Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDoes Depression Drive You to Drink Alcohol?Does Drinking Too Much Make You Depressed?How Long Does Alcohol-Induced Depression Last?Is It Genes or Lifestyle?What You Can Do to Manage Alcohol and Depression
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Does Depression Drive You to Drink Alcohol?
Does Drinking Too Much Make You Depressed?
How Long Does Alcohol-Induced Depression Last?
Is It Genes or Lifestyle?
What You Can Do to Manage Alcohol and Depression
There is a strong link betweenalcoholuse anddepression, a mental health condition that includes feelings of hopelessness, emptiness, fatigue, loss of interest, and more. But does regular drinking lead to depression, or are people with depression more likely to drink too much alcohol? Both are possibilities.
This article covers everything you need to know about the connection between alcohol and depression.
Westend61 / Getty Images
Depressioncan lead some people to drink more alcohol. One study of 421 people found that 25% had both alcohol misuse and depression.
People with depression may use alcohol as a form of self-medication.Drinking alcohol can become a coping mechanism to deal with feelings of hopelessness, numbness, guilt, and worthlessness.
However, alcohol can make these feelings and other symptoms worse over time, perpetuating the cycle of alcohol consumption and depression.
Another way that depression could lead someone to drink alcohol is through changes in their brain as a result of depression. These changes can heighten the physiological “rewards” of alcohol and increase the likelihood that they will continue their pattern of drinking.
How Signs of Depression Feel and Look
Likewise, excessive alcohol consumption can also contribute to depression.
Alcohol consumption can lead to feelings of depression due to chemical reactions.In the short term, drinking alcohol can make you feel good, sociable, and even euphoric. This is due to a rush of the “feel-good” chemicaldopamine.
However, this response is short-lived. Over time, your brain’s reward pathway builds tolerance and requires more and more dopamine (via alcohol) to feel pleasure.This can lead to addiction and feelings of depression in the absence of the rewarding substance.
Excessive alcohol drinking can also cause problems socially, such as issues with family, school, employment, and friends. This could have a carryover effect on depression since loneliness and lack of social support are linked to depression.
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms: Timeline and Detox
One study of people with both AUD and depression undergoing treatment for both conditions found that the majority of symptom improvement for both conditions happened during the first three weeks of treatment.
According to theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition(DSM-5), if depression symptoms persist after one month without consuming alcohol, then a different depressive disorder diagnosis would apply.
Researchers agree that alcohol and depression have a bidirectional relationship, meaning that depression can cause overuse of alcohol, but overuse of alcohol can also cause depression.
However, there is a third explanation for why alcohol and depression occur together so frequently: shared risk factors. In short, this means that the things that might predispose someone to depression or AUD overlap with one another.
For example, having a family member with an alcohol use disorder is a risk factor for both depression and alcohol use disorder. Emerging research has found that there is agenetic linkbetween AUD and depression.
If you have depression and drink too much alcohol, then you may be wondering if there are any treatments or lifestyle changes for someone in your situation.
The following treatments are beneficial for co-occurring AUD and depression, but keep in mind this is a developing area of research:
Summary
There is a lot that we still need to understand about the link between alcohol and depression, and this is an emerging area of research.Existing research indicates that depression can cause alcohol overuse, and alcohol overuse can cause depression. On the other hand, both conditions also share certain risk factors, such as genetics and social isolation. Having either depression or alcohol use disorder increases your risk of developing the other condition. Talk to a healthcare provider about possible treatments.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pavkovic B, Zaric M, Markovic M, Klacar M, Huljic A, Caricic A.Double screening for dual disorder, alcoholism and depression.Psychiatry Research. 2018;270:483-489. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.10.013National Institute of Mental Health.Substance use and co-occurring mental disorders.McHugh RK, Weiss RD.Alcohol use disorder and depressive disorders.Alcohol Res. 2019;40(1):arcr.v40.1.01. doi:10.35946%2Farcr.v40.1.01Nunes EV.Alcohol and the etiology of depression.AJP. 2023;180(3):179-181. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20230004Yale Medicine.How an addicted brain works.Bragard E, Giorgi S, Juneau P, Curtis BL.Loneliness and daily alcohol consumption during the covid-19 pandemic.Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2022;57(2):198-202. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agab056Foulds JA, Douglas Sellman J, Adamson SJ, Boden JM, Mulder RT, Joyce PR.Depression outcome in alcohol dependent patients: an evaluation of the role of independent and substance-induced depression and other predictors.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2015;174:503-510. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.052American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition.American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596Zhou H, Polimanti R, Yang BZ, et al.Genetic risk variants associated with comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression.JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(12):1234-1241. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3275Polimanti R, Peterson RE, Ong JS, et al.Evidence of causal effect of major depression on alcohol dependence: findings from the psychiatric genomics consortium.Psychological Medicine. 2019;49(7):1218-1226. doi:10.1017/S0033291719000667
