In the “new normality” of corona, everybody has the opportunity to shape a new world. Use this to your own advantage.
In an earlier blog post, I wrote that I would take a break of roughly one month from drinking alcohol. That was at the beginning of March 2020 — then, corona happened and nothing is the same anymore… Really, nothing? No, some things have not changed. And one among them is the obvious fact that alcohol is bad for your health, your mood and your productivity.
So, I continued to say “no” to all kinds of alcoholic beverages for almost the whole fasting period — I stopped a few days earlier, because I certainly wanted to drink a glass of sparkling wine for my birthday.
Surprisingly, this experiment went really well. Despite the fact that I’ve been drinking a lot during the past two decades, I had no problem with this specific aspect of fasting. And I condider the corona lockdown to be the main reason for that. Why?
Social distancing means alcoholic distancing
The main problem with alcohol in western societies is a phenomenon known as “social drinking”: Whilst it is not okay to smoke a spliff of inject heroin during a cocktail party, it is not only socially accepeted, but even socially expected to drink a glass of wine, beer or sparkling wine on almost every event. This applies to business events as well as to partys with friends, as I already mentioned in an earlier posting. And certain industries, such as journalism, are even more affected by this, since going to evening events is part of their daytime jobs.
With the corona-lockdown, we are forced to practice social distancing — which means that we meet less friends and don’t go to business evening events anymore. And therefore, you also get rid of this eery feeling of having to say “no” to a waiter several times, when he wants to offer you a drink repeatedly.
At home, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. There is no peer pressure with drinking, you can live life in your own style and make your own rules. So, you can also simply not drink alcohol. Take a break.
How to go on from here
Use this to your adavantage. Use the corona lockdown in order to take a break from your drinking habits and other bad habits which you have probably applied because of your social environment.
Of course, this doesn’t necesseraily mean that you have to abandon alcohol in total and give up on all other bad habits as well (e.g. eating unhealthy food). It’s still totally fine to have a glass of wine with your spouse and order a pizza now and then. But you should be aware that we are entering a phase of “new normality” now — and that you can grab this opportunity in order to make your own rules and shape a world that is good for you and your health.
Nota bene: This advice of course only applies if you are not a severe alcoholic. In that case, please contact a doctor or a specialized institution for professional treatment.