Alcohol addicts: The risk of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic

Alcohol addiction can affect anyone. Self-help and psychotherapy groups play a significant role in helping alcohol addicts. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, these groups are not allowed to meet. A situation that has raised concerns.

The ban on gatherings in Germany due to the coronavirus pandemic has caused problems for alcohol addicts and their families in Germany.

According to estimates, up to two million men and women between the ages of 18 and 64 in Germany are addicted to alcohol, and 40,000 people die every year in this country due to the consequences of this addiction. Organizing group psychotherapy sessions by specialized organizations and associations is one way to help alcohol addicts quit their addiction.

Since mid-March (about a month and a half ago), psychotherapy and self-help groups have been suspended in Germany due to fears of the spread of COVID-19, and alcohol addicts are unable to physically attend these groups and talk to psychologists and others in similar situations.

But how important are such groups in controlling alcohol addiction? Could the lack of such psychotherapy groups lead alcoholics back to addiction?

Online meetings, a replacement for “second-hand”

According to Dr. Markus Schimmelfennig, an addiction expert from Kassel, alcohol addiction can only be controlled through lifelong abstinence and abstinence, and it cannot be completely cured.

He told the epd news agency that he does not accept the approach of asking an alcoholic to control his consumption. According to the expert, in specialized addiction treatment centers, efforts are made to maintain abstinence from alcohol, or the so-called "dry" state. For this reason, Schimmelfennig believes that psychotherapy groups play a significant role in helping these people maintain this state.

He believes that the lack of meetings for addiction treatment groups causes "more psychological burden on addicts and increases the risk of relapse," adding that many of these people are isolated and struggle with psychological and economic problems.

According to him, these people do not have the opportunity to exchange their thoughts and ideas with those who are in similar situations and lose the support and sense of security that they enjoy in psychotherapy groups. In psychotherapy groups, alcohol addicts can talk about their addiction and problems without prejudice and judgment, unlike in family or work groups.

According to this specialist doctor, “alcohol addicts cannot lie to each other.” Therefore, the lack of these meetings creates a huge gap in the addiction control process and increases the risk of relapse. Markus Schimmelfennig evaluates the holding of virtual group psychotherapy sessions (online) as an inappropriate and “second-hand” alternative.

Emergency telephone line

However, a number of self-help groups in Germany have been trying to maintain contact through telephone conversations or online meetings. The director of one of these groups in the city of Hesse reported a good reception from patients and said that if in some cases an alcoholic desperately needs a face-to-face conversation, this need will be met by implementing health and protective measures.

Meanwhile, a hotline has been set up across Germany since April 1st, and a video hotline is also being set up.

There are about 2,500 Alcoholics Anonymous groups in Germany that help people with alcohol addiction. Although these groups have tried to maintain contact and provide assistance during the quarantine using various methods such as email, video conferences or telephone calls, the current situation has also created gaps.

For example, family members of addicts, who previously had the opportunity to exchange and discuss with each other by attending special groups, have been deprived of this opportunity since the ban on gatherings.

Self-help group activists hope that as soon as the quarantine and bans end, psychotherapy groups will resume their work, allowing alcohol addicts to regain the opportunity to receive the necessary support.

Source: DW