For the millions of Australians currently living under lockdowns — many without clarity on when things might return to “normal” — there’s no doubt the restrictions on our day-to-day lives present a variety of challenges and hardships.

But for people who have addictions, or who are at risk of developing an addiction, lockdowns can pose a unique set of difficulties.

For a portion of people, these behaviours have actually decreased during lockdowns, largely as a result of less face-to-face socialising, and the closure of pubs, clubs and gaming venues.

We know stressful circumstances, increases in psychological distress and pre-existing mental health conditions make people more vulnerable to developing addictions.

In a survey on the impact of last year’s lockdown on gambling in Australia, researchers actually found most people either gambled less or about the same as before.

But of those who reported gambling more during lockdown (11%), more than half were at risk of developing a gambling problem (as assessed by a questionnaire), or already had a gambling problem.

Alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, gambling and other behaviours can quickly become unhealthy ways of coping with the mental distress associated with the pandemic.

Lockdowns have also changed the way people access alcohol, gambling or engage in other potentially addictive behaviours. For example, some people may have started buying alcohol online. And those who had previously visited the pokies may have turned to online gambling.

Compounding these challenges, many people who had actively been seeking treatment for an addiction have faced disruptions to their care during the pandemic. Social distancing requirements have necessitated reductions in the capacity of rehabilitation centres and drug and alcohol services.

With many of these services already having long waiting lists, this has served as an additional barrier to treatment. Without adequate support through inpatient or outpatient services, people in recovery are at greater risk of relapse.

While having a mental health condition can increase the risk of developing an addiction, the reverse is also true. Addiction issues can worsen existing mental health concerns, or result in the development of mental health problems a person didn’t have before.

And addiction issues don’t only affect the individual; their families and loved ones suffer too. For example, we know for every problem gambler, six people close to them are affected. This can be because of resulting financial hardships or strain on relationships, among other things.

It’s important people access professional support if they’re feeling vulnerable or are noticing any changes within themselves.

There’s nothing wrong with having a glass of wine with dinner every so often, or betting on a sports match here or there. What we want to try to avoid is doing these things as a means of relieving stress, rather than for enjoyment and pleasure.

Be aware if these things start to have a negative impact on other areas of your life. For example, needing to borrow money as a result of too much gambling, not spending time with the family because of drinking, or frequent thoughts about the next time you’ll have a drink, place a bet or smoke a cigarette disrupting your work.

Also be aware of building up a tolerance, and needing more of the substance to get the same effect.

If you notice any of these signs in yourself or others, help is available.

During lockdowns, many health-care services are able to provide telehealth phone and video support, where face-to-face care is not available. Your GP will be able to provide you with referrals to relevant services.

(This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. FIT neither endorses nor is responsible for them. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here.)