atticus1

Hoping someone may be able to shed some light on this.
Can alcoholism cause mental disorder?
I know alcohol can be responsible for major depression.
Having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder after already accepting the fact that i am an alcoholic i get the definite impression that my family believes i caused my own bipolar by abusing alcohol.
I feel in hindsight that i have had this disorder without knowing what it was since about 12 or 13.
Can anyone help me on this one please?

CarolD

I am not bi polar but I do have AA friends
who are.

As I understand ...you might want to have
more tests done at 6 or 7 months sober.
Several of them did this and meds were
altered and in a few cases stopped.

You best be safe and talk to your doctor.

Take care....

Anna

Hi Atticus,

As Carol said, waiting a bit may help you to answer that question. I don't know if alcoholism causes mental disorders such as bipolar. I do believe that people use alcohol to self-medicate mental disorders.

teej

what exactly is bipolar? I know it's a mental imbalance, but what happens???

GlassPrisoner

Manic/Depressive. Either exrtremely energetic or horribly depressed. Practicing alcoholics that don't tell their doctor that they are alcoholics are sometimes mis-diagnosed as bi-polar. Or chronically depressed, or......

teej

mmmm? thank you for the info GP!!

Aysha

My sister is bipolar...very depressed and violent at times.
She has never drank or done drugs.
But as far as if alcohol causes it. Not sure.
GP has a good point.

teej

I would think alcohol would intensify it.

Dee74

hi atticus,
sorry - know nothing about bipolar...just wanted to welcome another Brisbaneite !
stay out of the cold !

D

BaldHeadedJohn

I agree. I drank heavilly and didn't tell my doctor. I got put on antidepressants for panic/anxiety disorder. Didn't give the meds a chance to work, but the booze worked instantly. From what I've read lately, chronic substance abuse does change brain chemistry substantially, the neurotransmitters that make moods happen. I think there's a post in the Alcholism- excerpts from Under the influence, I think, that explains it better.

CarolD

Here is the link John mentioned


http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html

AcceptingChange

i like the way you posted the question "The chicken or the egg".
that's exactly the way i'd approach it.

As you stated, people often treat depression after they've
been drinking for a months or years. Yet often the depression
is caused by the constant intake of alcohol.
Then people go to the doctor and complain about their depression.
and they don't tell the doctor how much they really drink.

That being said, my mother-in-law struggles with bipolar, and she
never drank a drop in her life. She treats the bipolar with medication, and
she's doing really well.

I tend to doubt alcohol causes bipolar, but i have no scientific
evidence of that. So my opinion really is ill informed.

But something that does make sense to me is, alcohol will definately
make treating the bipolar very difficult. And removing the variable of alcohol
will make treating the bipolar disorder easier.

GlassPrisoner

Then the Doctor prescribed valium or AD meds, which I chased with alcohol !

IO Storm

Bi polar here..

It is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Meds are given to

stabilize the mood swings. This enables me to grasp and

internalize the concepts of recovery and hopefully apply

them..they do not make recover.

in the Big Book of AA it says that every active alcoholic is

manic depressive but not every manic depressive is alcoholic.

And for me, I know I self medicated with benzo's, booze,

and speed years BEFORE I was diagnosed.

I was diagnosed last year.

I'm right with ya Atticus!

Love,

IO

atticus1

Thanks very much everyone for your thoughtful answers.
I should have explained that I had fully explained to my Doctor and my Psychiatrist that I was an alcoholic prior to any bipolar diagnosis being made.
The thing that drove me to believing there was 'something' else going on was that even without drinking for extended periods of time - including 1 year completely alcohol free - I was still experiencing the darkest depression and ridiculous mania that I'd had since being 12 or 13 - when no alcohol had ever been consumed.
I take no other illicit drugs - nor have I ever.
I remain fully medicated for bipolr

barb dwyer

hi atticus -

i don't know if this helps or not.
I've been sober for ten months.
And I've barely slept.
Only now, are we (being doc and self) exploring medications for anxiety.

So yes, since I never had these probs before drinking,
we're looking at possible permanent damage.
But I wanted to wait ... because of the reconstruct process.
To give the body time to heal itself.
Then again - I needed to be able to sleep for more than two hours at a time.

I think this might be along the lines of what you're asking, just not bipolar.

atticus1

Maybe I should get a copy of the AA book - is it called 12 steps?
Could try another meeting I suppose - just really afraid I might get too depressed listening to others' stories. I feel pretty vulnerable emotionally right now and find this opportunity to chat online with you all a safe place to be. I will look at the link as suggested - under the influence.
Dee74 - great to know there's another Bris Vegas person out there. Well done for reaching out!
Everyone else - have a terrific day!

Taking5

It is called "Alcoholics Anonymous" or "the big book". You can get one dirt cheap at any AA meeting, or you can go to Barnes & Noble and pay $15 for it.