Basic question is which come first alcoholism or depression? This is pretty much the same question when you ask which did come first the egg or the chicken. Here’s the thought, many individuals drink because they have problems and they are depressed while on the other hand there are also number of people who are depressed as a result of drinking alcohol. I am a recovering alcoholic, in my opinion I truly and strongly believe that the drinking came first before the depression, but I do still believe that there are some connections between depression and alcoholism. Let me explain further.

I basically started drinking at the age of 14, at the time when I became addicted to alcohol, I’m not really sure, but drinking alcoholic beverage remained enjoyable and entertaining to me for many years, well into my early twenties. There are rumors that an alcoholic individual stops developing emotionally specifically at the time they started drinking alcoholic beverage. For years I drink alcohol simply to cover my emotional feelings, whether I’m happy or sad it didn’t really matter at all, alcohol has always been a part of my life, that’s what I thought and I really didn’t understand it during those times, I was actually deadening my emotions and feeling and it really isn’t helping me to grow emotionally. And I was shocked when learning to deal with emotional situations was very difficult for me when I was seeking recovery from alcoholism.

It was really a devastating experience that I kept drinking and knowing that I was destroying my ambitions and myself as well, it also took my love for myself and my self-confidence which lead me to a condition called severe alcohol depression, I have thoughts of hopelessness and it would reach a point that I would think of injuring myself. Finally, I realized at that time that alcohol was the number one precipitating factor that leads me to my depression, but at the same time it was also my medicine for about 6-10 years, when I talk about medicine I am referring to the way of numbing my emotions and feeling that I know I can’t deal in any other way during my younger years.

I then realized that if alcohol was the main cause of my depression then from abstaining from drinking alcoholic beverage would fix my problem which is depression, but mind you it is easier said than done. I have to deal with alcohol withdrawal syndrome, when I don’t drink alcohol I get restless, tremors and many uncomfortable symptoms. The basic solution is to gradually stop drinking alcohol by decreasing my intake each day, so once I was over with alcohol drinking I knew then that I really need to learn how to manage my depression and how to deal with the feelings and emotions I avoided during the past years and in a very healthy manner.

But alcoholism and depression varies from case to case, so make sure to consult your doctor or psychiatrist to diagnose and trace where your depression started.

Author Bio: Brent McNutt enjoys writing for Uniformhaven.com which sells cherokee scrubs and dickies scrubs as well as a host of additional products.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: depression,alcoholism,depression and alcoholism