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pavkovic B, Zaric M, Markovic M, Klacar M, Huljic A, Caricic A.Double screening for dual disorder, alcoholism and depression.Psychiatry Research. 2018;270:483-489. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.10.013National Institute of Mental Health.Substance use and co-occurring mental disorders.McHugh RK, Weiss RD.Alcohol use disorder and depressive disorders.Alcohol Res. 2019;40(1):arcr.v40.1.01. doi:10.35946%2Farcr.v40.1.01Nunes EV.Alcohol and the etiology of depression.AJP. 2023;180(3):179-181. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20230004Yale Medicine.How an addicted brain works.Bragard E, Giorgi S, Juneau P, Curtis BL.Loneliness and daily alcohol consumption during the covid-19 pandemic.Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2022;57(2):198-202. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agab056Foulds JA, Douglas Sellman J, Adamson SJ, Boden JM, Mulder RT, Joyce PR.Depression outcome in alcohol dependent patients: an evaluation of the role of independent and substance-induced depression and other predictors.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2015;174:503-510. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.052American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition.American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596Zhou H, Polimanti R, Yang BZ, et al.Genetic risk variants associated with comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression.JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(12):1234-1241. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3275Polimanti R, Peterson RE, Ong JS, et al.Evidence of causal effect of major depression on alcohol dependence: findings from the psychiatric genomics consortium.Psychological Medicine. 2019;49(7):1218-1226. doi:10.1017/S0033291719000667
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Pavkovic B, Zaric M, Markovic M, Klacar M, Huljic A, Caricic A.Double screening for dual disorder, alcoholism and depression.Psychiatry Research. 2018;270:483-489. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.10.013National Institute of Mental Health.Substance use and co-occurring mental disorders.McHugh RK, Weiss RD.Alcohol use disorder and depressive disorders.Alcohol Res. 2019;40(1):arcr.v40.1.01. doi:10.35946%2Farcr.v40.1.01Nunes EV.Alcohol and the etiology of depression.AJP. 2023;180(3):179-181. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20230004Yale Medicine.How an addicted brain works.Bragard E, Giorgi S, Juneau P, Curtis BL.Loneliness and daily alcohol consumption during the covid-19 pandemic.Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2022;57(2):198-202. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agab056Foulds JA, Douglas Sellman J, Adamson SJ, Boden JM, Mulder RT, Joyce PR.Depression outcome in alcohol dependent patients: an evaluation of the role of independent and substance-induced depression and other predictors.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2015;174:503-510. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.052American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition.American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596Zhou H, Polimanti R, Yang BZ, et al.Genetic risk variants associated with comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression.JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(12):1234-1241. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3275Polimanti R, Peterson RE, Ong JS, et al.Evidence of causal effect of major depression on alcohol dependence: findings from the psychiatric genomics consortium.Psychological Medicine. 2019;49(7):1218-1226. doi:10.1017/S0033291719000667
Pavkovic B, Zaric M, Markovic M, Klacar M, Huljic A, Caricic A.Double screening for dual disorder, alcoholism and depression.Psychiatry Research. 2018;270:483-489. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.10.013
National Institute of Mental Health.Substance use and co-occurring mental disorders.
McHugh RK, Weiss RD.Alcohol use disorder and depressive disorders.Alcohol Res. 2019;40(1):arcr.v40.1.01. doi:10.35946%2Farcr.v40.1.01
Nunes EV.Alcohol and the etiology of depression.AJP. 2023;180(3):179-181. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20230004
Yale Medicine.How an addicted brain works.
Bragard E, Giorgi S, Juneau P, Curtis BL.Loneliness and daily alcohol consumption during the covid-19 pandemic.Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2022;57(2):198-202. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agab056
Foulds JA, Douglas Sellman J, Adamson SJ, Boden JM, Mulder RT, Joyce PR.Depression outcome in alcohol dependent patients: an evaluation of the role of independent and substance-induced depression and other predictors.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2015;174:503-510. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.052
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition.American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Zhou H, Polimanti R, Yang BZ, et al.Genetic risk variants associated with comorbid alcohol dependence and major depression.JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(12):1234-1241. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3275
Polimanti R, Peterson RE, Ong JS, et al.Evidence of causal effect of major depression on alcohol dependence: findings from the psychiatric genomics consortium.Psychological Medicine. 2019;49(7):1218-1226. doi:10.1017/S0033291719000667
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
