When you are trapped in a cycle of alcohol and depression, it can feel like falling down an endless hole with brittle handholds that break under pressure every time you reach for safety. The more depressed you get, the faster you fall toward self-destructive tendencies to self-medicate with alcohol, the darker the pit of mental distress becomes, and the harder it is to dig yourself out. The result is a cycle that mutates into a seemingly inescapable pattern.
Comprehensive treatment plans that address co-occurring disorders serve as a sturdy lifeline, supporting your efforts in managing mental health and teaching you various coping skills to substitute alcohol use. You will also learn how to manage your heavy drinking and cravings, and work to prevent your alcohol use from evolving into alcohol abuse.
Understanding the Alcohol-Depression Connection
By understanding the bidirectional relationship of alcohol use and depression, you will be better equipped to learn how to manage and prevent these co-occurring disorders from getting worse. Here’s how alcohol use and depression fuel a self-destructive, self-perpetuating cycle.
How alcohol affects brain chemistry and mood
Alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant and works by slowing down brain activity, which reduces inhibitions and produces the euphoric effect associated with being intoxicated. By altering neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, you’ll likely experience changes in your behavior, mood, and self control, as well as impaired memory and decreased cognitive thinking.
While those struggling with disorders like major depression may feel a temporary high and escape after drinking, it’s quickly followed by an intense crash that worsens depressive symptoms once alcohol leaves your body. Furthermore, alcohol disrupts sleep cycles as it’s metabolized in the body throughout the night. As your brain’s neurotransmitters rebound from the effects of inhibition, its chemistry shifts dramatically causing sleep disturbances, reduced REM sleep, and decreased melatonin production.
The bidirectional relationship: which comes first?
Many people self-medicate mood disorder symptoms with alcohol as a way to escape the overwhelming despair associated with depression. The problem becomes that while navigating depression can be scary and exhausting, alcohol will not make depression disappear. On the contrary, it actually makes symptoms of depression worse.
Both depression and alcoholism have genetic predisposition risk factors, increasing the vulnerability of some to developing these disorders. If you have a family history of mental health conditions or substance abuse, be mindful of symptoms that may indicate depressive disorders were passed down. Your environment is also a contributing factor, as frequent stress, traumatic experiences, and social groups that regularly partake in casual drinking can fuel your instinct to reach for a beer or cocktail when you are feeling down.
Ultimately, the answer to whether alcohol misuse or depression came first depends on the individual —and in a way, is irrelevant. By recontextualizing the depression-alcohol relationship as one that’s grown from the same soil of psychological distress, and one that feeds on the other to further entrench their destructive roots, you can refocus your energy from the “why” of emotional wounds to how you can heal.
Warning signs of co-occurring depression and alcohol use
When you engage in continuous alcohol abuse, pay attention to if your binge drinking episodes increase in frequency or quantity consumed. This can provide some initial indication as to whether your relationship with alcohol is taking a turn for the worse and you’ve developed a co-occurring disorder.
Many people reside in “the gray area” of drinking — where the line between casual drinking in social settings and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is blurred. This is particularly dangerous because those with undiagnosed alcoholism can develop a dependence without even knowing it. When you increase your alcohol dependence, you may find yourself consuming alcohol multiple times a week, heavy drinking alone, intuitively turning to alcohol when negative emotions arise, or experiencing withdrawal symptoms after a night of intoxication.
If you or a loved one is frequently drinking heavily, blacking out regularly, has a history with alcohol poisoning, or constantly recovering from hangovers, consider it a warning sign of alcoholism. It’s important to refrain from encouraging a sudden stop in drinking or going “cold turkey.” Rather, medically-assisted detox may be essential to ensure safety. Alcohol dependence is extremely dangerous, and unassisted withdrawals or self-detoxing can come with life-threatening complications.
Related: What Happens After Alcohol Detox? Post-Detox Care for Lasting Recovery
The Dangers of Self-Medicating Depressive Symptoms
Research shows that approximately 22% to 24% of those struggling with clinical mood disorder self-medicate via substance abuse, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information 1. This is a stark reminder of how prevalent using substances as emotional regulation is among those struggling with mental illness, yet self-medication presents serious danger — and it ultimately will exacerbate depressive symptoms.
Here’s how self-medicating depressive symptoms with alcohol can present serious risks to your health, psychological wellness, and efforts to achieve long-term sobriety and mental well-being.
Increased risk of self-harm or suicide
Alcohol reduces inhibitions, and with that comes increased risk of self-harm or suicide — especially among those with a history of both active and passive suicidal ideation. According to a study published in the National Institutes of Health, those struggling with alcoholism may be 60 to 120 times more at risk of committing suicide, and account for 20% to 40% of suicides 2. This concerning statistic represents one of the most immediate dangers of drinking while depressed.
If you or a loved one are having thoughts of hurting themselves or others, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Make sure the person — or yourself — remains in the company of someone that can provide support until help is accessible.
