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Causes of Depression II
Anger and Depression II
Depression
and Alcohol II Stress and Depression
Alcohol and Depression.
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.
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