Alcohol and Depression

To beat depression, you must primarily deal with the negative thoughts and beliefs you have about yourself and the world around you. Of course this is exacerbated by the fact that...

Alcohol actually causes depression

Depression is not only caused by painful or stressful life events, but by our perception of those events. If we have positive and optimistic thoughts about ourselves and our lives, then we tend to feel happier.

Thinking positively can't prevent traumatic things from happening to you, of course not. That is partially out of your control. But what is in your control is your own thought.

That doesn't mean that depressed people are choosing to be that way either, only that they may not be fully aware of the effect of some of their thoughts on their mood.

You can learn to change some of your negative thought patterns, but first you need to find out what they actually are. Make an effort to listen to your thoughts, and look out for anything negative, judgemental or blaming. Listen out for 'should's and 'ought's in your stream of thoughts. They usually indicate that you are expecting different standards of behaviour from yourself, judging your current behaviour as inadequate, bad, stupid, etc.

This is bound to make you feel depressed

Ask yourself then, 'how is this type of thought going to make me feel?' and 'how could I think more positively about this?'

These negative thoughts are habitual though, you will have developed them over your whole lifetime, so they may be hard to even recognise or identify. And they'll also take some practice to change them.

Be in control, make a choice about what you're going to think about yourself, don't just passively accept whatever thoughts arise in you. Depression doesn't have to contribute to your alcohol consumption.