Everything we are taught socially - shaking hands, giving someone a hug, kissing on the cheek in some cultures, getting together with people, not worrying about washing your hands every second of the day.....is now in doing the exact opposite of all those things. And in doing this we also not only reduce the chances of getting covid-19, but also the flu and common cold!

It’s going to be interesting if some of these new social measures are going to be permanent for some people when (or if) this covid-19 scare eventually fades! As the decades pass by and assuming this covid-19 scare is much lessened, the new younger generation might be thinking, “oh look at those older folks afraid of getting near people”, not realizing what we went through from this.

And how is this going to affect the recovery rates for alcoholism and drug addiction? So much of recovery for most folks involves getting together with other recovering people and one alcoholic helping another.

I realize the importance of everyone taking the responsibility of doing their part in not spreading covid-19. But I wonder how many alcoholics and addicts have died or went back to using again as the result of not being able to get help from meetings being shut down and everyone not wanting to get close to anyone!

My bet is as the result of the covid-19 scare, it’s probably going to be in the thousands of people who died by going back to drinking or couldn’t get help from lack of social contact!

Thanks dee! As far as I know most people where I’m at who attend meetings don’t do online meetings. They need that face to face contact with other recovering people. Now that doesn’t mean most are going to go back to drinking just cause they can’t get to meetings. But my bet is some of the people who are on the borderline - the ones who are fighting that internal battle where 50% of their selves is saying to stay sober and the other 50% of them is saying to go ahead and try drinking again, are going to go back to drinking without the meetings.

Also the new people who enter treatment or AA meetings for the first time is probably in the hundreds or thousands every single day around the world! My bet is many will continue drinking without that first stage of help that is crucial in staying sober!

Thanks Db! You have the right to disagree! Certainly today’s technology makes it much easier and convenient to seek help in many ways that wasn’t available back in the day! We can now connect with other recovering alcoholics that wasn’t possible before!

But I also think it’s easier to use this technology to help us stay sober after we’ve been sober for a while and have our sanity back and are more stable people! People suffering from alcoholism who don’t have much sober time under their belt with a good, strong foundation usually aren’t going to be that sane or stable.

You just never know when they’re going to drink again! I know cause I used to be one of those people who was in and out of the program for 10 years before I was able to finally stay sober! I finally got and stayed sober after my third treatment center! If this covid-19 virus had hit right after my third treatment center and meetings were shut down, I most certainly would’ve gone back to drinking, even if this online recovery was available! And who knows if I would’ve made it back!

And I feel that’s a given for at least some people right now! There are some people who wanted to stay sober but didn’t quite have the tools and skills of recovery to stay sober during this time!

Maybe they were sober for a short time, had a bad day at work or got in a fight with their girlfriend or boyfriend, or were in some kind of very stressful situation! They needed a meeting really bad that night but the meeting is closed and no one wants to get too close to anyone cause of covid-19! And without yet knowing how to cope with these situations in sobriety, they decided to stop at the liquor store to deal with the pain of sobriety!

Like you, I want to be sober in case my family or anyone else needs my help. Furthermore, if I drank, I don’t know what might happen to me. I could put myself in a dangerous situation where I could need medical help. And to do such a thing when our first responders and hospitals are overworked to the max would just be so selfish and disgusting. So, in case I am needed by anyone and also not wanting to be a burden on anyone are both factors keeping me sober, along with my original desire to be sober for me, which is the foundation I build on.

I don’t know if we’ll ever know how covid-19 affected the recovery rate unless a study is done on this by the time this is over! And let’s hope one day this crisis will be over! Until they come up with a drug that lessens the symptoms so that it’s not so deadly or a vaccine, I don’t see this crisis ending! It’s only going to keep getting worse!

And how long are we supposed to hibernate? Eventually that will lead to a global economic collapse! Eventually we’ve got to come out of our caves, even if there’s no relief from covid19!

Active alcoholism and drug addiction is still out there around the clock, even with the covid-19 crisis going on right now! We may not see it much cause we’re all in recovery now! But it’s still out there flourishing!

I’m sure there are recoveries that are being delayed from covid-19! Maybe there were some that were thinking about going to a meeting for the first time but they can’t cause the meetings are closed! Maybe some were thinking about checking into a treatment center but are afraid to check in now cause of what’s going on! Maybe some in sobriety went back to drinking from the fear that’s in the atmosphere now!

I live a solitary lifestyle outback anyway so nothing much has changed for me. I shop bulk and cook for myself almost all my meals. I like being alone and so far the extended separation people have is only good for me. Yet there was a time when I found being alone very difficult so what I can offer is a way to be content in isolation.

It's a very simple formula but like many of these kinds of things can be difficult to do.

Like with addiction it's easy to stop taking intoxicants. What's difficult is to learn to live with what comes after having stopped.

After having stopped, all the reasons why drinking and drugging is chosen comes up like a storm that is very difficult to overcome... , and there is a hint to the solution. Overcome. Struggling. Trying to fight the addiction can be the reason it can be difficult. It becomes a mental struggle.

The way is to change the relationship one has to the addiction.

Instead of saying 'I am addicted to alcohol' (for example), say 'there is an addictive impulse that has arisen within this mindbody phenomenon' and like all things this will change.
So, instead of fighting the addiction, wait patiently for the impulse, to partake, to pass. To facilitate this waiting it's very important to learn to relax. This doesn't mean being perfect in relaxing. Rather it means trying to relax, again and again. Practice relaxation techniques. Practice like practicing to learn a new skill. Try again and again. Before you know it the impulse to give in to the addiction has passed. Then it comes again... Rinse and repeat.

This is the same with all the reasons that arise in solitude. Fear, anger, sadness, lust, hunger sickness,... They all rise to pass away. Just be patient.

In time the relationship to all these feelings have changed and they are discarded quickly. They come and go quickly and there never was a reason to get caught up in or identify with them. Serenity reigns.