JimmieD

I hate to say it but I suffer from alcoholism I have been drinking 3-4 pints of cheap 10-12 percent lager every day or every other day for a few years now but this past year it seems to be effecting my mental health I have severe anger issues and I snap at people for hardly nothing. Can mass drinking cause mental issues?

I have also been extremely stressed out recently about everything and badly depressed to the point that I could care less if I live or die (I'm not suicidal I just feel that way).

FBL

Right before I quit for good, I thought I was losing my mind. Bitter, angry, depressed, paranoid, suicidal thoughts, you name it, I had it. The only sure cure was to quit drinking for good. It took nearly 30 years for me to figure out that I just needed to quit fighting and surrender once and for all. I wish you well.

August252015

Extreme drinking- alcoholism- can most definitely cause or exacerbate all kinds of mental health problems. I know I had all kinds of "stuff" going on and it was absolutely necessary to quit drinking to see what was really a problem to address.

Seeing a dr is always the best idea.

JimmieD

I have also lost around 100 pounds in the last year or two and my alcohol tolerance has gone down a lot which doesn't make sense due to the amount I drink.

scaredikklegoth

Yes it can. Not only does it exacerbate existing mental health problems but it can cause them too.

tomsteve

the longer i drank the more insane i became and the lower my tolerance- to the point i would get blackout drunk on a 6 pack.
stopping drinking and working on recovery helped the insanity and i dont have to worry about blackouts any more.

glad youre here,Jimmy, and hope ya stick around and work on recovery. its quite an amazing journey.

JimmieD

Well I used to have bad anxiety issues but drinking has honestly helped me more then anything I no longer have issues with anxiety after years of drinking.

Right now my main goal is to take my family to the store etc and get what they need other then that I could care less about me or my life I just feel useless if that makes any sense and bored of everything.

Vandermast

yes it certainly has made me crazy

SeaOfSerenity

yep it throws your brain chemistry out. the last day I drank I woke up had a panic attack and had acute anxiety for around 6 months. I can never go back there I thought id never get better but its slowly improved

Tc4ever

I had anger issues after I quit drinking. Like a couple years after I stopped and my psychiatrist diagnosed me with depression. She told me most men express anger when they have depression. Not advice just my experience.
Peace...
TC

Shebeens

Yes yes yes! I was horribly depressed and my GP said to me that he was waiting for me to come to the realization I needed help with it. I was not on meds at that time but started after that appt and it helped me so much. I too did not care if I lived or died. I wasnt suicidal, I just didn’t care, period. Nothing mattered. I wasn’t drinking that much at that point either, in fact I had stopped for a year. My anger was so extreme it scared me, not necessarily what came out of my mouth but what was screaming in my head. Seeing a doctor and opening up about your feelings and concerns would be a good idea.

Harley1973

It can absolutely make you feel crazy. I’ve been sober this go round about 2 weeks and my last bender I recall thinking that I had died and I was a ghost haunting my own house!!!! I recall laying down at night and having dreams/hallucinations not really sure what it was, I just remember seeing flashes of images that would constantly change scenes, it was like seeing photos, there was no movement to the images... How screwed up is that?

LateBloominCait

Yes. Longterm alcohol abuse does very serious damage to the brain. Google the difference between a healthy brain and the brain of an alcoholic and you can see the damage done. I believe 15% of dementia cases can also be linked to alcohol abuse. A member of my own family ended up with alcoholic dementia.

Mac4711

Oh yes, it can! I definitely noticed an uptick in anger issues with outbursts and snapping at people in my last year of active drinking. It really started to affect my family and contributed to my decision to pull the plug.

Stayingsassy

I believe that I suffered from mental illness while drinking. When on a bender I am fully delusional and paranoid. Quitting drinking is the only thing that has saved my family from falling apart.

I've thought about this many times, the abrupt cessation of my mental problems in sobriety. Once I quit drinking I am able to understand and see reality for what it is and I become peaceful. It isn't easy and I still have to deal with life but at least life makes sense again.

My severe personality changes as a drinker were the reason I had to quit. I didn't plan to quit. I had to. I don't know why sobriety cures my mental and emotional problems but lets just say when they talk about alcoholics becoming insane I believe that in a literal sense.

wayforward

I'm sure that it can, and like others said, it may exacerbate conditions.

I've had 2-3 instances over the last few years where because of drinking heavy all day (vodka or whiskey) combined with lack of good sleep, I've gotten into some strange, almost schizophrenic states. States where people have thought I was on some other drug. But I really just don't think they realized how much I was drinking.

Usually I would have watched something earlier, like a crime show, or a documentary about something. And then I'd be drinking and drinking and at some point later on, you'd find me using the same phrases/themes from the thing I had watched earlier, but with zero context to anybody else around, so I came off as out of my wits. I've seen another friend of mine do something similar when very far gone. It's scary to experience.

waynetheking

It will definitely destroy your memory over time. It's called alcoholic dementia. It reduces your mind to rambling mush. You can speak fluid sentences but none of gel together. It's poison. Pure poison.

feldknocker

I believe it can. I think I have had glimpses of it from time to time. In my case, acute anxiety and depression - which are already present - become simply overwhelming. I have no trouble understanding people who commit suicide while in the throws of alcoholism.

uncle holmes

Yes alcoholism can make you go crazy! Excessive drinking is terrible physical and mental punishment.

For me my anger issues carried over into sobriety and I not only had to go to AA meetings, but also a therapist to deal with these issues.

If you get and stay sober and are willing to ask for help and willing to change, these issues can be resolved or greatly diminished with help from the AA program and counseling.

Dee74

If there not such a thing as alcohol induced psychosis there should be*

The good thing is I returned to normal - eventually. You can too Jimmie

D

*looks like there is:
https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/289848-overview