How Alcohol Affects Your Mental Health

I saw a Twitter thread recently asking people to comment on what they will give up this season to help their mental wellbeing. There were hundreds of responses that range from food items to poisonous relationships.

One thing I did not see a lot of was booze. The men and women who did mention alcohol said that their psychological health improved once they cease drinking. I found this to be true for me, as well.

I am almost 4 years and I've suffered from depression, anxiety, and alcohol problems most of my life. My father also suffered from precisely the exact same thing, but sadly, he didn't make it. He was able to seek support for his depression, but he could not bring himself to stop drinking. And that eventually took his own life.

Alcohol was the only worst reason for my anxiety and depression. I knew this from both my own experience and because I used to be a mental health nurse. Research is very clear in regards to alcohol and psychological health -- in the event, you suffer from any kind of mental health dilemma, alcohol can make it worse.

When stopping drinking, my anxiety and depression symptoms improved rather than just a little -- a lot. I was more relaxed, slept, and didn't wake up anxious about how I usually did after drinking. I also seemed to digest food better and could collect my ideas more rationally.

My drinking binges, the most peculiar pressure I ever had was after I stopped drinking for a few days. And needless to say, I knew why that was the most frequent symptom of alcohol withdrawal is stress.

And Though I understood that as a nurse, I was addicted to alcohol, so I couldn't face it. It was my crutch, as dreadful as it sounds, I chose to stay sick rather than stop drinking. This was the exact same justification that my dad followed.

I guess this is a popular story amongst many who have mental health difficulties and who also drink too much. We know it will not help our physical or mental health, but we can not stop.

Most people with mental health issues choose alcohol because it calms us and seems to assist our symptoms in the beginning. Indeed, one or two drinks generally have a calming effect. The cause of this can be that alcohol suppresses our nervous systems, which is the reason we originally feel good.

Unfortunately, Once we've got a few drinks and then stop at the night, the nervous system rebounds from this serene state and snaps on the contrary direction. That is exactly why we feel so damn nervous once the alcohol begins to burn off.

It is important to know that a few beverages can cause this challenging effect. Even more importantly, those who suffer from mental health issues are already proven to have a sensitive nervous system. This means we're prone to significant swings in our neural synapses, so adding more irritating chemicals can have devastating outcomes.

The issue is, people with mental health problems already have a lot on their plate. Not only do we have to take care of our life-altering symptoms, but we cope with stigma and judgment everywhere we turn. And guess what's a great deal of stigma attached to it? Alcohol dependence.

So Those of us with mental health and dependency issues can really find ourselves in a pickle. Whichever way we turn, somebody will judge us for both our mental health and alcohol issues.

This Is why most of us stay silent. And even when we start to talk out about our mental health issues, we will usually maintain our silence about alcohol. After all, why do we tattle-tale on our preferred coping mechanism? Sadly, this contributes to worsening mental health and addiction symptoms.

This Was the situation for me until I reached out for assistance and quit smoking. My dad stayed silent, continued his drinking, and paid the ultimate cost.

In The mental health system, we typically refer to individuals with mental health and addiction problems as having concurrent disorders. The study shows that those with concurrent disorders are at higher risk of suicide, severe disability, and death.

But, The reason people remain silent about their alcohol issues, is because they feel it helps them cope with their emotional wellbeing. However, what if people understood more about the consequences of alcohol and exactly why it makes their psychological health worse?

Yes, many people understand that excessive drinking is not good for us, but most of us do not know why. More so, once you're already hanging by a thread due to severe depression, you might need a damn good reason to give up the one thing you believe helps you, right?

The best we could do today is to talk about this more openly and with better information. As a former nurse and alcoholic, I am committed to getting this info out there the best way I could.

Quitting drinking assisted my nervous system to find balance again. Only then, could I address my depression and nervousness adequately. Alcohol only further confused my psychological wellness and made it virtually impossible to obtain the root cause.

You should also know that in the event you take medication for anxiety or depression, alcohol will prevent it from working correctly. Alcohol disagrees with most mental health prescriptions by obstructing the entire body from metabolizing it correctly. Even more frightening is that adding alcohol with prescription medication causes intense stress to the liver.

If That is bad enough, you should be aware that a stressed liver also causes difficulties in our nervous system, which may further our mental health problems.

So you may see that alcohol causes a vicious cycle which simply feeds into worsening addiction and mental health issues.

If you're someone who drinks heavily and also has mental health difficulties, please talk with your physician about it. Staying silent may have severe consequences. I know that it's difficult to discover non-judgmental help, but with a little perseverance, you'll find what you need.

You're not alone, and trust me, help is out there. There are better ways to Deal with and alleviate the symptoms of mental health problems. But  Unfortunately, alcohol isn't one of them.