Alcohol and Mental Health
12/09/2011
Mental health problems aren't just the result of drinking too much alcohol - they can also cause people to drink too much.
One of the main reasons for drinking alcohol is to change our mood, which is much the same as changing our mental state. Alcohol can temporarily lessen, or entirely get rid of, feelings of anxiety and depression, and has been shown to also help to temporarily relieve the symptoms of more serious mental illnesses.
As a result, alcohol problems tend to be more common amongst people with severe mental health problems. This does not mean that alcohol causes severe mental illness, however! Drinking in order to deal with hard-to-manage feelings or symptoms is sometimes called ‘self-medication’ by people in the mental health field. This is often why people with mental health problems drink, but in fact alcohol consumption can make existing mental health problems worse.
Evidence shows that people who consume high amounts of alcohol are vmore vulnerable to mental health problems, alcohol can also be a contributing factor in some mental illnesses, such as depression.
Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, which removes behaviroual inhibitions. It also tends to "numb" emotional responses, which means it can be seen to be helpful in dealing with difficult or painful emotional stresses during troublesome periods in our lives.
However, alcohol can also magnify or uncover underlying feelings, which is why some people become angry or aggressive when drinking. Magnification is in fact more likely to occur when underlying feelings which might normally be repressed or ignored are negative in nature; sadness, anger, jealousy etc.
Even if the consumption of alcohol has temporarily positive effects, one of the main problems associated with using alcohol to deal with anxiety and depression is that people usually feel much worse than they did originally once the effects wear off. Alcohol is thought to use up and reduce the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain, but the brain needs a certain level of these in order to prevent excessive anxiety and depression. This often leads people to drink more to escape the post-buzz "downer" and thus a dangerous cycle of addiction and dependence develops.
If you or someone you care about may be experiencing problems due to alcohol consumption, consider visiting www.wellingtonlodge.org.
Mental health problems aren't just the result of drinking too much alcohol - they can also cause people to drink too much.
One of the main reasons for drinking alcohol is to change our mood, which is much the same as changing our mental state. Alcohol can temporarily lessen, or entirely get rid of, feelings of anxiety and depression, and has been shown to also help to temporarily relieve the symptoms of more serious mental illnesses.
As a result, alcohol problems tend to be more common amongst people with severe mental health problems. This does not mean that alcohol causes severe mental illness, however! Drinking in order to deal with hard-to-manage feelings or symptoms is sometimes called ‘self-medication’ by people in the mental health field. This is often why people with mental health problems drink, but in fact alcohol consumption can make existing mental health problems worse.
Evidence shows that people who consume high amounts of alcohol are vmore vulnerable to mental health problems, alcohol can also be a contributing factor in some mental illnesses, such as depression.
Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, which removes behaviroual inhibitions. It also tends to "numb" emotional responses, which means it can be seen to be helpful in dealing with difficult or painful emotional stresses during troublesome periods in our lives.
However, alcohol can also magnify or uncover underlying feelings, which is why some people become angry or aggressive when drinking. Magnification is in fact more likely to occur when underlying feelings which might normally be repressed or ignored are negative in nature; sadness, anger, jealousy etc.
Even if the consumption of alcohol has temporarily positive effects, one of the main problems associated with using alcohol to deal with anxiety and depression is that people usually feel much worse than they did originally once the effects wear off. Alcohol is thought to use up and reduce the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain, but the brain needs a certain level of these in order to prevent excessive anxiety and depression. This often leads people to drink more to escape the post-buzz "downer" and thus a dangerous cycle of addiction and dependence develops.
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