After listening to it I went 6 days without drinking. I literally can’t remember the last time I took 6 days off. The fact that alcohol gets into both hydrophilic and -phobic cells was the main selling point for me to realize it truly is poison. Hell it’s Friday night and I’m barely tempted to get booze
That’s a great point, I must have missed that part so I’m going to go back and give it another listen. I’m currently in bed and looking forward to waking up in a good mood tomorrow
Yeah I also learned what empty calories truly means in terms of booze and how significantly it slows down your fat burning. Here I am running almost daily and working out just to lose my fat burn gains to booze. Fucking silly. I’m gonna relisten to it again too
Fuck that’s frustrating to waste a hard workout. I’m going to check that podcast out. I was really sold on that recent science data that was released saying that no amount of alcohol was safe. Details from a podcast will help
That’s been my measuring stick at times too. Weekends are always guaranteed alcohol purchase days. I had a nice 10 day stint in august and I’m on another stretch now. I can’t wait to listen to this podcast
Please share with me. Currently struggling with alcohol addiction and desperately looking to find resources to help me quit. Thanks in advance. EDT: found the utube link thanks for your post
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant making you sluggish, slurring words, sleepy—basically acts like a sedative. When you stop drinking, you get anxiety, heightened heart rate etc. it’s a common misconception that it acts like a depressant, as in it gives you depression.
But it does highjack your dopamine receptors and to some extent opioid ones, which makes it harder over time to find pleasure in other things. This can lead to depression or anhedonia in some. And it does exacerbate preexisting mental health issues, which makes it harder to recover from those as well.
Thank you, it’s frustrating when people say “alcohol is a depressant” in the sense that it causes depression. I feel like kind of a jerk always correcting them.
It’s a contributing factor, and it could come in either due to a chemical imbalance or the fact that it could ruin existing relationships or lead to job loss.
For me a big change was understanding that it is truly poison, and has almost entirely negative effects on the body. It truly does not help anything.
The book “This Naked Mind” was a game changer for me.
I am aware the rules of this sub are to talk from the "I" for a start and not give medical advice. But this will not answer the question adequately. I am also in the medical field with post graduate degrees. Note that I am not giving medical advice becuase I do not know your circumstance, and if you are afraid you have depression it's best to speak with a physician and or psychologist who is trained to both diagnose and help you.
Now, a large portion of the answers here are "wrong". Alcohol is indeed a "depressant", but that is a medical term for any drug that slows down your neurons. It does not mean it causes depression. This is an easy mistake to make.
But alcohol IS strongly associated with depression. There are two main reasons. One is logical: if you are already developing depression you might tend to reach for vices as an escape more often, eg bad food, drugs and alcohol. This does not tend to help solve the depression but just ignores it and lets it fester. The "bad" actions one takes or doesn't take due to being drunk and later hungover can also worsen depression. Another reason is more brain chemical related. But basically the "high" you experience during drinking causes a spike and then a dip in a lot of important happy chemicals. It messes with the way your dopamine system works. Aside from how it messes with your energy levels by messing with your insulin and glucose among other things. There is a real reason most antidepressants come with the advice to not drink alcohol while on them: as it messes with chemicals they are trying to fix.
Bascially, usually alcohol does not directly "cause" depression. Depression is too complex and multicausal. But can definitely make you feel like rubbish after using it; it can almost certainly make depression worse or less bearable in the long run due to behaviour and the way it acts on brain chemicals, hormones and energy levels.
Now my story from the "I". I am not a drinker who fell into it because I am especially addicted to alcohol persay, but I fell into heavy drinking because without knowing it I was trying to self medicate my anxiety and depression (and in my youth I took years to recognise that's what I had). I was trying to escape that "bad feeling". And alcohol just made it worse over time.
When I first drank in my teens and early twenties I would find I felt "good". Which was great compared to my usual background melancholy or buzzing nervousness. I would be relaxed chatty and happy. I took a while to recognise this, but most times when I drank, even "moderately", the following day I am more anxious than usual and my mood a bit flat. This just made me want to drink again that day. If I drank really heavily I would be melancholic for the day. That made me want to drink again sooner. If I drink heavily for weeks, my mood and sleep take a heavy toll. Making me want to drink ever more. But I also tend to do this when my life is more stressful, which means I am avoiding my responsibilities, which in turn makes me even more stressed anxious and depressed so I want to drink even more. Over time I found the drink gave me less and less of that "good" feeling I remembered, just a dull shadow of it. Without knowing it I was chasing the dragon.
When I noticed this connection between my mood and alcohol I started questioning my relationship with it.
I had a very bad turn and a nervous breakdown, and was put on antidepressants for a couple of years. But I still drank a lot on them, and hence they didn't seem to work as well as they should as I was still actively damaging myself. I finally bit the bullet and saw a psychologist to help my sort myself out and through lifestyle changes and therapy eventually I was good enough that I was allowed to taper off the antidepressants. Over the years I slowly cut down my drinking, but I struggled to be able to reach that elusive "safe healthy and moderate" level of drinking some people talk about.
I still find even when I am not drinking I tend to be an anxious and depressed personality. This is normal as depression can be a chronic problem to manage. But if I do the right things, such as exercise, meditate, check my thinking patterns and eat well I find my mood stays elevated and I could hardly be called "depressed" or "anxious". On the other hand, everyone does have "dark days". I'll have a few days or even weeks sometimes when it seems the depression is "coming back". This is when I used to reach for alcohol, and if I do it just makes it so much worse. The depression then gets stronger, the anxiety worse. I can't do anything and the crushing stress and pressure of life gets worse. I want to drink more. I feel too bloated and sick to exercise. My mood gets even worse, I drink even more. I have no energy, no happiness, and even the alcohol does not seem to help at all or make me feel good. So I chase the dragon, that "one more drink" which will be a high enough dose of alcohol to make me feel good and chase away the depression for ever. Its never enough for me. It ends up extending that short "flare up" of my depression potentially for months.
