Alcohol and Depression

[cv1]

From the arthritis pain center....
In fact, reading this text makes me wonder....was I depressed and started drinking, or did my increased drinking make me depressed?

Alcohol and depression are ugly partners that make a match that is definitely not from heaven. More than 35 to 40 percent of people with an alcohol problem also show signs of depression.
People who drink alcohol, but do not have a heavy drinking problem also show signs of depression, but the statistics are not as high. Just 5 percent of men and 10 percent of women who drink alcohol moderately show signs of depression, not outside the norm for depression.
People who have a problem with alcohol may begin drinking alcohol when they are experiencing depression. Moreover, after they have binged on alcohol, they often end up with hangovers, which likely include feelings of depression caused by guilt concerning the alcohol binge.
If you have a problem with alcohol, you may be battling depression that is related to your alcoholism. For example, you might drink too much alcohol and then return home to an angry spouse or feel a bout of depression the next day at the office.
Depression might be the result of declining health, sexual impotence and memory blackouts related to alcohol binges.
If you have a problem with depression and alcohol, you may first want to attend a support group for alcoholics. If your depression is not lifted once you become sober and give up alcohol; then, you may need psychiatric help to solve the depression problem.
Some people, especially those facing a crisis, death or traumatic event, say their depression lifted after they found someone to talk to about their feelings.
Your physician or psychiatrist might prescribe antidepressants to help you overcome your depression. Remember, it is never wise to mix alcohol and medications.
Whether you drink alcohol because you are depressed or you are depressed because you drink alcohol, your doctor can tell you whether you have clinical depression.
Depression and alcohol problems go hand-in-hand because people with depression often use alcohol as a way of self-medicating themselves. They want to alter their state from a state of depression to euphoria or a state of sadness to happiness. They may also just want to fall asleep and use alcohol as opposed to sleeping pills since alcohol has a depressant effect on most people.
It's not sensible to drink alcohol when you are experiencing depression because alcohol impairs your judgment leading people with depression to commit suicide, act on impulse or take risks.
Alcohol also lowers one's inhibition, which may make it easier for a person who is experiencing depression to partake in risky sexual behavior that might lead to sexually transmitted diseases or unplanned pregnancies. Oftentimes men with depression who drink alcohol end up in fights since alcohol is linked with aggressive behavior and violence.
Experts say there are "psychosocial links" between depression and alcohol. The psychological and social links between alcohol and depression could arise from stress related to traumatic childhood events. Also, adults who were neglected as children often experience problems with alcohol and depression.
Experts also examine the links between depression and alcohol as they relate to brain function.
According to the last decade of research on the way depression and alcohol affects the brain, alcohol may cause anxiety, reduced appetite and disrupted sleep patterns as well as other symptoms of depression.
Some experts have studied the genetic links between alcohol and depression. They say both alcohol problems and depression may be inherited. In fact, if your parent has a problem with alcohol, you are more likely to also show a dependency on alcohol. Also, people with a sibling or parent with depression have an increased chance of having depression.
If you are older and suffer with depression, you are at even higher risk of having an alcohol problem In fact as many as 30 percent of people with major late life depression have alcohol problems.
If you are drinking alcohol to cope with depression in your life, your problems with probably get worse before they get better. The alcohol wears off and, if you have not changed your behavior, your depression will still be there. You may just become an alcoholic with depression instead of a sad person who turns to alcohol to ease the pain.
Finally, drinking alcohol is not an intelligent way to deal with feelings of depression because experts say drinking alcohol may actually change the chemistry of the brain, leading to an even deeper level of depression.
Deprex works naturally with the body to ease depression without the side effects commonly associated with antidepressants.

[jack02]

Hey friend New research findings linking alcoholism as an established risk factor for suicide demonstrate the need for suicide risk recognition and prevention efforts targeted to middle- and older-adults with alcohol dependence. & Medically serious suicide attempters with alcoholism are more likely to have a mood disorder and financial difficulties than control subjects

[Cashregister]

I have bipolar type I disorder and drink when i'm "Up" - well used to. It was definitely self medicating - as soon as I start getting over the top I think I can do anything

I think i am working towards a manic phase at the moment - and getting urges to drink I did not have last week.

[Teardrop]

Hi
I can relate to everything you are saying. my brother was only 21 when he suffered with depression, the doctors did say not to touch a drink. He was on medication, injections trying to find the right one for him. He suffered 11years,( we never real had a good childhood.) The medication i think damage my brother kidneys after so many years. In the end he die of cancer within weeks of knowing. I have had a lot of death that has happen around me. my mum die two months before my wedding, my brother, my best friend from school and also worked with, all within a space of 7years. Iam trying to give up drinking, but the idea of medication sacares me. I have notice that i do like sleeping alot.
What is dprex?
thanks for your post.

[trixietrack]

I was extremely depressed and suicidal when I was drinking heavily, I haven't been depressed in about 8 months. I am starting to keep an eye on myself just to make sure it's not seasonal.
also to make sure that I don't fall back during the holiday season.
I think alcohol really affects my moods and my thinking patterns. I am much more positive now.
thank god I didn't need medication to return to my old self. I really thought I was doomed

trix

[BabyGirl]

As indicated in the first article depressionis very complicated -- I found that my sugar sensitivity triggered bouts of depression and then when I found wine it medicated me for a while but then the negative consequences began to occur. My problem is that I can't seem to find a release that can relieve my anxiety -- there was a time when I exercised all the time and then I entered this awful phase & I need to life myself out of it...

[CaptJBean]

Finding appropriate emotional reactions to situations instead of numbing feelings with alcohol is a challenge. Allowing ourselves to be sad, depressed, angry, up, happy and joyful... And all of that without feeling guilty because alcohol wasn't a part of it. Does that make sense?