George89

Hi guys,

I wanted to ask if any of you quit because of depression, of whether you quit because of alcoholism specifically and that lifted your depression.

I am having problems now with low moods, depressive states and just generally feeling unhappy and I am sure it is linked to alcohol, and alcohol at very least increases emotions linked to depression, like guilt, shame, low self esteem and generally feeling low.

I suppose it goes without saying that depression does make depressive symptoms worse but it would be interesting to know if any of you were able to get rid of depression completely after going sober.

Thanks

trachemys

Alcohol is a depressant. You should go see your doctor and be honest with them. They can help a lot. Mine did.

jerri11

Hello, George89.

Definitely go to see your doctor and be honest about it all. I went on the day that I quit after tapering off for a couple of weeks, which was a mistake. I should have gone to the doctor first and worked out how to stop in a safer way, considering my history with depression. I was drinking for a lot of reasons. But it's been so long, I'm not sure anymore which came first the drinking or the depression.

The depression right before I decided to quit was definitely the worst it had been in years, so it was certainly one factor in my decision. I was so down in the dumps, that what I was drinking started tasted bad to me, even as I guzzled it down.

I quit just a little over 3-weeks ago, and I definitely see NOW how much worse the drinking was making the depression. I feel so much better today. I don't feel depressed at all. I feel emotionally overwhelmed at times, but I think that's just because I'm not numb for the first time in years.

Does that mean I won't ever be depressed again? I hope it does, but I don't know for sure. It's something I'm going to discuss with the doctor on my next visit next week.

So, yes. Definitely see the doctor. And reading and posting here helps too, at least for me.

All the best.

Jerri

Aellyce

I had many depressive symptoms long-term while drinking, and a pretty bad episode once that lasted ~6 months. Wish I had quit back then, I think my drinking most likely made it much worse and more stubborn. Generally, heavy drinking really killed my motivation and it was a painful struggle to get anything done. For me, I wasn't at my worst when I quit but still sobriety made a big difference in my mood and motivation. I think therapy is also helping with my general outlook on life and emotional stability.

I agree with the others about seeing a doctor about both quitting and the depression. I also recommend seeing a therapist if you can afford.

gaffo

I've suffered from depression for as long as I can remember and I always wondered about the link between it and my alcoholic drinking. Obviously, drinking can make me feel good and euphoric and hangovers make me feel bad and depressed but I suspected that the relationship was much more complex.

I used to take a month off once in a while, hoping for a little clarity and to prove that I could I guess. It impressed the hell out of my drunk friends and family but for me it was frustratingly inconclusive. I really hated taking a summer month off, it felt like I had sand in my mouth all the time and I was very agitated. I started to take December because I don't like Christmas and that is the time that my depression was the worst. It didn't seem to help much, setting aside the obvious benefits of not drinking myself half to death. I missed wearing a lampshade at the holiday parties and I didn't even seem to enjoy not being hungover. I wondered if my depression wasn't worse without the warm mask of drinking. Maybe it was.

After three years of sobriety my depression is much much better and I believe that I have some clarity. The most obvious thing to me is that alcohol is a depressant and should be avoided by depressed people and most certainly not mixed with any kind of anti depressant medication. Any brief moments of joy and freedom from the dark cloud are more than offset by the depressive effects that inevitably follow.

When I was finally able to commit to not drinking it didn't matter to me whether it made my gut go away or make me more attractive, smarter, able to fly a hovercraft or anything else, even curing my nagging depression issues, I just had to quit and hope for the best. Tying it to anything else just made it complicated and it had to be simple. I count myself very lucky that it did help my depression. It made it and everything else in my life manageable.