Alcohol

How can drinking cause depression?

Over the last decade new research has shed light on the way alcohol affects the brain and in the ways in which the brain is affected in depression. It is now known that some of the systems that are involved in producing the symptoms of low mood, anxiety, poor sleep and reduced appetite in depression are also affected by alcohol. This is one explanation of why alcohol can cause depression. Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlaz who struggled all his life with depression is famous for his teaching that “it is a great mitzvah to be ever joyful and to overcome feelings of sorrow and melancholy” (Likkutei Etzot, Joy 30)

The depression caused by alcohol actually starts with your physical body. Firstly, alcohol lowers the serotonin and nor-epinephrine levels in your brain. These chemicals are the chemicals that give you your good feelings - a feeling of well being, and they help you to feel normal. The anti-depressant drugs were designed to build these chemicals back up. After a long drinking career, since alcohol can take these brain chemicals down to ground zero, it can take a long time for the anti-depressants to bring these brain chemical levels back to where they need to be.

Alcohol can activate a gene that has been linked to depression and other mental issues. The result of this activation can cause not only depression, but in extreme cases seizures, and manic depressive episodes.

Rabbi Akiva said “A man is not permitted to harm himself.” - (Mishna Baba Kamma 90a) and the Jewish value Shmirat Ha-Guf states that we should care for ourselves in both body and soul, not to intentionally harm ourselves physically or mentally.

Alcohol also temporarily blocks the effects of stress hormones. This is why after drinking you feel worse than ever, because alcohol depresses your nervous system and your brain. A study was done that followed people who were only drinking one drink a day and after these people stopped drinking for 3 months, their depression scores improved. And that is only at one drink a day, so it is easy to imagine the impact the kind of volume an alcoholic takes in every day can have.

How are alcohol problems and depression treated?

GPs offer advice and treatment for these problems and there are many support groups, charities and aid agencies that are helpful for people with these conditions. There main approaches for treating alcohol dependency and depression are:

1) Detoxification to help a person come off alcohol safely – Doctors are best placed to offer advice

2) Counselling

3) Medication

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch wrote that “one should peruse happiness, bliss, cheer, joy and delight.” If you or someone close to you suffers from depression it is very important to seek help and advice from professionals who can help.

If you’re at a party and all your friends are getting drunk and you don’t want to be a follower yet you don’t want to feel like an outsider. What do you do?

You are not alone. Most people have felt something like this before, and may well feel something like this again. It may not be about alcohol, perhaps it is about sex, drugs or a friendship, but undoubtedly everyone has at some point been caught between follower and outsider.

There isn’t a simple answer to this dilemma. Here are a few tips to help you deal with this sort of situation:

  • Know your boundaries. What are you comfortable with and what aren’t you comfortable with? Never be afraid to speak up and let others know your boundaries. You may get a bit of teasing at first but most people respect the boundaries of others when they know what they are.

  • Think of yourself as a leader and act accordingly. The more you see yourself in a leadership role the more comfortable you will feel asserting your own opinions and feelings. You may in turn lead others not to drink, take drugs, have sex early etc.

  • Stay with good people. At a dance or a party, hang out with your close friends or other people who feel a similar way to you about the situation.

  • Question your so-called cool friends. Don’t believe people who say you will be “cool” or that girls/boys will start noticing you when you drink, do drugs, smoke etc. This may be true to some extent, but will only help you attract the kind of person you do not wish to have as a friend anyway. Be proud not to be with the “cool” people.

  • Use avoidance. If there are certain people that you feel are constantly pushing you, stop hanging out with them. Or if someone asks you to do something you’re uncomfortable with, say NO. Here are some good ways to do it.

  • Have courage! Don’t be spineless just to be cool. It’s cooler and safer to be an individual and not just follow the crowd.

1. Say no repeatedly and firmly while walking away.

2. Walk away quickly and don’t look back.

3. Ignore the question and talk to someone else.

Some may not like it when you go against the group but doing what is right for you will be rewarding. It is very easy to get caught up in the moment and forget that you will have to live with the choices you make. How successfully you handle peer pressure depends a great deal on how you feel about yourself and your place in the world. Always stand up for what you think is right.