{"id":47247,"date":"2020-04-21T17:52:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T16:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=47247"},"modified":"2020-04-21T17:52:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T16:52:14","slug":"covid-19-and-addiction-a-secret-burden-during-this-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/04\/21\/covid-19-and-addiction-a-secret-burden-during-this-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 and addiction\u2014a secret burden during this pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-47254\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/04\/rachel_bannister.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"118\" \/>We\u2019re all in this together, we hear, we read, we tell ourselves as we fumble our way through these extraordinary times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yet how we manage the days that lie ahead will depend not just on our individual circumstances but also on our own personal histories, the life experiences that have made us who we are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sadly many people, like me, will find ourselves with an added battle on our hands. A shameful and secret burden that we\u2019ve carried for so long, and which may have even lightened over time, has reappeared with a vengeance, stoked by the fear and loneliness in which it so often thrives. Addiction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those of us who are struggling with, or even believed ourselves to be recovered from, addiction are arguably one of the most stigmatised groups in society. In terms of services, people with addiction have often received the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2017\/05\/25\/colin-drummond-cuts-to-addiction-services-in-england-are-a-false-economy\/\">least investment<\/a> while simultaneously <a href=\"https:\/\/amp.theguardian.com\/society\/2019\/sep\/14\/funding-for-councils-child-addiction-services-slashed\">experiencing<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukat.co.uk\/addiction-treatment\/ukat-campaign-reveals-cuts-addiction-treatment-funding-drug-deaths-rise\/\">worst cutbacks<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In all honesty, I had little understanding of (or indeed sympathy for) people experiencing addiction until very recently. There is nothing quite like direct lived experience\u2014which in my case nearly cost me my life\u2014to shake off old prejudices and misunderstanding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know how extraordinary lucky I am to still be here, and until these recent weeks I would have argued with anyone who suggested that my old dysfunctional coping mechanism had even a remote chance of rearing its ugly head again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But who could have predicted the effect that the covid-19 pandemic would have on our everyday life? How could we have known that the ordinary, everyday social connections that so many people, like me, rely on to keep our mental health intact would be curtailed\u2014and so quickly and dramatically too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many people like me, our routines, face to face contact with therapists, and support groups are fundamental to recovery. They provide stability, hope, and (if we\u2019re lucky) some healing to the wounds that lurk beneath our addictive behaviour.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But suddenly we\u2019ve found ourselves cast adrift, and perhaps without even realising it we turn to whatever is at hand to blur the edges of our pain and fear. For myself, the twice weekly drink is worryingly becoming an almost daily \u201cnecessity.\u201d And if I\u2019m being honest I probably have enough sleeping\/anxiety medication to see me through many months, yet irrationally I still seek to acquire more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">My feelings of shame run parallel to the fear that I might sink once more into the depths of addiction. Yet it is so incredibly hard to reach out for help with honesty. When we are faced with the daily reality of more people dying from covid-19, and so many of those being lost are NHS workers, it feels selfish or even weak to be asking for help. Surely, I sometimes think, if ever there was a need for self-discipline and control it should be now?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yet we must remind ourselves that addiction is an illness and one so often borne of suffering. It is a dysfunctional, yet understandable, way of trying to alleviate the pain of past events or present anxieties. People whose addition becomes out of control deserve help and treatment as much as anyone experiencing any other illness, be it physical or mental.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We can all have a small part to play here. I\u2019ve found that keeping in regular contact with those who know my history is proving to be truly lifesaving. If we can\u2019t meet face to face with those struggling, a phone call or video chat can work just as well. For me knowing I now have weekly phone consultations with my GP in place is hugely reassuring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Most importantly, when I took the first step in reaching out, what mattered most was that the doctor first listened and then validated my feelings. Thankfully, my worries that I\u2019d be at best dismissed, at worse chastised, were not realised. I was therefore able to be truly honest, which any person who has experienced addiction will tell you is the first step on the road to recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we are finally through the crisis part of this pandemic, we will need more than ever properly resourced and robust addiction services. I hope too that this collective experience will lead to a kinder and more compassionate society, where all those vulnerable to addiction are no longer stigmatised but instead offered the help and support they so sorely need. <\/span><\/p>\n<div><em><strong>Rachel\u00a0<span class=\"il\">Bannister<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>is the co-founder of the campaign group\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mentalhealthtimeforaction.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mentalhealthtimeforaction.org\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587541207916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH4kcBUS1-lKzhmAijo5PAsvA0jpQ\">Mental Health- Time for Action<\/a> and newly appointed carer representative on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcpsych.ac.uk\/about-us\/our-people-and-how-we-make-decisions\/council\/council-members\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.rcpsych.ac.uk\/about-us\/our-people-and-how-we-make-decisions\/council\/council-members&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587541207916000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFfBEQnSwSewVvJ60UCGg8vuOtt0Q\"> RCpsych Council. <\/a>Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lovebillybragg?lang=en\"><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@lovebillybragg<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Competing interests:<\/b> I have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no relevant interests to declare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re all in this together, we hear, we read, we tell ourselves as we fumble our way through these extraordinary times.\u00a0 Yet how we manage the days that lie ahead [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/04\/21\/covid-19-and-addiction-a-secret-burden-during-this-pandemic\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5749],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patient-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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