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The first lockdown came at a pretty poignant moment for me: the government announcement was made just a few weeks after I decided to quit drinking alcohol, for the benefit of my mental health. People stop drinking for all kinds of reasons, of course, from pregnancy, to being on medication that doesn t mix well, to save money or to lose weight, the list goes on.
But for me, it was the intense, soul-shredding anxiety that accompanied every hangover that made it no longer worth it. Ditto making decisions I never would sober – some of which left me shaken up and bruised when the booze wore off. The regular memory loss after night outs was a big factor too (trying to fill in the blanks with what I might have said or could have done, even if my friends insisted, Nothing, you were fine! only further fuelled the panicked brain-fire I experienced most Sunday mornings).