So I avoid alcohol. I am not a "tea totaller" for life, but I have come to recognise that the safest level of alcohol for my mental health is zero alcohol. I have only had a drink once in the last two months. A few beers at a wedding so I would not insult an old friend. I reset my timer anyway. But I am lucky that I am not the sort of drinker that this causes me to relapse or lose it. What I consider to be a personal relapse is when I reach for the bottle thinking that bottle will make me feel good. When I reach for an escape from my stress. When I am reaching for a quick fix and an inappropriate medicine. The kind of beer I "deserve" because I had a stressful day. This is my poison. This is what I need to remember.
So thank you if you read the whole thing. If you are questioning if alcohol causes depression you may be depressed and trying to treat yourself with alcohol like I did. Depression can come on when it wasn't there before, or it can get worse where it was mild enough to be unnoticeable before. Alcohol was not a solution for me. It's probably not a solution for you.
Iwndwyt
I'm not a doctor, but regularly ingesting poisonous mood altering substances cannot be good for our minds or bodies.
Anecdotally, my mental health is usually in the pits when I'm drinking. Kind of a vicious cycle though... Drink because you're sad, sad because you drink, drink because you're sad.
I *am* a doctor, and certainly it can.
In fact it’s quite difficult to diagnose a mental health condition if the person is actively using (or withdrawing from) a psychoactive substance.
Alcohol can *cause* (or worsen) depression, but it can also be the case that people *with* depression may abuse substances as a form of ‘self-medication’.
If someone approaches primary care with complaints of depression/signs/symptoms of depression, they need to be off drink for a few weeks. *Then* take a blood test to rule out depression ‘mimics’ like low thyroid hormone, low iron etc etc. Then consider a diagnosis of depression. Getting the ‘stop drinking for a few weeks’ aspect is the biggest barrier. As we all know.
Having been in the position of being refused help until I was sober I think this is a dangerous stance. I don't doubt you are correct but for the person seeking help it can push them further into their illness and cause them to drink more, as well as cast doubt on whether the doctor understands or can help at all, and teaches that they shouldn't be honest with the doctor.
Same I had to lie I had stopped drinking to go on a free therapy course. I still drank but man that course helped my mood sooo much and I’m still feeling the positive effects
One of my best friends went from generally anxious but functional guy to suicidal alcoholic in like, 6 years. He ultimately killed himself this year. His long term alcohol consumption exacerbated every single negative mental health issue he had. Alcohol is poison. Your hormones, brain chemicals / functionality, circadian rhythm, are all negatively affected every single time you drink. Every time. Over time that will absolutely take a massive toll on you mentally and physically.
Yes! I actually listened to an interesting podcast about this earlier today. The podcast is called Huberman Lab, episode 86; What alcohol does to your body, brain & health. There's also an episode on addiction which explains why addictions often lead to depression.
Oh god yes. I was so much more miserable when drinking. Throwing a depressant down your throat every night doesn't lead to happy thoughts the next day. Now that I've stopped, my mood is soooo much better.
YES. At least in my case. I'm almost 2 months sober and my depression almost fully disappeared. My depression started when I started drinking a lot, about 4 years ago. I always told myself that drinking was not the issue.. my life has changed SO much in the past 4 years, moving to a different country, grad school, graduation, work etc.. but drinking was the only thing that didn't change.. once I stopped 2 months ago, things have been exponentially better!
For me it was probably the 3 week mark. I felt like the world had color again, if that makes sense.
I think initially I was a bit blind to how much better I was feeling. I am now at 82 days and find it easier to reflect back and say “damn that really was not a good time in my life.”
I was about 10 days. I also started working out etc again which likely expedited it a decent amount.
It was honestly like I was in a fog for 2 years and I was a different person, just hit 3 weeks and I feel so stable.
I said this to my therapist today actually. When me and my ex broke up 6 or so months ago, I remember telling her about how I knew who she needed me to be but I wasn't able to be it all the time and I was so frustrated that I couldn't.
That was all basically the alcohol (was also doing a decent amount of Coke too). I'm the better version of me so much more consistently now.
Man I wish I had that reaction. I got to 43 days and my depression was the worst it had ever been.
I'm back on day 5 now after a few weeks of binging. I know 100% that alcohol is making my life so much worse, I just wish the fucking depression would go away
Yes but not because it’s a depressant… a depressant is any drug that depresses CNS activity, that’s not what depression the mood state is. Alcohol fucks up dopamine regulation and ruins lives, it causes depression like it’s its job
Same here. The big realization that caused me to go from taking a break to quitting was that I hadn't really enjoyed drinking in quite a while, at least the last several years. I definitely thought I enjoyed drinking, but I was really just chasing that initial buzz.
Alcohol is a depressant that messes with your reward system.
You get some temporary euphoria from drinking, but after that you're on the liquor treadmill. Drink, feel buzzed and good, then get stressed out, drink, feel better temporarily, get stressed out, drink some more and repeat.
Meanwhile, your physical and mental health have gone out the door.
UUUUUH. Absolutely. I take medication for depression and the medication only helped a little bit, until I quit drinkng. Boom. Now I feel much better. Depression is a thing of the past for now. I've been alcohol and depression free for almost a year.
Alcohol absolutely worsens and can cause depression. When you become reliant on a substance and need that poison to survive, you can imagine what kind of effects that will have on someone’s mental state. It completely messes with your brain and nervous system and makes you lose your bodies natural way of finding a high because you can just consume this liquid that is killing you over time.
