Why alcohol can trigger depression?
Alcohol use disorder & depression are two illnesses that frequently coexist
Post by on Thursday, September 23, 2021
Alcohol can help you calm down, which makes it easier to communicate with others, especially if you are shy. The disadvantage is that it can render you unable to drive, operate machines, or make judgments. Depending on the quantity of alcohol consumed, it also reduces your capacity to take in information and respond to the changes in your surroundings to a lesser level.
Most individuals become drowsy, nauseated, or dizzy if they drink any more. They could pass out. They might not recall what happened while they were drinking. This can occasionally manifest as an alcoholic blackout, which is an indication that their drinking is becoming a problem.
Alcohol, in modest doses, can calm you for a few hours. It might make you feel worse in bigger doses. The urge to experience this fleeting feeling then fails, especially if your body has acquired tolerance to alcohol and you drink more to have the same results. The issue is that it is all too easy to become accustomed to drinking on a regular basis, as if it were a medicine. The advantages quickly wear off, and drinking becomes a habit.
Depression is a mental health disorder characterised by a prolonged period of sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, loss, worthlessness, lack of energy, apathy, and even suicide ideation. Over time, these emotions affect how individuals think and behave. This can have an impact on many parts of one's life, including work obligations, personal aspirations, and relationships with family and friends.
Alcohol use disorder and depression are two illnesses that frequently coexist. Furthermore, if not addressed and treated, one can exacerbate the other, creating a vicious cycle.
Although alcohol is a socially accepted substance, it is nonetheless a drug. Alcohol abuse and dependence are both classified as alcohol use disorders; with research indicating that alcohol dependence is more strongly linked to the persistence of depressive illnesses.
Alcohol consumption, according to studies, enhances both the duration and severity of depressive episodes. Suicidal thoughts become more likely, frequent, and severe as a result.
Alcohol can also exacerbate depression by causing additional pressures in life, such as work and family issues. When you drink excessively, you are more prone to make poor judgments or act rashly. As a result, you may deplete your bank account, lose your job, or destroy a relationship.
It makes life more difficult - quarrels with family or friends, difficulty at work, memory and sexual issues. When this happens, you're more likely to feel down, especially if your genes are predisposed to depression. If the individual then seeks solace in alcohol, a vicious cycle begins that can be exceedingly difficult to escape.
It's unclear which comes first, depression or alcoholism. Each person's experience is unique, although having one of the criteria enhances the likelihood of experiencing the other. According to research, there appears to be a bidirectional link between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depressive disorders; both illnesses can coexist, each condition raises the risk of the other, and each disorder worsens the other. Regardless of which developed first, AUD or a depressive illness, both are among the most common mental diseases and frequently co-occur.
In certain cases, alcoholism can lead to depression. It has a depressant effect. Alcohol, like barbiturates (sedatives), is a substance that impacts the central nervous system (CNS) and the functioning of the brain. That implies that any amount of alcohol might increase your chances of getting the blues.
Prolonged alcohol misuse may alter and rewire the brain, as well as affect numerous other chemical balances in the body, increasing the likelihood of depression. This is especially true of the brain's neurotransmitters, which convey electric and chemical signals and regulate much of the body's and mind's functioning.
Alcohol intake causes chemicals like serotonin and dopamine to fluctuate rapidly. Dopamine regulates the brain's reward system, whereas serotonin serves to balance a person's mood. Unusual high or low amounts of these substances might cause depressive symptoms, among other health issues. Depression can result from these systemic alterations.
Almost one-third of persons suffering from severe depression also have an alcohol problem. Depression usually arrives first. According to research, depressed children are more prone to have drinking issues later in life.
If a woman has a history of depression, she is more than twice as likely to begin drinking significantly. According to experts, women are more inclined than men to overdo it when they are depressed.
The duration of alcohol-induced depression varies greatly. In general, depressed symptoms linked with alcohol-induced depression have been proven to improve considerably after abstaining from alcohol for a certain period of time, generally 3-4 weeks in many situations.
However, evidence shows that substance-induced sadness can progress to independent depression if symptoms of depression remain after stopping the use of alcohol or other substances.
To conclude, drinking excessively and on a regular basis might raise your chances of getting a severe depressive illness. It can also exacerbate symptoms of pre-existing depression, jeopardising your physical and mental health. Self-medicating depression with alcohol raises the risk of serious bodily harm and even suicidal tendencies if not treated properly.
Antidepressants can potentially be rendered ineffective by excessive alcohol consumption. Thus, it's a vicious cycle that can be tough to break, but treatment can be successful.
