{"id":2667,"date":"2021-01-03T14:45:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T19:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/scribemag\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2023-04-05T15:37:37","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T19:37:37","slug":"anxieties-go-up-in-smoke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/news\/anxieties-go-up-in-smoke\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxieties Go Up In Smoke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u00a9 Nick Bondarev\/Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By Daniel Lonic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucas Da Costa found himself smoking cannabis multiple times a day to add a spark to the bleakness of isolation. It became a quick and minor fix for boredom, stress and detachment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are drug and liquor stores essential businesses during COVID-19, but their sales are booming. Statistics Canada<\/a> indicates $244.89 million worth of cannabis sales in Canada for August. The number had doubled since February \u2013 a month before isolation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like people are doing these things to suppress emotions but at the end of the day, once they sober up, they\u2019re going to realize that those problems are still there, they\u2019re just suppressing the underlying issues,\u201d said 19-year-old Lucas, currently in the act of juggling online classes, work and driving school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever since the lockdown began in March, Lucas has been called in for more shifts at his job at one of the Rexall pharmacies in Etobicoke. Occasionally working full weeks, Lucas found coming home to unwind with a joint to be his substitute for recreation with friends and the most efficient way to push all distress to the back of his mind \u2013 even if only for a few hours at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think everybody has experienced [anxiety] to a degree. Even now, just going outside can make you anxious because you don\u2019t know who you\u2019re around. Somebody could have it [COVID-19] and they might not even show symptoms,\u201d said Lucas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey carried out by Statistics Canada<\/a> at the end of March shows that those who reported excessive smoking and drinking were more likely to also report their mental health as being fair or poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat seems like a good way of dealing with the stress of your midterms might turn out to be a problem with mental health implications that affect every aspect of your life,\u201d David Gratzer explained, an attending psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal right now is not to shame or guilt substance abusers, but rather provide the needed information, data, and awareness of the implications that are present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a person the other day who was very functional and at one point, he was vice president of a mutual fund company. [He] made big decisions \u2013 trusted with a lot of people’s retirement savings.  Here was a person who couldn’t get to work; he was too hung over, too physically unwell, and then we very much crossed the line between \u2018I use this to cope\u2019 and \u2018I can’t cope with day-to-day stuff,\u2019\u201d David said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u00a9Nick Bondarev\/Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Gratzer remains hopeful that Canadians will be overall resilient during this pandemic but worries more about the aftermath. Though the SARS outbreak in 2003 came to an end, impact lived on in the form of haunting memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we move past it, there will be a temptation for us to forget some of these problems,\u201d Gratzer said in reference to the ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead of saying, \u2018Alcohol is everywhere, and I can buy it in grocery stores. What’s the big deal?\u2019 think about whether this is affecting your personal relationships. Has it affected your ability to do your courses? Do other people keep asking about cutting back? Those are good reasons for you to take stock,\u201d Gratzer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecently I lost my job. I was just feeling anxious staying home all the time,\u201d 19-year-old Mark Anthony said. \u201cI mainly just coped with it by smoking and drinking \u2013 more just to kill time and get my mind off of things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Placing your reliance on any substance whenever stress or anxiety arises puts you in a corner. When there comes a time where those options are not available, it is crucial that you know other outlets to achieve relaxation \u2013 and there are healthier alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAerobic activity \u2013 getting your heart rate up for 20 minutes or more three times a week \u2013 singing, dancing, listening to music, especially songs that you associate with positive memories of the past … Having those songs play, can take your mind away. A lot of those things result in a release of endorphins,” Professor Steve Joordens said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He teaches psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough and is currently offering a free virtual course that teaches how to manage mental health amidst isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joordens considers substances to be shortcuts to relaxation and cautions that they don\u2019t supply endorphins \u2013 particularly with young adults who psychologically require social interaction as a part of growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The element of uncertainty has provoked unprecedented levels of stress. The fact is that it is unknown when life will return to normality. Joordens urges everyone to summon optimism and to understand that this pandemic will come to an end. We will emerge from the rubble with a new-found appreciation for life as we once knew it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The effects of handling quarantine with drugs and alcohol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",1280,858,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1-170x120.jpg",170,120,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1-768x515.jpg",696,467,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1-1024x686.jpg",696,466,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",1280,858,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",1280,858,false],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",150,101,false],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",218,146,false],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",300,201,false],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",324,217,false],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",485,325,false],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",696,467,false],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",1068,716,false],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/Danielpexels-nick-bondarev-4348272-1.jpg",1280,858,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Scribe Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/author\/scribemag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The effects of handling quarantine with drugs and alcohol.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2667"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3182,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions\/3182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}