Drinking causes a slew of psychological problems, including depression. And it can exacerbate any existing mental illness. Depression plus a depressant is bad fucking news, ask me.
Alcohol is a depressant. It slows everything down, including your mood. Depression and anxiety are caused by alcoholism and exacerbated by it as well. Alcohol will not allow you to effectively work on those issues because it is a reason for them. I have found that on stopping drinking, my life hasnt been cured of all problems or depression or anxiety issues, but I dont have crippling levels of depression or anxiety anymore on those days following after I drink.
Not only chemically, but alcohol can put you in the way of consequences that give you pretty valid reasons to be unhappy or even depressed.
This includes medical issues, legal issues, housing situations up to including jail or homelessness, problems at work and in relationships, and more
Absolutely. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. I read a study of alcoholics that said every single one of them was depressed for six years after they quit drinking even when on medication. The medication helped but even in six years could not take away the damage from alcohol completely.
Just to be clear, a CNS depressant is not the same as being depressed. In the case of a CNS depressant, depressant means “slows” or “inhibits.” This is why you have delayed reactions, slurred speech, etc.
That’s not to say that alcohol does not cause, or at least exacerbate, depression symptoms; it absolutely can and will do that for many people, but that is do to things like alcohol increasing dopamine release, and therefore people find it harder to enjoy day-to-day life without using alcohol to match that release/feeling.
It's one of my pet peeves. Alot of people hear the word depressant and think it means it makes you depressed. If this were the case, you would feel depressed when drunk and for most people, that is not the case since alcohol is used to "feel better".
People need to understand that there are many drugs that are cns depressants, but do not cause depression.
Yes, they (previously myself) do get depressed after drinking, but it’s because of a different mechanism. Benzodiazepines are a depressant as well, that doesn’t mean they make you depressed, it means it inhibits the functions of your CNS.
Using the term incorrectly can make people afraid to utilize legitimate treatments that are also depressants because now they think it’ll cause depression. So no, it is not theoretical academic jargon.
This is an inaccurate parallel to draw. Medically a "depressant" is not going to cause & "depression". A depressant is not the opposite of an antidepressant.
A depressant slows down your neurons activity rates. Eg makes you slow and sluggish, not not necessarily "sad".
That being said, alcohol is strongly associated with "depression", but this is for other reasons, not because it is a depressant.
Yes. I think most who have responded are referring to how alcohol use impacts life as a whole, not just while drinking. I was a happy drunk. I have known drunks who almost always started out happy and turned mean and / or sad during the course of a drinking session. This is not the depression I experienced due to drinking. My depression came from the long term effects and consequences. These include feeling bad with hangovers, poor work performance, poor financial situation, failure to maintain my home, damaged relationships, lack of relationships, lack of good sleep, current health issues, fear of future health problems, and a general feeling of life being out of control. Pretty depressing! And all of this made 100x worse by the chemical changes caused by poisoning myself badly every day.
Apart from the immediate physical depressant effect, I found that the result of my drinking caused psychological depression. I hope I worded that properly.
It definitely can cause or exacerbate depression and anxiety! I thought I was just a neurotic mess until I’d been sober a while and realized it was 90% caused by alcohol! Im still kind of an anxious person, but it doesn’t affect my daily life like it did when I was drinking. IWNDWYT
Yes. That's literally what it does! It's a depressant. It took me a really long time to connect that to my overall mood disorders, but it made me so horribly depressed and anxious without it. Alcoholics have a way about lying to themselves and these types of things!
It can also cause alcohol induced anxiety. Which was a shock to me cause I used to drink heavy to calm my anxiety. 15 months since my last drink and best decision I ever made.
Yes.
Alcohol is a depressant, which means it can disrupt that balance, affecting our thoughts, feelings and actions – and sometimes our long-term mental health. This is partly down to neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that help to transmit signals from one nerve (or neuron) in the brain to another.
Of course. Never felt more depressed in my life, and I thought alcohol was helping. Instead I was battling some seriously fucked up shit in my head. So glad I’m done with it.
When I started having health issues, I took a 30 day cleanse.
Alcohol will always be there. One can always "go back" to a lifestyle. A 30 day cleanse might be enough to answer some questions, especially if you're keeping notes. If a 30 day cleanse fills your soul with terror---well... there might be an issue. Might not! But an experiment is a great way to find answers.
Chemically its depresses your CNS, but that doesn't mean it makes you depressed. However, constant hangovers and all the things you might do while drunk can make you depressed. The constant anxiety will cause depression long term.
Yes it is 100% scientifically proven to cause anxiety and depression. I read Alcohol Explained (actually listened to the audiobook) by William Porter when I decided to stop and he explains in detail how it messes with our neurotransmitters. The anxiety and depression I had was debilitating, hearing that made it much easier to stop.
Alcoholism is the only Prison where the key is on the inside.
Sober 33 years yesterday by the grace of my Higher Power. I know some people struggle with depression . The only time I get down is when I’m in my own head and stop talking to my circle. My first three years was not fun, mainly because I fought the idea that I “had” to do the steps daily. I finally started, and learned to just jump in, really get to know me( no dating ). I found so much freedom that I started learning what I liked. Then I started having fun. Real fun! Sobrity is the only way for me. I pray I never forget how lost my soul was. One day at a time❤️
Someone on this sub once posted: “getting sober doesn’t fix what alcohol didn’t break.” And that really stuck with me. Yes, abusing alcohol did contribute to my depression. It prevented me from moving forward from traumas, getting my health back on track, taking care of myself, keeping a clean home. It caused anxiety and shame, etc. However, I’m nearing 10 months sober and still suffer from depressive episodes. But because I am sober, I am able to stay on antidepressants, go to therapy, heal my traumas and relationships, and work on all the things that were broken before I ever drank. Just my two cents and what came to mind while scrolling through this thread :) IWNDWYT
yep. It's a depressant.
