Alcohol and Depression: The Link Between Alcoholism and Depression

According to research compiled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, alcohol use is a considerable contributing factor to sexual assault. Similarly, in nearly 40% of violent incidents, surveyed individuals from the United Kingdom said they believed their perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol. While drinking alcohol isn’t the sole reason for assault, it plays a substantial role in whether someone commits a violent crime.

Research has strongly supported the inclusion of efficacious interventions to address this serious problem area as a part of alcohol dependence treatment (Chermack et al., 2008; Rothman et al., 2008). Research focusing on alcohol-adapted anger management treatment might include assessment and intervention of couples conflict and interpersonal violence (such as Easton et al., 2007) to determine whether AM provides additional strategies to address this important clinical issue. AM focused on the development of relaxation and cognitive coping skills for anger regulation alcohol depression and anger (see Table 1 for outline of AM). Cognition-relaxation coping skills (CRCS; Deffenbacher & McKay, 2000) was chosen as the anger management protocol for four reasons. First, its coping skills approach fits conceptually into coping skills relapse prevention conceptualizations (Marlatt & Gordon, 1980; Witkiewitz & Marlatt, 2004). Moreover, meta-analyses (Beck & Fernandez, 1998; Del Vecchio & O’Leary, 2004; DiGuiseppe & Tafrate, 2003; Edmondson & Conger, 1996) show CRCS to be an effective intervention that had roughly equivalent effects to other interventions.

Physical health and mental health

It’s equally important that psychotherapists highlight this interaction both with clients who consume alcohol and those in relationships with them. Additionally, this information should also be taught in schools to expand their understanding and hopefully reduce the prevalence of alcohol-related aggression. Researchers evaluated the failure to consider future consequences as a significant risk factor for aggression (Bushman et al., 2012) In this study, 495 social drinkers were assigned to a group that consumed alcohol or a placebo group.

If you begin to notice any unwanted side effects — physical or emotional — while drinking, it may be best to call it a night. Spending time in nature can also have health benefits, including improving your mood. If the sun is out, that’s even better — sunshine can trigger the release of serotonin, which can help relieve depression. As a result, any troubles you’re facing, from work stress to relationship issues, may get worse. Understanding the link between alcohol and depression can help you better manage depression after drinking, or better yet, prevent it from happening in the first place.

How Alcohol Works Affects Your Behavior

Relapsed individuals often start another negative cycle of alcohol-related problems and suffering in themselves and others (Lowman et al., 1996; Marlatt & Gordon, 1980). Notwithstanding the progress that has been made in the alcohol use disorders treatment field, innovative treatment strategies are still needed. In the DSM-5, AUD requires at least two symptoms, whereas DSM-IV alcohol abuse required only one symptom. Also, from DSM-IV to DSM-5, modifications were made to the symptoms that were included as diagnostic criteria.

• Therefore, people who rely on drinking as a coping mechanism can be more inclined to make rash choices, such as having unprotected sex or getting into a car with a stranger.
• AM may be a particularly relevant tool for such anger- and alcohol-involved clients.
• In contrast, anger on its own is not a diagnosable mental health condition.
• The procedures of this review followed the Meta-Analyzes of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
• We are one of just a few treatment centers that evaluate outcomes and share the results publicly.
• This activates the stress response, which speeds up heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure, and increases body temperature.

The third study, Lin, Mack, Krahn and Baskin (2004) compared seven substance dependence clients who completed 12 sessions of Forgiveness Therapy (targeting anger, anxiety and depression) with seven clients who completed 12 sessions of standard alcohol and drug counseling. At posttreatment, those clients completing the Forgiveness Therapy sessions reported greater improvements in composite anger and anxiety relative to those clients completing the alcohol and drug counselling sessions. Clients receiving the anger and aggression focused cognitive-behavioral group therapy reported significantly less alcohol use during the 12 weeks of treatment relative to the comparison group. Although these initial studies each have methodological limitations, they provide early support for anger-based interventions in substance abusing populations. Section 1.1 outlined a number of direct and indirect mechanisms that describe how anger and related emotions may be related to alcohol consumption and relapse after alcohol dependence treatment. Initial support for alcohol-adapted anger management treatment suggests that clinicians and researchers may have an additional intervention to address anger-alcohol associations.