Discussion On Alcoholism In The Coronavirus Crisis

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Thursday May 14, Virtual Ability held a discussion about how the Coronavirus Crisis is affecting those suffering from alcoholism. It took place in the Sojourner Auditorium. Titled "Strange Days Indeed," the event was part of their "Mental Health Un-Conference." Coughran Mayo (Dick Dillon in real life) spoke to the audience while Elektra Panthar provided the transcript for those not using Voice.

Coughran, whose avatar was wearing a mask, described himself as taking a balanced approach when going outside his home, such as washing his hands a lot and avoiding poker games, "it's not safe with the cards and chips." While it might seem funny that many places had closed restaurants while allowing liquor stores to remain open as "essential," he stated that that along with the stress of the Pandemic was allowing those whom had overcome addiction to relapse. "In this time stress, economic uncertainty are high, lack of scrutiny of normal social life - they are all factors that increase the chance of addiction and relapse Alcohol, prescription or illicit drugs -many people are likely to become addicted, and the problem is that the traditional way to help is not available at the moment." It was also commented that some treatment groups could end up shutting down due to the effects of the crisis, such as lack of donations as people's incomes and savings suffer.

There was plenty of feedback. Someone commented that it might be that borderline alcoholism from social drinking might decrease from people not able to go to the bar as they used to. Similar with compulsive gamblers, whom if they couldn't or wouldn't go to virtual casinos would find it hard to make bets. There was also the question if people with disabilities were more likely to develop addictions, particularly those on medications as mistakes could easily be made with dosage.

Another question was could more people find treatment in virtual reality, as some were getting it here already? It was commented that thanks to bad press, Second Life didn't have the best of reputations, and that Twitch still bans broadcasts from the virtual world doesn't help matters.

At the end, Gentle Heron thanked Coughram for the event, and the audience for attending.

For those whom want to read the transcript:  Click Here.

To check more about Virtual Ability, check out their website: https://virtualability.org/ .

Bixyl Shuftan