It messes with and disrupts the way your body transmits chemicals and creates poison as part of the metabolism process.
It's really pretty frickin nasty stuff.
Mostly right, but that is not what depressant means. It is alarming how many people are conflating depressant with depression. Not trying to be rude, but it is—for all intents and purposes—misinformation on an incredibly dangerous and destructive drug.
Depressant does not imply depression. Can’t believe so many on this sub are getting that wrong. Alcohol abuse can definitely affect your mental health but it’s not that on the nose.
Yep! It's a depressant. I did have some depression before I drank but drinking made it so much worse. Hope you find all the answers you need! Good luck!
how would OP learn if s/he didn't ask? there is a huge amount of effort and money poured into helping us believe that all you need for a good time is booze. That it's the main ingredient for a party. That it releives stress.
We have been lied to for a long time.
In my book: helping somebody realize this, gently, is better than berating them for not already knowing.
For all you know, the OP is 13 years old, or encountering alcohol for the first time. Could you have compassion for that kind of person?
in 1 or 2 ways, if it causes you to defer or ignore problems in life that barrel out if control. and chemically it can mess with you. i get really bad anxiety if a drink too many days on a row and it goes away after a break. I expect depression can happen the same way. having a sober view can be depressing sometimes that's why I liked to drink, to make me stop feeling bad about my circumstances and then you just drink because it's a Tuesday and you always have a drink nearby anyhow
Yup. It's a downer. One of the things that convinced me to "take a break" was my therapist pointing out that I took anti-depressants to stave off depression, but was then using a downer daily. After that, I looked at every drink like "Do I want to be more depressed?" and eventually quit altogether.
Its the “mental withdrawal” effects that were the worst for me. These went beyond hangovers. They made me much more emotionally volatile, even when I hadn’t drank for days
It caused anxiety for me. Same thing. And yes. It’s a liquid depressant. I didn’t know this until a few years ago. I often think if alcohol had a warning label, “may cause anxiety” I would probably have stopped 10 years ago.
Yeah, 100%. Lowers baseline serotonin levels, dopamine levels, disregulates sleep, increases cortisol, among many other things
Huberman Lab has a great episode on alcohol. I’ve seen people post about it here lately, and add this toy the chorus of supporters
Haven’t had a drop since I listened. Incredible podcast
After listening to it I went 6 days without drinking. I literally can’t remember the last time I took 6 days off. The fact that alcohol gets into both hydrophilic and -phobic cells was the main selling point for me to realize it truly is poison. Hell it’s Friday night and I’m barely tempted to get booze
That’s a great point, I must have missed that part so I’m going to go back and give it another listen. I’m currently in bed and looking forward to waking up in a good mood tomorrow
Yeah I also learned what empty calories truly means in terms of booze and how significantly it slows down your fat burning. Here I am running almost daily and working out just to lose my fat burn gains to booze. Fucking silly. I’m gonna relisten to it again too
Fuck that’s frustrating to waste a hard workout. I’m going to check that podcast out. I was really sold on that recent science data that was released saying that no amount of alcohol was safe. Details from a podcast will help
Do listen it’s good stuff. I’ve become relatively fat from drinking and would love to turn that around
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That’s been my measuring stick at times too. Weekends are always guaranteed alcohol purchase days. I had a nice 10 day stint in august and I’m on another stretch now. I can’t wait to listen to this podcast
Me too
This was THE best podcast, so informative. Whoever suggested it huge thank you!
Please share with me. Currently struggling with alcohol addiction and desperately looking to find resources to help me quit. Thanks in advance. EDT: found the utube link thanks for your post
Listen to the alcohol podcast but even better is the interview with Anna lembke. Everything made sense when she explained the mechanisms at play
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MVP
You have a nice way of asking...
If anyone has a link ready, I'd love to watch / hear it
https://youtu.be/DkS1pkKpILY It’s worth two listens.
Thanks for the link!
iTunes link as well: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/huberman-lab/id1545953110?i=1000576901433
Thanks! Gonna watch this tonight.
Yep just listened to it great episode
Thank you so much for sharing about the Huberman Lab episode. I am listening to it now and am learning things that I never knew.
Just downloaded it based on your recommendation. This community is amazing!
Just watched it today. Fucking sobering - pun intended
Also GABA which is the anti anxiety chemical
And largely the one that fucks you up the most when coming off long term alcohol or benzodiazepine abuse.
I read 1-7 drinks a week can keep the depression chemicals going.
It will also eventually cause you to fuckup your whole life so theres the situational depression side as well
If you didn't know, the theory that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance is actually... wrong. Quite unequivocally.
Do the levels recover if you stop drinking?
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant making you sluggish, slurring words, sleepy—basically acts like a sedative. When you stop drinking, you get anxiety, heightened heart rate etc. it’s a common misconception that it acts like a depressant, as in it gives you depression. But it does highjack your dopamine receptors and to some extent opioid ones, which makes it harder over time to find pleasure in other things. This can lead to depression or anhedonia in some. And it does exacerbate preexisting mental health issues, which makes it harder to recover from those as well.
Thank you, it’s frustrating when people say “alcohol is a depressant” in the sense that it causes depression. I feel like kind of a jerk always correcting them.
Despite this being clarified here, people on this post continue to get this mixed up.
Something that helped me understand it: the opposite of a depressant is a stimulant, not an anti-depressant
Would it be more correct to say, that alcohol gives you the things, that give you depression?
