Depression and Alcoholism

Filed in archive Mind Games on March 18, 2007

Drinkers are funny people. They drink because everything is going great and they're happy. They also drink when they're feeling depressed, in the hopes that the alcohol will cheer them up.

Wrong! Alcohol is, itself, a depressant. Look at all the weepy drunks, sobbing in their beer.

Business Portal 24 tells us:

Alcohol is used by people for creating a good mood but in essence it is one of the main causes of depression. Alcoholism will produce many of the signs and symptoms of depression.

Psych Central adds this:

While no studies have shown that depression actually causes alcoholism, the two disorders are commonly seen in the same patients at the same time. Thirty to fifty percent of alcoholics, at any given time, are also suffering from major depression.

Feeling depressed? Put that bottle away. It's not the answer. Talk to your doctor. He may be able to help.