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When people are drinking, they may be less likely to engage in positive coping strategies, such as talking to a friend, going for a walk, or participating in a hobby. This can lead to a cycle of drinking to cope, which can worsen depression symptoms. Technically speaking, alcohol is classified as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant.
Alcohol and Depression FAQs
That’s important to know because a lack of folic acid can cause your brain to age faster. As time went on, Mike found that his alcohol use expanded to weeknights because he continued to feel depressed. And to be sure, the whiskey seemed to temporarily help by allowing him to “check out”. One of the most well-known effects of alcohol is its impact on the liver. The liver metabolizes alcohol and breaks it down into less harmful substances.
Fortunately, there are many alternative options to deal with anxiety. Treatment and recovery programs, like Dove Recovery in Columbus, OH, can help you get sober. They’ll also teach you about the skills and resources you need to relieve anxiety in healthy ways. If you have concerns about your alcohol use, counseling and treatment programs can help you overcome your misuse of alcohol. Joining a support group or a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous may help. Naltrexone, Acamprosate, and disulfiram are also FDA-approved medications that can help curb alcohol cravings.
- A recent report from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) focused on 591 personally interviewed relatives of alcohol-dependent men and women (Schuckit et al. 1995).
- This article covers everything you need to know about the connection between alcohol and depression.
- In the context of what we are exploring here, it’s when a person drinks alcohol with the goal of medicating their feelings.
- It is more likely to worsen a negative mood state, along with the person’s physical health.
- That’s why your doctor or psychologist will work with you to create a treatment approach that addresses both issues.
- If you’re concerned alcohol has become your go-to method of managing negative feelings like depression, there’s no shame in reaching out for support.
Seeking Help for Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol acts as a depressant through its interaction with the brain’s neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that transmit signals in the brain and nervous system. It enhances the effects of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that has inhibitory effects on brain activity. By increasing GABA’s effectiveness, alcohol promotes relaxation, reduces stress, and lowers inhibitions, leading to the depressant effects on the CNS. In addition, it inhibits the action of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that increases brain activity and energy levels. Alcohol inhibits glutamate’s excitatory effects, further slowing down brain function and contributing to the depressant effect. If an individual’s depressive symptoms are caused by alcohol use, the symptoms might stop after reducing their intake significantly, or altogether stopping their alcohol use.
Alcohol as a Depressant Substance
Maybe you’re grieving the loss of friendships with old drinking buddies. Or maybe you’re struggling to forgive yourself for drunken mistakes you can’t take back. Reaching out for help early in sobriety will increase your chance of feeling better sooner and avoiding relapse. It is an inability to experience pleasure, even in things you once enjoyed. Additionally, it will reduce the number of dopamine receptors available. This complex interplay highlights the need for early intervention and sustained treatment to mitigate these long-term effects.
Science tells us that self-medicating with alcohol actually makes our mental health worse, so we expect to find relief in sobriety. If you or a woman close to you is struggling with depression, alcohol abuse, or a co-occurring disorder, we can help you. Here at New Directions for Women, we assist women in overcoming alcohol addictions.
Alcohol and Depression: Understanding the Connection
- Alcohol can have a range of effects on people with depression.
- If you need help finding recovery resources in your area, please visit the FOLX Help Center and ask to be connected with our member referral network.
- It doesn’t happen from casual drinking but instead from chronic alcohol use.
- Experts caution anyone struggling with depression or another mental health condition to avoid using alcohol.
- The connection between alcohol and depression is complex and bidirectional.
- Whether it’s a change in appetite, hypertension, or a weakened immune system, these symptoms can be the result of chronic stress.
Lack of quality sleep has been shown to cause irritability and depression. A person with depression often has an imbalance of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and GABA. The brain fails to release the neurotransmitters needed to boost mood naturally. This can become a significant problem for a person who also misuses alcohol. On top of that, as one’s blood alcohol content starts to decline, which Koob notes can happen fairly quickly after one stops drinking, the body starts to go into a mini-withdrawal.
Drinking to Feel Normal = Self-Medicating
At the same time, excessive alcohol use, or binge drinking, has also been linked to depression and anxiety. Consistent with the generally negative results of these family type studies are the conclusions drawn from a recent study of 1,030 female-female twin pairs (Kendler et al. 1995). Schuckit and colleagues have studied the rates of psychiatric disorders in COA’s from a variety of perspectives.
Depending on your intoxication level, you may experience decreased inhibition, loss of judgment, confusion, and mood swings, among others. “In our society alcohol is readily available and socially acceptable,” says Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, author of Whole Brain Living, explains. “Depression and alcohol misuse are often tied because we take a depressant to counter a chemical depression which only makes it worse.” You might notice certain times of the day or being around marijuana addiction certain people will make you feel more anxious or more depressed and want to drink more.
When depressed or anxious alcohol-dependent people are asked their opinions about marijuana addiction cause and effect, they often reply that they believe they drink in order to cope with their symptoms of sadness or nervousness. If you drink heavily on a regular basis, however, the depressive effects of alcohol may become a part of your daily life. If you’re in recovery, and depression is a drinking trigger for you, this can make things especially difficult. Your system will eventually recover, but it can be helpful to have long-term support.