Drinking during quarantine

Since quarantine started I’ve seen more posts about drinking alcohol throughout the day, mostly as a joke. Like “breakfast during quarantine” and then a bottle of beer, or a gif of a person chugging a bottle of wine because of “the state of the world”, etc.
I know you probably don’t mean any harm if you post and share stuff like that, but let me tell you: addiction is not a joke. Normalizing intoxication is harming people trying to recover or just about to develop harmful drinking habits. Quarantine makes it hard enough to not just drink on its own.
I grew up with one of my parents addicted to alcohol. I know they didn’t want to cause us harm but it happened anyway because the addiction led to them losing control over and over again and then not being able to be a parent. We couldn’t rely on them and they felt so sorry but couldn’t stop and as a child I just couldn’t understand how they couldn’t stop if they loved us. It was a lot, but definitely not funny.

Now, they have been sober for years and I’m an adult who never drank any alcohol or smoked or did any other drugs. Yes, I’m 24 years old and never even sipped on a beer. And I hate how unusual this is and how often I had to explain myself. Which is another thing not to do please: Asking people why they are not drinking if you don’t know them well and in front of other people. They could be recovering from an addiction, they could be on medication, they could be pregnant, there are so many reasons that are so intimate, please don’t.
Anyway, my point is how normal it is to drink and how unusual it to choose not to. I know so many people who can only dance or talk to strangers or whatever when their drunk. Drinking is a normal part of having fun, and to some it’s essential. Because I had such strong negative associations with alcohol, I had to learn to be confident on my own. I wanted to be included and go to festivals and concerts and dance, too, I just had to do it all sober. And I’m so glad I did, because it taught me to be confident in myself and my choices. Even if people asked me why I’m even there if I don’t drink, it wasn’t an option for me to stay home or start drinking. And, frankly, what are the music and your friends to you if the only thing making a festival worth being there is alcohol?
I wish it was a choice when you turn legally old enough to drink, if you do it or you don’t. But to many it’s part of youth and becoming an adult to be intoxicated at least once a week. And so everybody just does it. And we have so many people being addicted to alcohol and so many relapsing and so many dying because it’s “part of our culture” and we fail to acknowledge how dangerous it is.
If you rely on alcohol or any other drugs to cope, I don’t want to blame or shame you. It’s human and it’s damn common in our society. Often, it’s self-medication. If you feel like you’re losing control over that habit and it’s harming you or others in your life, it’s reasonable and brave to ask for help. You don’t have to do this alone. Search for information about helplines online, they most likely have the option to call or chat anonymously if you don’t feel comfortable with sharing your name.