ALCOHOL, DRUGS and DEPRESSION

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A lot of depressed people, especially teenagers, also have problems with alcohol or other drugs. Sometimes the depression comes first and people try drugs as a way to escape it. Drugs or alcohol make things worse. Sometimes the alcohol or other drug use comes first, and depression is caused by the drug itself.

In either case, the sooner you get treatment, the better. First, you have to be honest with yourself and next with someone who can help you get into treatment. It’s the only way to get better and stay better.

Most teens find themselves in situations where alcohol or drugs are being used. But teens who are dealing with depression need to use extra caution in making decisions about alcohol and drug use. People who are depressed may think they feel better (more relaxed or improved mood) when under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There are a couple of problems with this:

• they might start to believe that they can only be relaxed when using drugs or alcohol.
• drugs or alcohol make it harder to focus, learn and use new skills to deal with situations.

Alcohol and drugs affect how people think, feel and behave. Depression also affects how people think, feel and behave, for the worse. So combining substance use and depression is never a good idea. The combination may result in awkward or embarrassing situations that you have to deal with later, creating problems instead of solving them. It may result in serious outcomes where depressed teens do things to hurt themselves or those they care about.

Alcohol and drugs can bring on depression or make it worse. Also, if a person is taking medication for depression, drugs and alcohol can stop the medication from working or cause a serious side effect.

Depending on how much is being used, and how much it interferes with your life, use of alcohol or drugs may become an addiction. At that point addiction is the biggest problem and it becomes harder to overcome depression.

• If alcohol or drug use is interfering with your life, take the step to deal with it along with the depression.
• Talk to someone and be honest.
• Talk to your parents or a trusted adult.

AADAC help link: AADAC for Youth - http://aadac.com/21.asp