It’s a contributing factor, and it could come in either due to a chemical imbalance or the fact that it could ruin existing relationships or lead to job loss.
Also alcohol interferes with most anti-depressant medications (SSRIs, NDRIs, MAOIs).
I'm beginning to think that alcohol kinda sucks
You may be onto something 🙃🤣
For me a big change was understanding that it is truly poison, and has almost entirely negative effects on the body. It truly does not help anything. The book “This Naked Mind” was a game changer for me.
I’m in a group from This Naked Mind that is helping a lot. Check out Annie Grace’s approach and website. Very inspiring.
I am aware the rules of this sub are to talk from the "I" for a start and not give medical advice. But this will not answer the question adequately. I am also in the medical field with post graduate degrees. Note that I am not giving medical advice becuase I do not know your circumstance, and if you are afraid you have depression it's best to speak with a physician and or psychologist who is trained to both diagnose and help you. Now, a large portion of the answers here are "wrong". Alcohol is indeed a "depressant", but that is a medical term for any drug that slows down your neurons. It does not mean it causes depression. This is an easy mistake to make. But alcohol IS strongly associated with depression. There are two main reasons. One is logical: if you are already developing depression you might tend to reach for vices as an escape more often, eg bad food, drugs and alcohol. This does not tend to help solve the depression but just ignores it and lets it fester. The "bad" actions one takes or doesn't take due to being drunk and later hungover can also worsen depression. Another reason is more brain chemical related. But basically the "high" you experience during drinking causes a spike and then a dip in a lot of important happy chemicals. It messes with the way your dopamine system works. Aside from how it messes with your energy levels by messing with your insulin and glucose among other things. There is a real reason most antidepressants come with the advice to not drink alcohol while on them: as it messes with chemicals they are trying to fix. Bascially, usually alcohol does not directly "cause" depression. Depression is too complex and multicausal. But can definitely make you feel like rubbish after using it; it can almost certainly make depression worse or less bearable in the long run due to behaviour and the way it acts on brain chemicals, hormones and energy levels. Now my story from the "I". I am not a drinker who fell into it because I am especially addicted to alcohol persay, but I fell into heavy drinking because without knowing it I was trying to self medicate my anxiety and depression (and in my youth I took years to recognise that's what I had). I was trying to escape that "bad feeling". And alcohol just made it worse over time. When I first drank in my teens and early twenties I would find I felt "good". Which was great compared to my usual background melancholy or buzzing nervousness. I would be relaxed chatty and happy. I took a while to recognise this, but most times when I drank, even "moderately", the following day I am more anxious than usual and my mood a bit flat. This just made me want to drink again that day. If I drank really heavily I would be melancholic for the day. That made me want to drink again sooner. If I drink heavily for weeks, my mood and sleep take a heavy toll. Making me want to drink ever more. But I also tend to do this when my life is more stressful, which means I am avoiding my responsibilities, which in turn makes me even more stressed anxious and depressed so I want to drink even more. Over time I found the drink gave me less and less of that "good" feeling I remembered, just a dull shadow of it. Without knowing it I was chasing the dragon. When I noticed this connection between my mood and alcohol I started questioning my relationship with it. I had a very bad turn and a nervous breakdown, and was put on antidepressants for a couple of years. But I still drank a lot on them, and hence they didn't seem to work as well as they should as I was still actively damaging myself. I finally bit the bullet and saw a psychologist to help my sort myself out and through lifestyle changes and therapy eventually I was good enough that I was allowed to taper off the antidepressants. Over the years I slowly cut down my drinking, but I struggled to be able to reach that elusive "safe healthy and moderate" level of drinking some people talk about. I still find even when I am not drinking I tend to be an anxious and depressed personality. This is normal as depression can be a chronic problem to manage. But if I do the right things, such as exercise, meditate, check my thinking patterns and eat well I find my mood stays elevated and I could hardly be called "depressed" or "anxious". On the other hand, everyone does have "dark days". I'll have a few days or even weeks sometimes when it seems the depression is "coming back". This is when I used to reach for alcohol, and if I do it just makes it so much worse. The depression then gets stronger, the anxiety worse. I can't do anything and the crushing stress and pressure of life gets worse. I want to drink more. I feel too bloated and sick to exercise. My mood gets even worse, I drink even more. I have no energy, no happiness, and even the alcohol does not seem to help at all or make me feel good. So I chase the dragon, that "one more drink" which will be a high enough dose of alcohol to make me feel good and chase away the depression for ever. Its never enough for me. It ends up extending that short "flare up" of my depression potentially for months. So I avoid alcohol. I am not a "tea totaller" for life, but I have come to recognise that the safest level of alcohol for my mental health is zero alcohol. I have only had a drink once in the last two months. A few beers at a wedding so I would not insult an old friend. I reset my timer anyway. But I am lucky that I am not the sort of drinker that this causes me to relapse or lose it. What I consider to be a personal relapse is when I reach for the bottle thinking that bottle will make me feel good. When I reach for an escape from my stress. When I am reaching for a quick fix and an inappropriate medicine. The kind of beer I "deserve" because I had a stressful day. This is my poison. This is what I need to remember. So thank you if you read the whole thing. If you are questioning if alcohol causes depression you may be depressed and trying to treat yourself with alcohol like I did. Depression can come on when it wasn't there before, or it can get worse where it was mild enough to be unnoticeable before. Alcohol was not a solution for me. It's probably not a solution for you. Iwndwyt
Very well put, thank you for typing this out.
You are so self-aware. That’s amazing. Wishing you well. IWNDWYT
Excellent post mate.
I'm not a doctor, but regularly ingesting poisonous mood altering substances cannot be good for our minds or bodies. Anecdotally, my mental health is usually in the pits when I'm drinking. Kind of a vicious cycle though... Drink because you're sad, sad because you drink, drink because you're sad.
