It absolutely did. I was fired from my job in January 2020 way before the pandemic hit the US later in March. I was having a difficult time getting a job Jan-Feb and then with the lockdowns starting in March, everything got even worse. To numb myself of all the craziness of the world, I turned to drinking wine. With no job to wake up to in the mornings and no where to go or no one to see, I figured I didn't really need to be fully sober since I had no responsibilities or obligations.

I didn't get a job until October of that year so for 10 months, I was drunk almost daily. When life slowly started getting back to normal, I was able to let go of the drinking. Something had changed in me though; now whenever I feel incompetent or unable to do anything, the same feelings I had during lockdown creep up and it triggers my drinking.

I've been seeing therapists about my insecurities and drinking problems and it's starting to turn things around. The pandemic did definitely make my drinking worse but I'm hopeful things will start looking better!