Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
(Opinion piece)
The pandemic is creeping into the colder months, something many of us hoped would never happen. The first time around, the surprise of lockdown meant that people who were alcohol-dependent risked not being able to access a regular supply, which meant they were potentially facing withdrawal, seizures and hallucinations, even death.
As a result, those of us working in alcohol services – I’m a psychiatrist specialising in addiction – had to change our approach. We had to shift from detoxification and supporting sobriety to – what? Strangely enough, we found ourselves encouraging people to continue drinking, to not make any changes; some people had to be supplied with alcohol when they were unable to get it for themselves.
Yet this kind of approach isn’t entirely unfamiliar. It’s a form of harm reduction, more commonly associated with treatment of people who depend on drugs. The curious thing is that we work with alcohol-dependent people to help them to stop drinking; but those who are dependent on opioid drugs are prescribed methadone or buprenorphine, both of which are strong opioids, to keep them stable. This difference isn’t about a moral judgment. Both drinkers and drug users are judged in the wider world, of course, but it does depend what they use and how. Cocktails and cocaine may be more acceptable – at least for a while – than cheap cider and heroin. But medically speaking, it’s primarily about what we have in our treatment arsenal. If we had a pill that we could safely prescribe that would replace alcohol, and not damage the liver, the brain and more, I would have prescribed it with enthusiasm during lockdown, and probably before.
www.theguardian.com
The pandemic is creeping into the colder months, something many of us hoped would never happen. The first time around, the surprise of lockdown meant that people who were alcohol-dependent risked not being able to access a regular supply, which meant they were potentially facing withdrawal, seizures and hallucinations, even death.
As a result, those of us working in alcohol services – I’m a psychiatrist specialising in addiction – had to change our approach. We had to shift from detoxification and supporting sobriety to – what? Strangely enough, we found ourselves encouraging people to continue drinking, to not make any changes; some people had to be supplied with alcohol when they were unable to get it for themselves.
Yet this kind of approach isn’t entirely unfamiliar. It’s a form of harm reduction, more commonly associated with treatment of people who depend on drugs. The curious thing is that we work with alcohol-dependent people to help them to stop drinking; but those who are dependent on opioid drugs are prescribed methadone or buprenorphine, both of which are strong opioids, to keep them stable. This difference isn’t about a moral judgment. Both drinkers and drug users are judged in the wider world, of course, but it does depend what they use and how. Cocktails and cocaine may be more acceptable – at least for a while – than cheap cider and heroin. But medically speaking, it’s primarily about what we have in our treatment arsenal. If we had a pill that we could safely prescribe that would replace alcohol, and not damage the liver, the brain and more, I would have prescribed it with enthusiasm during lockdown, and probably before.
If lockdown has tipped you into problem drinking, you're probably not alone | Rebecca Lawrence
Not everyone is susceptible to alcohol dependence. For those who are, these are going to be challenging weeks, says addiction psychiatrist Rebecca Lawrence
www.theguardian.com
