at work, then met up with Alex to go to the Invisible Exhibition and ended up going for a burger at The Globe. I would have ordered a small beer. Not because it’s alcohol but because it’s the best item on the menu. Was kinda tired at the end of the day. Not very cheerful or energetic. Dunno. Even thought for a bit if this apathy is because I can’t have a drink. Some things don’t seem that much fun. Not because I can’t get wasted but because I don’t find the logic in denying myself a glass of beer when I’m in a mood. Anyway, not going to be hung up on this too much. I think I’m actually legitimately exhausted after being so whoo!-on-fire for the last few days.

23 Tuesday

Vaccination. Finally! I have a legitimate reason not to drink. The first three dry weeks were fun but now I’m just not drinking to prove myself I can do it till the end of the month. I don’t feel I’m getting any other benefits out of it. And that frustrates me. I’m definitely not going to being abstinent after this experience. I’ll probably drink on fewer occasions, but I won’t deny myself a glass of beer if I feel like a glass of beer.

24 Wednesday

Yay! Still after vaccination and having a good reason not to drink. Was feeling a little under weather (because of vaccination?) And didn’t go with Alex for his sing-along. Among others, also because I knew I wouldn’t be able to have a drink and didn’t feel like singing “dry” among strangers.

25 Thursday

Alex and I treated ourselves with some Pakistani. I had a delicious mango lassie. No alcohol thoughts.

26 Friday 

Hi, Diary, it’s me again. I sort of made my peace with making it till the end, but have no pleasure in it anymore. I’m not learning anything new about myself, I don’t see any health benefits for me anymore. Don’t see any sense in denying myself a glass of beer. Now towards the end, I’m avoiding social events cause I can’t justify myself not drinking anymore. I’m saving social events “for later”. I already proved myself it’s fine to hang out with friends and not drink. But this is another extreme. Not having a drink ever is not an option for me. I don’t need to get wasted, I’d just sometimes like to have a nice glass of beer at the end of the day. 

27 Saturday

I’m deliberately considering to break the dry June ’cause it doesn’t align with my values. But I consulted it with Alex and decided to stick with the month, to prevent being accused of just not being able to go through with it. So I will, but I feel like an idiot. Doing this just for the sake of saying I did it. I don’t mind not drinking, I mind not drinking for dumb reasons.

Never thought that the thing that would (almost) break me is the notion that this challenge is stupid.

28 Sunday

Working all day from home. No alcohol thoughts.

29 Monday

Dear Diary, we almost made it… Don’t really feel that frustrated anymore. Still really like non-alcoholic beer.

30 Tuesday

It’s the first time in my adult life that I haven’t had any alcohol for 30 days straight. Yes, I can proudly say it now. I can even write it in my CV if I want to. And also that the last dry week was unnecessary for me. So I’m a bit of a moron too. A moron with principles 😛

I can also claim with confidence that I’ve never eaten so much ice cream in my entire adult life and reflecting on the journal, maybe I should cut down the number of burgers and coffees I have each week… Let’s call it a project for later 😛 Oh, and my weight hasn’t changed a gram 😀

#2 Matt’s Story

“I have been ‘rationing’ my drinking for several years now, although I usually fail. So it would be more accurate to call it ‘aspirationing’ I guess 🙂. My entirely arbitrary target is one-third of a bottle of wine, or a Whisky Wednesday at Jáma (typically four times 20ml half measures), or three beers per day, with two alcohol-free days per week.”

“Before quarantine, I would slip on at least one day a week, and usually only manage one alcohol-free day. But at least I was aware of it, and it stopped me going too crazy. At the start of lockdown, my drinking went down – because the temptation of bars and restaurants went away. But as it has gone on, the ‘two alcohol-free days each week’ has gone out of the window entirely. But conversely, I have stuck to my daily limits. So… I’m failing differently 😀”

#3 Kasia’s Story

“I generally don’t drink much. Meaning two times per week on average, and every time having between one or two beers or two glasses of wine. During the quarantine I’d drink sometimes three times per week, every time being one or two beers. The reason is the nice weather, that lets me do my daily guitar practice in the park next to the house and the beer entertains me (‘cause it is usually pretty boring repeating the stuff). Another reason is the boredom of the lockdown routine (I like the lockdown 80% of the time though), when I just drink to feel differently despite still being in the same place, for example on my couch, reading the news, watching something, chatting with people. But I already enjoyed such alone drinking before, so no big changes in drinking habits really 🙂”

#4 Petra’s Story

“In the autumn of last year, I decided that I will not drink as much as I used to. Lately, I’ve found getting drunk actually quite boring and a waste of my time. So in general, during this year, I wasn’t drinking much which makes me quite happy and satisfied. During the quarantine time, I had a beer on about three occasions (usually split to two „portions“ during the day) and I opened a bottle of wine that I did not finish as I didn’t feel any pleasure from the alcohol anymore.”

“But I must admit though that I got drunk once. I am not really sure if it was related to the quarantine itself. It was more because of an issue I had at work and because a couple of pigeons ‘visited’ my flat, which makes me frightened and I basically needed to calm down to feel ok in my flat. I was drinking online with my friend so it did not feel that bad as drinking alone.”

“Honestly, I quite enjoyed ‘getting wild’ after more than half a year. But I am happy it was just a one-time action and I don’t feel any need to do it anytime soon. So I’d say that my relationship with alcohol is the same now as it was right before or during the quarantine. Alcohol is a companion that can bring some fun for a while, but I don’t need to see ‘him’ often.”

#5 Harry’s Story

“Alcohol is a big part of our lives, so we should not kid ourselves. We can try excuses like, ‘The beer is cheaper than water in a restaurant,’ or, ‘It’s not alcohol, it’s a remedy,’ but every time we go out, we are at a party, watching TV at home, or we are at any other social event, we usually end up with a glass or a bottle in a hand. Well, no great story starts with, ‘We drank so much milk…’ I know that from experience.”

“Before Corona, there were some things to consider before leaving for a night out, ‘What is the cost of considerable intoxication? Who’s the company? How far do I have to go? How will I get home? Will we stay in one place or mingle?’ Some answers usually keep us a bit restrained as a result.”

“Since the coronavirus came, I usually drink at home, and all the questions mentioned above suddenly disappeared. I’m already at home, I’m drinking the bottle I bought in a shop for a fragment of cost, I don’t have to travel two hours there and two back, with the usual stop at the McDonald’s at 5 in the morning. The top of my interaction is usually chatting with my friends via video chat. So no need to dress up – not even pants are mandatory anymore. The only thing I have to focus on is drinking and avoiding my friends to see my buttocks when I go to the loo. So, you can guess how this ends up.”

“I managed to figure out that this kind of social drinking is not really fun and I like to bother my friends with my drunken wittiness in person. So I cleverly sacrificed myself – I drank all of my reserves, didn’t buy new ones, and am waiting for times when I would be able to amuse masses with my drunkenness again. So bottoms up and see you in better times in better places with better stuff to enjoy while drinking.”

That’s all for the topic of the last month – Alcohol. If you’d like to add anything or share your story, please join the conversation on my Facebook page. And/or share your story about the next month’s topic – Games! And join me in the search for the ultimate game of my life! 😀