Alcohol and Antidepressants Connection
Guest
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 42
I see lots of people here are on some sort of post drinking medication.
I am wondering, as you had to quit alcohol, do you plan on quitting medication or you don't consider it an area of concern? Maybe as it is not as life threatening or considered to be life saving?
All I have read about PAWS states that you can get dependent on those meds as well and the withdrawals are as severe as the booze ones.
Has anyone quit drinking for good, took drugs and quit them after as well?
I am wondering, as you had to quit alcohol, do you plan on quitting medication or you don't consider it an area of concern? Maybe as it is not as life threatening or considered to be life saving?
All I have read about PAWS states that you can get dependent on those meds as well and the withdrawals are as severe as the booze ones.
Has anyone quit drinking for good, took drugs and quit them after as well?
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Pacific Coast
Posts: 785
I think it's important to note that unlike alcohol and benzos, anti-depressants are not addictive. They do not cause dependency, tolerance, and withdrawal issues in the same way alcohol or benzo drugs do.
Discontinuation of the long-term use of practically any drug can cause discomfort in certain people. That doesn't mean that the drug is "addictive," or that using the drug in the first place is "bad" in any way, at least for the vast majority of people who can tolerate them without severe side effects.
It's probably true that anti-depressants are over-prescribed, but that's a whole different discussion. The fact is, for people with a neurochemical imbalance causing depression severe enough to be disabling or even life-threatening, anti-depressants can be a godsend.
Benzos, too, have their place in short-term anti-anxiety treatment, such as during acute alcohol withdrawal. However, they do have a strong addictive potential, and are thus typically prescribed cautiously and sparingly.
Discontinuation of the long-term use of practically any drug can cause discomfort in certain people. That doesn't mean that the drug is "addictive," or that using the drug in the first place is "bad" in any way, at least for the vast majority of people who can tolerate them without severe side effects.
It's probably true that anti-depressants are over-prescribed, but that's a whole different discussion. The fact is, for people with a neurochemical imbalance causing depression severe enough to be disabling or even life-threatening, anti-depressants can be a godsend.
Benzos, too, have their place in short-term anti-anxiety treatment, such as during acute alcohol withdrawal. However, they do have a strong addictive potential, and are thus typically prescribed cautiously and sparingly.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by mecanix 
I was an alcoholic before i took pills,
I was an alcoholic whilst i took the pills,
I was an alcoholic after i took the pills,
The best thing i did in helping to deal with my depression was giving up drinking .
Sobriety has made my world far less dark and i make better / more self nurturing decisions .
m
I was an alcoholic whilst i took the pills,
I was an alcoholic after i took the pills,
The best thing i did in helping to deal with my depression was giving up drinking .
Sobriety has made my world far less dark and i make better / more self nurturing decisions .
m
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