Alcohol – Alcohol Addiction and Depression

Alcohol is something that can have a powerful hold on people. A person can become addicted from the first time that they become inebriated. They like the way alcohol makes them feel, and they feel like they are on top of the world when they are drinking. Alcohol is a fickle friend, and can turn on a person quickly and without them realizing it. A lot of time people turn to alcohol to deal with depression, but a lot of times it just makes it worse. Not only does alcoholism make depression worse it can actually be a direct cause of it. People feel depressed and they drink to feel better, which just makes them feel worse. They continue to drink more and the vicious cycle continues. Alcohol is a depressant and it has the ability to take down even the strongest person. A well adjusted person can hide an alcohol addiction from their friends and family for awhile and even convince themselves that they do not have a problem. Eventually the signs of their addiction start to break through to the surface.

Alcohol is considered a depressant because it relaxes the muscles, slows breathing down, and slows down your reaction time. Depression from alcohol is caused by a lessening of serotonin in the brain which is a chemical that is directly related to happy feelings. The more you drink the less serotonin your brain is able to produce. Alcohol also depresses your nervous system and makes your ability to make sound decisions drastically deplete. People may do or say things they do not mean while under the influence. The disease has hold of them and they have lost touch with their true selves. Things that they used to enjoy are no longer sources of joy for them. The drinking starts to become more frequent and they begin to feel that they need the drink rather than choose to drink. This is when the problem can get serious enough for family and friends to get involved. People in this state of addiction are often unreasonable and in denial.

Often people drink alcohol to escape certain feelings that they do not want to deal with. To begin with the alcohol is a soothing friend to the addict, and it becomes the only thing that makes them happy. Over time it does not make them feel better and they attempt to bring back those feelings of happiness by drinking more. They can become detached from their families and friends. This can cause depression to worsen, and the alcohol addiction to become more severe. Treating an alcohol addiction can also treat a problem with depression. This is something that has to be handled with care. It does not matter if the depression came first or the alcohol, both problems must be dealt with simultaneously. There are treatment programs that offer both psychologists and medical treatment  for addicts and can help a patient gain back some happiness if they stick with the program.