Alcohol and Depression
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More than 9 out of 10 people in Ireland drink alcohol. It's part of our culture & we feel comfortable with it.
While moderate drinking doesn't cause many problems, the last 15 years, has featured a radical increase in the consumption of alcohol as Irish society has become wealthier. We are starting to drink at a younger age and are drinking more. More than 1 in 4 men and about 1 in 7 women are drinking more than is medically safe for them. According to the Department of Health and children, around 1 in 8 men are physically addicted to alcohol.
How does alcohol affect the brain?
Alcohol has a lot in common with other drugs that act on the brain, such as tranquillisers. If you drink it regularly, you find that it has less effect. You need to drink more and more to get the effect you want. This is called 'tolerance' and is a powerful part of becoming addicted to alcohol.
Alcohol can also lead to:
- Dementia - memory loss, rather like Alzheimers dementia.
- Psychosis - long- term drinkers can start to hear voices.
- Dependence - if you stop drinking, you get withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, nervousness and (sometimes) seeing things that aren't there.
- Suicide - 40% of men who try to kill themselves have had a long- standing alcohol problem. - 70% of those who succeed in killing themselves have drunk alcohol before doing so.
What is the connection between depression and alcohol?
It is generally known that there is a connection - self-harm and suicide are more prevalent where people have alcohol problems. It seems that it can work in two ways. If you drink too much, too regularly, you are more likely to become depressed. Regular drinking can leave us tired and depressed.
There is evidence that alcohol changes the chemistry of the brain itself and that this increases the risk of depression. Habitually enduring hangovers creates a cycle of waking up feeling ill, anxious and guilty. Regular drinking can make life depressing leading to family arguments, arguments with house mates, poor work, unreliable memory and sexual problems.
If you drink alcohol to relieve anxiety or depression, you will become more depressed. Alcohol helps us to forget our problems for a while. It can help us to relax and overcome any shyness. It can make talking easier and more fun, whether in the pub, a club or at a party. It is a very effective way of feeling better for a few hours.
If you are depressed and lacking in energy, it can be tempting to use alcohol to help you keep going and cope with life. The problem is that it is easy to slip into drinking regularly, using it like a medication. The benefits soon wear off, the drinking becomes part of a routine, and you have to keep drinking more to get the same effect.
How much alcohol is too much?
Some drinks are stronger than others. The easiest way to work out how much you are drinking is to count "units" of alcohol. 1 unit is 10 grammes of alcohol - the amount in a standard pub measure differs according to the drink and the brand, so rather than bringing a calculator along to the pub, just try to stop when youre talking too much shit. Youll know when this happens because youll be standing on your own. Order a pint of water, go home and have a word with yourself, oh, and drink less next time.
If a man and woman of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman will have a much higher amount in her bodily organs than the man. So, unfair as it may seem, the safe limit is lower for women (14 units per week) than for men (21 units per week).
"Binge" drinking
How much you drink at one time is also important. These "safe limits" assume that our drinking is spread out through the week. In any one day, it is best for a man to drink no more than 4 units and for a woman to drink no more than 3 units. Drinking over 8 units in a day for men or 6 units for women is known as 'binge drinking'.
You can drink above the safe limit on one night, but still remain within your "safe" limit for the week. There is some evidence that, even a couple of days of binge drinking, may start to kill off brain cells. Going on a bender every once in a while doesn't mean you're an alcoholic nor will it kill off all of your brain cells and turn you into a moron, the moronishness will wear off about lunchtime the following day after you sober up.
Binge drinking also seems to be connected with an increased risk of early death in middle aged men so watch out for that.
Guide to units of alcohol
The table below gives a rough guide to the amount of alcohol found in standard measures of different drinks. These guidelines are approximate and may vary depending on the brand chosen and the size of measure. All alcohol sold in Ireland above 1.2% ABV (Alcohol By Volume) should state how strong it is in percentages (%), that's if you buy cans or bottles, if you're on spirits or pints, you'll have to make a rough guess.
