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Alcohol

ellie2000ellie2000 Posts: 3,961 Community Veteran
in General Chat
How and why does alcohol effect our mental health
Crazy mad insane

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    PoppyBPoppyB Posts: 228 Trailblazer
    Hi @ellie2000 I hope you're having a nice start to the new year :)

    That's a great question! Generally, alcohol is perfectly fine when you are having a few drinks and socialising with your friends. However, some people use alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the symptoms of poor mental health. As alcohol is a depressant, it slows down the central nervous system and contributes to poorer mental health as their mood begins to fluctuate and get worse once the initial buzz has worn off. Drinking large quantities of alcohol over a long period of time to 'numb' emotions can cause sleeping problems and make the individual re-live traumatic events which leads to further anxiety and depression. 

    It can become quite a viscous cycle where alcohol worsens mental health but poor mental health makes people want to drink alcohol.

    However, this article and this article talk about the link between the two in much better detail - they are both quite an interesting read if you get the chance to look through it.

    Have you noticed alcohol affecting your mental health or that of friends/family?
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    ellie2000ellie2000 Posts: 3,961 Community Veteran
    myne,

    I hit booze to socialize. sometimes I txt my bullies negative things n their other half to. wen I txted to her other half Im suicidal, the police came. I told them full story they were helpful
    I havnt drunk this yr yet. how do it notify where I live
    Crazy mad insane
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    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,283 Skive's The Limit
    edited January 2020
    PoppyB said:
    As alcohol is a depressant
    Just want to point out that alcohol being labelled a ‘depressant’ has nothing to do with how it directly affects your mood or mental health. It’s a common misconception.

    While it is correct to say that misuse of alcohol can negatively affect your mental health and mood, it is not because it is a depressant drug.

    Many of the most effective prescription drugs used in treating depression and mental health issues are in fact depressant drugs.
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    SienaSiena Posts: 15,495 Skive's The Limit
    Skive said:
    PoppyB said:
    As alcohol is a depressant
    Just want to point out that alcohol being labelled a ‘depressant’ has nothing to do with how it affects your mood or mental health.

    Misuse of alcohol will negatively affect your mental health and mood, but not because it is a depressant.

    Many of the most effective prescription drugs used in treating depression and mental health issues are in fact depressant drugs.
    But if you drink - you feel shitty the next day because of alcholol is a depressant so then you want more alcholol & how you misuse it
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
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    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,283 Skive's The Limit
    Shaunie said:
    Skive said:
    PoppyB said:
    As alcohol is a depressant
    Just want to point out that alcohol being labelled a ‘depressant’ has nothing to do with how it affects your mood or mental health.

    Misuse of alcohol will negatively affect your mental health and mood, but not because it is a depressant.

    Many of the most effective prescription drugs used in treating depression and mental health issues are in fact depressant drugs.
    But if you drink - you feel shitty the next day because of alcholol is a depressant so then you want more alcholol & how you misuse it

     It has nothing to do with alcohol being a depressant.
    some if the most popular and effective drugs used to treat anxiety and depression are also depressants. 

    Alcohol is called a depressant specifically because it slows downs your central nervous system - it’s physical effects. Not it’s effect on your mood or mental health.
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    SienaSiena Posts: 15,495 Skive's The Limit
    edited January 2020
    Skive said:
    Shaunie said:
    Skive said:
    PoppyB said:
    As alcohol is a depressant
    Just want to point out that alcohol being labelled a ‘depressant’ has nothing to do with how it affects your mood or mental health.

    Misuse of alcohol will negatively affect your mental health and mood, but not because it is a depressant.

    Many of the most effective prescription drugs used in treating depression and mental health issues are in fact depressant drugs.
    But if you drink - you feel shitty the next day because of alcholol is a depressant so then you want more alcholol & how you misuse it

     It has nothing to do with alcohol being a depressant.
    some if the most popular and effective drugs used to treat anxiety and depression are also depressants. 

    Alcohol is called a depressant specifically because it slows downs your central nervous system - it’s physical effects. Not it’s effect on your mood or mental health.

    But ive had alochol and felt fine physically but very low the next day. Antidepressants are for depression not depressionats? Alochol just helps short term anti depressants help long term otherwise doctors may aswell prescribe alcohol. 
    I think it heavy affects your mental health - unable to make descions , cant focus , not good judgement and feeling confused ect. And then you feel super low after wards cause it made you feel great before
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
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    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,283 Skive's The Limit
    edited January 2020
    Shaunie said:
    But ive had alochol and felt fine physically but very low the next day. Antidepressants are for depression not depressionats? Alochol just helps short term anti depressants help long term otherwise doctors may aswell prescribe alcohol. 
    I think it heavy affects your mental health - unable to make descions , cant focus , not good judgement and feeling confused ect. And then you feel super low after wards cause it made you feel great before

    Alcohol misuse can be bad for you mental health but its not specifically because it is labelled a depressant.

    There are many drugs classed as depressants that are effectively used for treating mental health issue and anxiety. This is why it’s important to understand the difference. Depressant drugs depress your CNS - they slow your breathing, your heart, your reaction times and have other physical effects. This is why they’re called depressants.

    Not because they affect your mood or mental health.

    This is a good read.

    https://www.addictioncenter.com/alcohol/is-alcohol-a-depressant/
    Post edited by JustV on
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    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,283 Skive's The Limit
    Interestingly the drug Tramadol is both a depressant and an antidepressant. 
    This is because depressant is not the opposite of antidepressant. These two labels have different contexts.

    Tramadol depresses your CNS, but it is also an SSRI - a sub class of drugs that fall under the label of anti depressant.

    It’s confusing. The point is people shouldn’t assume depressant drugs will make them depressed. 

    Weekender Offender 
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    mags98mags98 Posts: 287 The Mix Regular
    Hi guys, 

    Great discussion about alcohol and their effects, good points made. Just so the thread doesn't become a debate and stem too far from the original question, maybe let's keep from the depressant/anti-depressant and focus on the effects more  :)
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    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,283 Skive's The Limit
    mags98 said:
    Hi guys, 

    Great discussion about alcohol and their effects, good points made. Just so the thread doesn't become a debate and stem too far from the original question, maybe let's keep from the depressant/anti-depressant and focus on the effects more  :)
    I think pretty much everything's been said. Because of it's availibility, alcohol is a popualr drug for people with mental health issues wanting to self medicate, and this often leads to addiction, and alcohol addictions are very harmful physically as well as mentally.
    The only time you should use medication to to help with a mental health issue is when it is prescribed by the doctor. 

    The reason I pointed out the error in the explanation around alcohol being a depressant is that it's repeated elswhere on this site.

    https://www.themix.org.uk/drink-and-drugs/drinking-alcohol/can-alcohol-make-you-depressed-10271.html

    'Alcohol can make some people feel depressed because it’s a type of drug called a depressant.'

    This statement is not correct. As somebody who takes an interest in pharmacology - both recreational and medical - this bugs me.
    Weekender Offender 
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