ALMOST ONE IN four ECPS say they found themselves drinking more or using other substances to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the 2020 INVISION Big Survey, 4 percent of eyecare pros said their consumption had risen “a lot” and a further 20 percent described the increase as moderate.
Men ECPs were slightly more likely to say they had increased their use of alcohol (and other substances) than women, with 25% percent of men store owners or managers saying this was the case compared to 23% percent for women.
The numbers were in line with a recent survey by The Journal of the American Medical Association of the wider US population, which found overall frequency of alcohol consumption had increased by about 14 percent this year compared with 2019.
The JAMA research did not determine why drinking frequency was up, but various health experts have speculated that more people are turning to alcoholic beverages to cope with pandemic-related stress, anxiety, depression, isolation and boredom.
Such a theory was supported by one of the participants in the INVISION survey. “If you have a glass of wine in each hand you can’t touch your face.”
In fact, we expressly asked about the mental health issues respondents had grappled with during their career and stress, anxiety, and depression ranked in the top three at 49 percent, 40 percent and 36 percent respectively.
The 2020 INVISION Big Survey was conducted from September to October and attracted the participation of more than 275 owners or managers of optical stores in the United States and Canada. For the full results, please visit www.invisionmag.com/the-big-survey-2020.