We hope this table helps. The higher the percentage, the more alcohol it has in it. Pub measures are generally tiny compared to the amount you pour yourself at home.
Beer, Cider & Alco pops Strength ABV Half Pint Pint Bottle/ Can 330ml Bottle/ Can 500ml Bottle 1 Litre Ordinary strength beer, lager or cider eg. Bulmers 3-4% 1 2 1.5 1.9 - Export strength beer, lager or cider eg. Budweiser, Heineken, Kronenbourg, 5% 1.25 2.5 2 2.5 - Extra strong beer, lager or cider eg. Home Brew! 8-9% 2.5 4.5 3 4.5 9 Alco pops eg. Bacardi Breezer, Smirnoff Ice. 5% - - 1.7 - - Wines & Spirits Strength ABV Small glass/ pub measure Wine glass Bottle 750 ml Table Wine 10-12% - 1.5 9 Fortified wine (sherry, martini, port) 15-20% 0.8 2-3 14 Spirits (whisky, vodka, gin) 40% 1 - 30
How much am I drinking?
Most people under-estimate the amount they drink. One way to check on this is to keep a diary of how much you drink over the course of a week. This can give you a clearer idea of whether you are drinking too much. It can also help to highlight any risky situations - regular times, places and people when you seem to drink more. You may scoff and think this doesnt apply to you, fair enough, but if it does, dont be afraid to keep track of the situations that contribute to you getting beaten up or arrested.
Diary Table DAY HOW MUCH? WHEN? WHERE? WHO WITH? UNITS TOTAL Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total for week
Warning signs
You regularly use alcohol as a way of coping with feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety or depression. You regularly use alcohol to feel confident. You get hangovers regularly. Your drinking affects your relationships with other people. Your drinking makes you feel disgusted, angry or suicidal.
Other people tell you that when you drink you become gloomy, embittered or aggressive. You need to drink more and more to feel good. You stop doing other things to spend more time drinking. You start to feel shaky and anxious the morning after drinking the night before. You drink to stop these feelings. You start drinking earlier in the day. Basically, if it gets in the way cut it down or cut it out.
What if I am drinking too much?
Set yourself a target to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink. Avoid any high-risk drinking situations (check out your diary). Work out other things you can do instead of drinking. Involve your partner or a friend. They can help to agree a goal and keep track of your progress.
Many people are able to cut down their drinking after discussing it with their GP. Some people can stop suddenly without any problems. Others may have withdrawal symptoms - craving, shakiness and restlessness. If this happens, your GP can help.
Depression and stopping drinking
There is evidence that, although many heavy drinkers feel depressed when they are drinking, most will feel better within a few weeks of stopping. So, it is usually best to tackle the alcohol first, and then consider dealing with the depression if it has not lifted after a few weeks.
If you're in this situation, youve got a problem. It will be difficult for you to keep your head out of your arse long enough to plot a rational course through your depression, get help, help really is everywhere, check out your campus counselling services, contact your GP, you can even subject yourself to the HeadRKT Crews view, but really, you should contact a human who you can actually look in the eye.
After a few alcohol-free weeks, you will probably feel fitter and less depressed. Friends and family may find you easier to get on with. If your feelings of depression lift, this strongly suggests that they were caused by the drinking. This also suggests that you have an alcohol problem and are at risk of relapse, get support, and get it now!
Treatment for both alcohol problems and depression can be very successful. It helps to regularly see someone you can trust, either your own doctor, counsellor or a specialist psychiatrist. Changing our habits and lifestyle is always a challenge and takes time to achieve and a lot of us know how easy it was to get into drinking as a way to integrate into the college experience.
Dos and Don'ts of Drinking safely
- Do pace yourself - don't gulp it down
- Don't drink on an empty stomach, it just gets too messy too quickly
- Don't drink every day, have two or three alcohol-free days in the week
- Do keep to the target (amount of alcohol per week) you have set yourself
- Do pre- hydrate. It's not just for athletes, it can save you a lot of misery the morning after
- Do respect yourself, no one likes a wanker.