BackToSquareOne

In looking back at my own drinking history I can clearly see that much of my drinking was a vain effrot to self medicate depression and anxiety. My experience has always been that it does work in the short term but in the long run only serves to make these conditions worse. In my case I can't really say for sure which came first, the alcoholism or the depression and anxiety. As I don't attend AA I don't know if they address these issues or not, but they do seem very interwoven with the disease of alcoholism. Could this be the reason for the high relapse rates? If a person just quits drinking and the anxiety and depression come back full force the chances of a relapse become very high. Does AA even address any of these issues or is it just sobriety focused?

benblesed5

Alcohol is but a symptom of my alcoholism, how true this is for me. When I first got into AA, as many alcoholics I have heard say as well, I thought giving up drinking was all I had to do to stay sober. However, in going on a regular basis, reading the BB, working the steps, I came to understand all the dynamics of alcoholism.

It was all the other crap going on in my brain that kept pushing me to the brink of a relapse. SO, as I worked through the steps throroughly, honestly, and with HP and others, my brain began to function again, correctly, and serenity began to come through the muddle of the anxiety, depression, anger, etc. In answer to your question, yes, AA does address this and it is a vital piece of my recovery to understand this fully. I was not only physically drunk, I was emotionally and most importantly spiritually drunk. The 12 steps along with HP, began to bring me growth in all area;s of my life that were lacking, and gave me a new way of life and how to handle it all.

Goodluck on finding your way and what is right for you.

Tommyh

good question
sometimes AA`ers discuss it
I believe it should be addressed more because it a very widespread problem.
as a kid,before I ever took a drink,I had obsessions,depression,and anxiety out the ying yang..Drinking seem to fix me mind.
Bill S died recently.He was sober 60 yrs and worked with alcoholics 50-60 yrs

Bill's article "The Psychology of
Alcoholism" is a good read.He mentions the depression and anxiety in it ....
William E. Swegan, 2. The Psychology of Alcoholism

tiburon88

AA usually focuses on sobriety only. If you still suffer from depression or anxiety they tell you that your not w"working the steps".


tib

justanothrdrunk

Your experience sounds exactly like mine, exactly. I've found that AA does not address mental health issues, except perhaps incidentally.

For my anxiety and depression, I see a psychiatrist and am on medication.

I can't speak to relapse rates. I've always chalked up relapses to the disease, it's a tough one. Recovery is tough.

I do have many friends in the program who are also afflicted with dual-diagnosis (both substance abuse and mental health issues). It seems those who seek treatment for both problems tend to have more sucess with recovery.

And by "sucess" I don't mean staying sober only. I mean staying sober AND having a happy, healthy life.

justanothrdrunk

FYI - In my experience, this is not true at all. I've never heard of this.

To me, AA is for alcoholism, not other diseases. If I get cancer, does it mean I'm not working the steps? Depression/Anxiety and alcoholism are separate diseases that require separate treatment IMHO.

Boleo

It was not until I learned to deal with the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse
(Terror, frustration,bewilderment & despair) that I could be comfortable enough
in my own skin (so to speak) to remain stopped.

For me sobriety without peace of mind was not worth having. I had to treat my "root causes" first and my drug-addiction second. That is why my slogan today is:

True sobriety rides on the coat-tails of serenity.

Brookie

You can find somebody holding just about any opinion you could think of in AA, but for the most part my experience has been that people in the program focus on working the steps and attaining that spiritual conversion, to the exclusion of any specific discussion of depression, anxiety, or other mental or emotional issues. Others will probably report different experiences, but that was what I perceived.

Personally, I've spent the past year or so working with a therapist on the emotional issues, but have not spent any time in AA. During most of that time I continued to drink, although I've got about two weeks sober right now. I've concluded that I can't really work on either the emotional issues or the drinking in isolation.

BackToSquareOne

I have to add that in my lifetime I have known a lot of alcoholics and I would have to say without exception that they all had a lot of emotional issues whether it was depression, anxiety, mood swings or whatever. I have never met even one active alcoholic who you could really call a well balanced person, at peace with themselves and living a life filled with serenity. Most would probably never admit to the other problems but from what I have seen they are a very common thread running through most alcoholics.

RufusACanal

"There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest."

Tazman53

From what I know there are 2 basic types of depression, situational depression and clinical depression, for me I had a bad case of situational depression, basically self induced situations caused me to be depressed to the point at times of considering tasting gun oil. Workiing the steps of AA has made a world of difference for my situational depression.

Clinical depression is a whole different ball game, the steps may help a little bit, but if one is clinically depressed they need to see a professional for help. Although I have not taken a survey just in general conversation I would say probably half the folks I know in AA are seeing therapists or have seen a therapist for clinical depression and quite a few of them take ADs for thier clinical depression. I have heard on a few occasions of folks not needing the ADs any more after a good deal of time sober and having worked the steps.

nandm

Taz, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks

CarolD

My long term depression is why I decided to quit.
Fortunately...
it was diagnosed as situational depression

By 2 months of AA recovery...it had vanished.
....Never has returned in 19 years.

I have no experience with anxiety or clinical depression.

Anyone who suffwers from these needs to have
professional assistance to find their personal solution.

No way would I heed advice from my peers.