T2BS,
I too have struggled with depression for most of my life. My parents were both alcoholic, as was my step father (but add cocaine addict and pot junky too). There was a lot of violence, abuse and neglect to round things off. As a result I have a minor form of underlying chronic depression... I did not even realize it until about 10 yrs ago (I am now 38) b/c I used to work out like a machine and the endorphins that resulted from that were an effective treatment for the depression, although I still had mood swings.
When I got into law school and was put under a tremendous amount of pressure there, the depression was no longer effectively treated by merely working out (believe me I was training harder in law school than ever b/f b/c I was training for competitions). Despite increasing the working out the depression manifested itself in anxiety and an inability to sleep as well as lowered self esteem. The doc put me on effexor and things levelled out and I was fine after that.
In short, mild depression isn't a huge deal as long as you deal with it. And yes, my research indicates that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, it also affects the chemical balance in your brain and interferes with dopamine and seratonin production and release. My Doc says, however, that this affect is reversible by simply stopping drinking. He was right! Go figure hey!
Peace, Levi