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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What is the relationship between depression and alcoholism?

    Related Topics
    Depression Mental Health
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  • Elisha Lawry

    Organisational Psychologist, Psychologist

    I have a deep commitment to helping people achieve an effortless life balance. My focus is to bring positive transformation to clients suffering from Anxiety, … View Profile

    Often people are using alcohol as a way of self-medicating, and I think that is a very strong link. When someone is depressed, they often feel isolated and their mood is black. They are looking for some way of calming themselves down or feeling better in themselves. Alcohol seems to be one of the preferred drugs of choice of a lot of people, they imbibe the alcohol and it becomes a very strong habit. People are using it as a way of monitoring and looking after their low moods.

    You will also find a lot of people who have been diagnosed or not diagnosed, with ADD or ADHD, Attention Deficit Disorders, use alcohol. This also is used as a way of monitoring and managing their condition.

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  • Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    Writing as somebody who is in remission from depression and alcohol abuse, I agree with what Elisha wrote about self-medication.

    In a pharmacological sense, alcohol is a depressant, which is a *really* bad thing for anybody who is clinically depressed.

    For anybody who is dealing with mental illness and is self-medicating with alcohol or any other street drug: get help from mental health professionals (run, don't walk). Recovery is possible, as my case shows.


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  • Vivienne Colegrove

    Counsellor

    I have been working in Eltham, Melbourne as a relationship and family counsellor for over twelve years. I draw on current theory and research about … View Profile

    in addition to what Elisha and Simon have said, alcohol can in turn worsen depression - so a vicious cycle can develop for people where they use alcohol to feel better, then become more depressed after the short-term effects wear off, then they drink again to get the short-term ‘hit’, and this can spiral into a more severe depression and alcohol dependence. 

    It's important if you are suffering from both depression and alcoholism to have each condition treated effectively by professionals with the relevant expertise, and with knowledge about the sometimes complex interactions between the two conditions.

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