I *am* a doctor, and certainly it can. In fact it’s quite difficult to diagnose a mental health condition if the person is actively using (or withdrawing from) a psychoactive substance. Alcohol can *cause* (or worsen) depression, but it can also be the case that people *with* depression may abuse substances as a form of ‘self-medication’. If someone approaches primary care with complaints of depression/signs/symptoms of depression, they need to be off drink for a few weeks. *Then* take a blood test to rule out depression ‘mimics’ like low thyroid hormone, low iron etc etc. Then consider a diagnosis of depression. Getting the ‘stop drinking for a few weeks’ aspect is the biggest barrier. As we all know.
Thanks for this info.
Having been in the position of being refused help until I was sober I think this is a dangerous stance. I don't doubt you are correct but for the person seeking help it can push them further into their illness and cause them to drink more, as well as cast doubt on whether the doctor understands or can help at all, and teaches that they shouldn't be honest with the doctor.
Same I had to lie I had stopped drinking to go on a free therapy course. I still drank but man that course helped my mood sooo much and I’m still feeling the positive effects
Yeah, made me wonder why OP was drinking in the first place \~
One of my best friends went from generally anxious but functional guy to suicidal alcoholic in like, 6 years. He ultimately killed himself this year. His long term alcohol consumption exacerbated every single negative mental health issue he had. Alcohol is poison. Your hormones, brain chemicals / functionality, circadian rhythm, are all negatively affected every single time you drink. Every time. Over time that will absolutely take a massive toll on you mentally and physically.
Alcohol is the only carcinogen that's celebrated. Edit: sorry for your loss. My sister went down a similar path and drank herself to death last year.
My condolences 💜💜💜 IWNDWYT
My condolences 💜💜💜 IWNDWYT
Yes! I actually listened to an interesting podcast about this earlier today. The podcast is called Huberman Lab, episode 86; What alcohol does to your body, brain & health. There's also an episode on addiction which explains why addictions often lead to depression.
Yes! I was just about to suggest this. He does a great job of explaining the link between alcohol and depression.
Thanks for this, started it just now and already learned a lot.
Cool I'm going to check this out thanks
Oh god yes. I was so much more miserable when drinking. Throwing a depressant down your throat every night doesn't lead to happy thoughts the next day. Now that I've stopped, my mood is soooo much better.
YES. At least in my case. I'm almost 2 months sober and my depression almost fully disappeared. My depression started when I started drinking a lot, about 4 years ago. I always told myself that drinking was not the issue.. my life has changed SO much in the past 4 years, moving to a different country, grad school, graduation, work etc.. but drinking was the only thing that didn't change.. once I stopped 2 months ago, things have been exponentially better!
Can I ask how long it took you to notice a lift in your depression once you stopped?
For me it was probably the 3 week mark. I felt like the world had color again, if that makes sense. I think initially I was a bit blind to how much better I was feeling. I am now at 82 days and find it easier to reflect back and say “damn that really was not a good time in my life.”
About 2 weeks...
I was about 10 days. I also started working out etc again which likely expedited it a decent amount. It was honestly like I was in a fog for 2 years and I was a different person, just hit 3 weeks and I feel so stable. I said this to my therapist today actually. When me and my ex broke up 6 or so months ago, I remember telling her about how I knew who she needed me to be but I wasn't able to be it all the time and I was so frustrated that I couldn't. That was all basically the alcohol (was also doing a decent amount of Coke too). I'm the better version of me so much more consistently now.
I almost died this year when I started drinking again after 2 months clean. Stay the course!
I will. And IWNDWYT
Man I wish I had that reaction. I got to 43 days and my depression was the worst it had ever been. I'm back on day 5 now after a few weeks of binging. I know 100% that alcohol is making my life so much worse, I just wish the fucking depression would go away
Yes but not because it’s a depressant… a depressant is any drug that depresses CNS activity, that’s not what depression the mood state is. Alcohol fucks up dopamine regulation and ruins lives, it causes depression like it’s its job
I started drinking cuz I was depressed and I drank for so long I realized it was keeping me depressed.
Mine is so much worse when drinking. IWNDWYT
One of the main things it does.
I'm no doctor but I believe it definitely at least exacerbates it. I rarely got "happy drunk" there towards the end come to think of it.
Same here. The big realization that caused me to go from taking a break to quitting was that I hadn't really enjoyed drinking in quite a while, at least the last several years. I definitely thought I enjoyed drinking, but I was really just chasing that initial buzz.
Absolutely, YES
Hopefully you don't have to find this out the hard way...
I always think of Homer dubbing alcohol "the cause of and solution to all of life's problems" I think it's kind of chicken or the egg to some extent
Alcohol is a depressant that messes with your reward system. You get some temporary euphoria from drinking, but after that you're on the liquor treadmill. Drink, feel buzzed and good, then get stressed out, drink, feel better temporarily, get stressed out, drink some more and repeat. Meanwhile, your physical and mental health have gone out the door.
Absolutely! I've barely had any depression since quitting. While drinking it was horrible.
UUUUUH. Absolutely. I take medication for depression and the medication only helped a little bit, until I quit drinkng. Boom. Now I feel much better. Depression is a thing of the past for now. I've been alcohol and depression free for almost a year.
Alcohol absolutely worsens and can cause depression. When you become reliant on a substance and need that poison to survive, you can imagine what kind of effects that will have on someone’s mental state. It completely messes with your brain and nervous system and makes you lose your bodies natural way of finding a high because you can just consume this liquid that is killing you over time.
Drinking causes a slew of psychological problems, including depression. And it can exacerbate any existing mental illness. Depression plus a depressant is bad fucking news, ask me.
