In March 2020, in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, many people began living under stay-at-home orders. In some areas, restaurants and bars were forced to close or had limited services. These measures were meant to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

During those early pandemic days, something else happened: On-line sales of alcoholic drinks rose sharply. In the United States, online alcohol sales were up 234 percent compared to the same period a year ago. That information comes from the research company Nielsen.

Victor Karpyak is a doctor and expert on drug addiction at the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. state of Minnesota. He says people have long turned to alcohol to reduce stress and forget about their problems. But he warns about overusing alcohol in difficult times. This, he says, can lead to bad results.

Doctor Karpyak noted that during the pandemic, light alcohol use can easily become problematic. He said that if you have three or four drinks today and then three or four more tomorrow, you can quickly hit the limit of what is considered moderate.

The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines moderate drinking this way: up to one drink a day for a woman and up to two drinks a day for a man. A drink is defined as six tenths of a fluid ounce — or almost 18 milliliters — of pure alcohol. 

Doctor Karpyak said that an increase in drinking or a pattern of drinking may be a sign of alcohol abuse and development of addiction. Alcohol addiction, he added, can affect relationships as well as the body – the whole body.

“There is no organ or system,” he said, “which is not impacted by chronic and significant alcohol use.” Doctor Karpyak, a psychiatrist, added that, “there is a lot of negative impact that long-term, significant alcohol use has on brain tissue.

If you find yourself drinking alcohol at the end of a long, stressful day, you are probably not alone. However, health experts suggest exploring other ways to reduce stress. Call a friend. Take a walk. Do something you enjoy such as watching a movie, reading a book or listening to music.