Short-term relief vs. long-term health consequences
Sure, alcohol may temporarily numb your emotional pain, but it won’t last. After the euphoria of drinking follows the dysphoria of withdrawal, and this darkness often eclipses any memory of elation associated with inebriation. Long-term drinking with depression results in alterations to brain chemistry, intensification of previously numbed emotions, and severe damage to both mental and physical health 2. In addition, both alcohol and depression are linked to memory loss, and has compounding consequences when used concurrently.
The most dangerous consequence of long-term alcohol abuse is developing a dependency on the substance. Withdrawal from alcohol can be fatal, potentially leading to seizures or delirium tremens (DTs).
Impaired sleep architecture
Even moderate alcohol consumption disrupts your natural sleep architecture, impairing restorative rest and disrupting sleep cycles. While it may be easier to fall asleep when you’re drunk, you may notice that you cannot stay asleep, and a night’s rest leaves you with residual grogginess. Sleep impacts your mental health, so when you don’t get proper rest, it further feeds the negative cycle of alcohol use and mental health.
Decreased efficacy of antidepressants
If you’re managing a condition like major depressive disorder with antidepressants, drinking alcohol reduces the beneficial qualities of these medications. Antidepressants work by regulating the brain’s neurotransmitters, stabilizing hormones like serotonin and dopamine. However, alcohol disrupts this process, which can lead to decreased effectiveness, worsening of depressive symptoms, and increasing dosages.
Some of the side effects of antidepressants include tremors, insomnia, impaired coordination, and increased anxiety. Alcohol only increases the likelihood that you’ll experience these adverse reactions, and in rare cases, can lead to seizures or cardiovascular complications. Furthermore, alcohol and antidepressants are both metabolized by the liver, and prolonged drinking while taking medication can put severe stress on this vital organ.
Related: TMS for Addiction Treatment
Building Sustainable Recovery From Alcoholism and Depression
Recovering from co-occurring mental disorders presents challenges, but it is possible with a comprehensive treatment approach that addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of addiction. Here are some strategies that a mental health care professional may implement to support your journey toward enhanced mental well-being and recovery.
The importance of comprehensively treating both conditions
Addressing depression or alcohol use in isolation is a common pitfall that leads to inadequate treatment and can jeopardize your success at mental illness remission and substance use recovery. You’ll benefit from a professional who can support your efforts toward emotional healing and sobriety in tandem. If one condition remains untreated, you run the risk of relapse, since addiction is often rooted in unaddressed mental anguish.
Strategies for creating a depression- and alcohol-free life
If you’re trying to pave a path toward a new life, adopting healthier coping strategies for stress can be profoundly beneficial. When you experience alcohol cravings, recognize what triggered you and consider journaling, exercising, meditating, yoga, or calling upon your support network.
Therapy can also be a vital tool in helping you reframe negative thoughts into more constructive and positive ones. A mental health professional can teach you how to manage emotions, as well as any triggers that may make you want to turn to alcohol.
Additionally, you’ll be gently encouraged to explore meaningful activities and strive toward mental well-being goals with critical support tools, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), or motivational interviewing (MI). If medication for alcoholism is deemed appropriate, a psychiatrist can write a prescription to help you overcome depression and AUD.
The role of support systems in recovery
When going through any type of recovery, a support network is vital for long-term success. Having your family, friends, or significant other working on your team to nurture your mental well-being can be life-changing. These are the people in your life that can support you and help you manage triggers — even after you’ve ceased taking medication for addiction or attending therapy for alcoholism.
Look out for support groups that facilitate meaningful and healthy social connections with people that relate with your struggles, and that can help you reconnect with your true inner self through creative or expressive activities.
Related: What Is Treatment-Resistant Depression? When Standard Care Doesn’t Provide Relief
How Neuro Wellness Spa Can Help Break the Cycle of Depression and Alcoholism
It can be overwhelming to begin seeking help for a substance use disorder or depression diagnosis. Neuro Wellness Spa recognizes this fact, and works to make scheduling an appointment simple and accessible. With a well-informed and compassionate intake team, we can assess your unique mental health needs and set you up for an initial appointment in a timely manner. Additionally, our comprehensive dual diagnosis treatment can help you manage your depression and alcohol use in harmony.
Neuro Wellness Spa also teaches holistic recovery options that you can utilize for long-term wellness support, as well as therapeutic tools like CBT, DBT, and traditional talk therapy. If you want to avoid the risks of taking antidepressants while managing your alcohol consumption, we offer medication management to ween you off prescriptions, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy — an FDA-approved treatment approach for depression that’s noninvasive and offered at our facilities.
Call Neuro Wellness Spa today to help break the cycle of depression and alcohol use. We will walk you through every step of the way.
References
- Turner, S., Mota, N., Bolton, J., & Sareen, J. (2018). Self-medication with alcohol or drugs for mood and anxiety disorders: A narrative review of the epidemiological literature. Depression and Anxiety, 35(9), 851–860. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22771
- National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Alcohol. https://medlineplus.gov/alcohol.html#:~:text=Alcohol%20is%20a%20central%20nervous,with%20memory%20and%20thinking%20clearly.