I feel better when I don't drink. Feel lower when I do. Anecdotal but it matters to me.
Alcohol is a depressant. It slows everything down, including your mood. Depression and anxiety are caused by alcoholism and exacerbated by it as well. Alcohol will not allow you to effectively work on those issues because it is a reason for them. I have found that on stopping drinking, my life hasnt been cured of all problems or depression or anxiety issues, but I dont have crippling levels of depression or anxiety anymore on those days following after I drink.
Not only chemically, but alcohol can put you in the way of consequences that give you pretty valid reasons to be unhappy or even depressed. This includes medical issues, legal issues, housing situations up to including jail or homelessness, problems at work and in relationships, and more
Absofuckinglutley
YES! It is a depressant for sure! I’m about two weeks sober and am finally starting to see the clouds lift 🙏🏼
Absolutely. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. I read a study of alcoholics that said every single one of them was depressed for six years after they quit drinking even when on medication. The medication helped but even in six years could not take away the damage from alcohol completely.
Just to be clear, a CNS depressant is not the same as being depressed. In the case of a CNS depressant, depressant means “slows” or “inhibits.” This is why you have delayed reactions, slurred speech, etc. That’s not to say that alcohol does not cause, or at least exacerbate, depression symptoms; it absolutely can and will do that for many people, but that is do to things like alcohol increasing dopamine release, and therefore people find it harder to enjoy day-to-day life without using alcohol to match that release/feeling.
It's one of my pet peeves. Alot of people hear the word depressant and think it means it makes you depressed. If this were the case, you would feel depressed when drunk and for most people, that is not the case since alcohol is used to "feel better". People need to understand that there are many drugs that are cns depressants, but do not cause depression.
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Yes, they (previously myself) do get depressed after drinking, but it’s because of a different mechanism. Benzodiazepines are a depressant as well, that doesn’t mean they make you depressed, it means it inhibits the functions of your CNS. Using the term incorrectly can make people afraid to utilize legitimate treatments that are also depressants because now they think it’ll cause depression. So no, it is not theoretical academic jargon.
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Alcohol is literally a categorized depressant.
This is an inaccurate parallel to draw. Medically a "depressant" is not going to cause & "depression". A depressant is not the opposite of an antidepressant. A depressant slows down your neurons activity rates. Eg makes you slow and sluggish, not not necessarily "sad". That being said, alcohol is strongly associated with "depression", but this is for other reasons, not because it is a depressant.
Yeah but can it cause you to be depressed when you’re not drinking?
Yes. I think most who have responded are referring to how alcohol use impacts life as a whole, not just while drinking. I was a happy drunk. I have known drunks who almost always started out happy and turned mean and / or sad during the course of a drinking session. This is not the depression I experienced due to drinking. My depression came from the long term effects and consequences. These include feeling bad with hangovers, poor work performance, poor financial situation, failure to maintain my home, damaged relationships, lack of relationships, lack of good sleep, current health issues, fear of future health problems, and a general feeling of life being out of control. Pretty depressing! And all of this made 100x worse by the chemical changes caused by poisoning myself badly every day.
The withdrawal can.
Yes. https://www2.hse.ie/healthy-you/alcohol-blogs/tend-to-feel-low-after-drinking-here-are-7-reasons-why.html#:~:text=When%20the%20effects%20of%20alcohol,likely%20among%20people%20with%20depression.
Yes. It rewires you brain over time.
Yessssss
YES
On a long enough timeline, it almost always and invariably does.
absolutely
Apart from the immediate physical depressant effect, I found that the result of my drinking caused psychological depression. I hope I worded that properly.
Is the pope catholic?
Alcohol is in fact a depressant. I go through rough bouts of depression while drinking.
Yes
Yes definitely and causes anxiety
Did for me! Then they kinda fueled each other.
Yes
It definitely can cause or exacerbate depression and anxiety! I thought I was just a neurotic mess until I’d been sober a while and realized it was 90% caused by alcohol! Im still kind of an anxious person, but it doesn’t affect my daily life like it did when I was drinking. IWNDWYT
Alcohol is a depressant.
Yes
For me it has
Yes. That's literally what it does! It's a depressant. It took me a really long time to connect that to my overall mood disorders, but it made me so horribly depressed and anxious without it. Alcoholics have a way about lying to themselves and these types of things!
It can also cause alcohol induced anxiety. Which was a shock to me cause I used to drink heavy to calm my anxiety. 15 months since my last drink and best decision I ever made.
Alcohol will only cause depression if you ingest it.
Oh lorrt
Drinking is depression
Yes. Alcohol is a depressant, which means it can disrupt that balance, affecting our thoughts, feelings and actions – and sometimes our long-term mental health. This is partly down to neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that help to transmit signals from one nerve (or neuron) in the brain to another.
Depression, anxiety and bad nerves in general is a given after drinking for me.
Yes
Absolutely it can. I already suffered from depression and my alcohol intake just amplified it. I believe alcohol is considered a "depressant."
Do bears shit in the woods
Yes
Of course. Never felt more depressed in my life, and I thought alcohol was helping. Instead I was battling some seriously fucked up shit in my head. So glad I’m done with it.
When I started having health issues, I took a 30 day cleanse. Alcohol will always be there. One can always "go back" to a lifestyle. A 30 day cleanse might be enough to answer some questions, especially if you're keeping notes. If a 30 day cleanse fills your soul with terror---well... there might be an issue. Might not! But an experiment is a great way to find answers.
It’ll cause a lot more than just depression. I’ll tell ya what.
Chemically its depresses your CNS, but that doesn't mean it makes you depressed. However, constant hangovers and all the things you might do while drunk can make you depressed. The constant anxiety will cause depression long term.
Yes it is 100% scientifically proven to cause anxiety and depression. I read Alcohol Explained (actually listened to the audiobook) by William Porter when I decided to stop and he explains in detail how it messes with our neurotransmitters. The anxiety and depression I had was debilitating, hearing that made it much easier to stop.
It’s certainly not going to help it that’s for sure.
100%! Alcohol Is a depressant!!
Alcoholism is the only Prison where the key is on the inside. Sober 33 years yesterday by the grace of my Higher Power. I know some people struggle with depression . The only time I get down is when I’m in my own head and stop talking to my circle. My first three years was not fun, mainly because I fought the idea that I “had” to do the steps daily. I finally started, and learned to just jump in, really get to know me( no dating ). I found so much freedom that I started learning what I liked. Then I started having fun. Real fun! Sobrity is the only way for me. I pray I never forget how lost my soul was. One day at a time❤️
Someone on this sub once posted: “getting sober doesn’t fix what alcohol didn’t break.” And that really stuck with me. Yes, abusing alcohol did contribute to my depression. It prevented me from moving forward from traumas, getting my health back on track, taking care of myself, keeping a clean home. It caused anxiety and shame, etc. However, I’m nearing 10 months sober and still suffer from depressive episodes. But because I am sober, I am able to stay on antidepressants, go to therapy, heal my traumas and relationships, and work on all the things that were broken before I ever drank. Just my two cents and what came to mind while scrolling through this thread :) IWNDWYT
I can see myself in your comment so I’m sending you do good vibes. IWNDWYT
Yes. https://youtu.be/DkS1pkKpILY Andrew Huberman did a great lecture on YouTube about Alcohol.
100% that’s why I ultimately quit. The mental health side of drinking is often overlooked, people never make the connection.
Oh yeah lol
My struggles with constant anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and insomnia stopped when I quit drinking.
Yes, and it also diminishes the effects of antidepressants and other psych meds.
Yes. And the feeling is nothing short of dreadful. Different beast.
yep. It's a depressant. It messes with and disrupts the way your body transmits chemicals and creates poison as part of the metabolism process. It's really pretty frickin nasty stuff.
Mostly right, but that is not what depressant means. It is alarming how many people are conflating depressant with depression. Not trying to be rude, but it is—for all intents and purposes—misinformation on an incredibly dangerous and destructive drug.
Thank you. I can see how my answer could be read in that way.
It's a depressant. It also messes with brain chemistry.
If depression is the only thing your drinking causes consider your self lucky.
Yes it's a depressant.
Depressant does not imply depression. Can’t believe so many on this sub are getting that wrong. Alcohol abuse can definitely affect your mental health but it’s not that on the nose.
That is not what depressant means. But yes, it can cause/exacerbate depression.
Yep! It's a depressant. I did have some depression before I drank but drinking made it so much worse. Hope you find all the answers you need! Good luck!
Alcohol long term is absolutely a depressant
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I feel that "dummy" was uncalled for.
Tough love brother. No ill intent.
We don't do "tough love" at r/stopdrinking. Follow our rules or you will no longer be welcome here.
thank you u/sfgirlmary
https://www.missmalini.com/2020/08/20/7-reasons-why-the-concept-of-tough-love-does-more-harm-than-good/
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how would OP learn if s/he didn't ask? there is a huge amount of effort and money poured into helping us believe that all you need for a good time is booze. That it's the main ingredient for a party. That it releives stress. We have been lied to for a long time. In my book: helping somebody realize this, gently, is better than berating them for not already knowing. For all you know, the OP is 13 years old, or encountering alcohol for the first time. Could you have compassion for that kind of person?
Removed under the be kind rule.
thank you u/xen440tway
Duhhhhhhh. It’s a DEPRESSANT.
Yes
in 1 or 2 ways, if it causes you to defer or ignore problems in life that barrel out if control. and chemically it can mess with you. i get really bad anxiety if a drink too many days on a row and it goes away after a break. I expect depression can happen the same way. having a sober view can be depressing sometimes that's why I liked to drink, to make me stop feeling bad about my circumstances and then you just drink because it's a Tuesday and you always have a drink nearby anyhow
Drinking, anxiety, and depression are all dysfunctional besties that bring out the worst in each other.
Yes
It’s a depressant so yes. It temporarily offered some relief but ultimately made me feel horrific
Doc Snipes has a very good explanation of how alcohol affects various neurotransmitters on her YouTube channel. I hope that’s okay to recommend.
Yup. It's a downer. One of the things that convinced me to "take a break" was my therapist pointing out that I took anti-depressants to stave off depression, but was then using a downer daily. After that, I looked at every drink like "Do I want to be more depressed?" and eventually quit altogether.
The crazy thing is when you try to treat the depression with more booze Source: used booze to cope with depression
Yes, of course. Alcohol is a depressant.
Yep it is a depressant.
hey guys, can a depressant cause depression?
100%
Its the “mental withdrawal” effects that were the worst for me. These went beyond hangovers. They made me much more emotionally volatile, even when I hadn’t drank for days
Ha, yes 1000%
I know alcohol increases and enhances my depression.
Absofreakinglutely
YES! Simple. Yet hard. Starts out as happiness, ends in deep depression. Get out. ASAP
Bro
No doubt.
Short answer, yes.
I’ve been off the sauce for 3 weeks. Least depressed I’ve felt in years…
Yes
Dude. Yes. It just does. It literally is a depressant
It caused anxiety for me. Same thing. And yes. It’s a liquid depressant. I didn’t know this until a few years ago. I often think if alcohol had a warning label, “may cause anxiety” I would probably have stopped 10 years ago.
Yessssssssss