Half of alcoholics and drug addicts suffer from mental health problems
The charity Turning Point have released a report suggesting that 50% of all alcoholics and drug addicts suffer from mental illness, in the UK at least.
Unfortunately many people still associate the term ‘mental illness’ with considerable stigma – as it may conjure up images of psychosis. However the illnesses referred to here are primarily depression and anxiety.
The main point to consider from this is that alcoholics or drug addicts are struggling with addiction as a way to deal with their mental health. Alcohol or drug use often arises as a means of dealing with emotional problems, then from there they develop into additional problems in their own right.
Many alcoholics wonder why they have such a difficult time with alcohol, when others around them seem to cope with it more easily. The answer is often that they have other mental health problems which are not being dealt with.
The only way to beat alcoholism or addiction then is usually to find other ways to deal with depression or anxiety. Once those are having less of an impact on your emotional life, then the purely ‘habit’ element can be addressed.
Thank you for this resource. I like very much the non judgemental approach to helping us
after many years of drug addiction i am now training to be a counsellor and in my first year of a diploma. i never thought that i would be able to achieve this and withought counselling i dont think i would have had the courage or even energy to try. i am now preparing a workshop for counsellors to try to give them an insight to what the needs of addicts are when seeking counselling. any one who thinks they cant get out of it or feels stuck dont give up. thanks to all who belived in me.
i am trying to find out and understand alcoholism a lot better, i have just recently separated from my husband who is a alcoholic. however, he is very angry all t he time, especially when kids are home.. bashes himself in the head a lot when he is in a rage with me… i am trying to work out if he either has a mental health issue or mental illness or even both!… your reply would be much appreciated
by the way.. he wont get HELP. i am leaving that to him and that now we are a part it is down to him to do it.
Sue
I too left my husband who was an alcoholic and also had addiction issues. In his divorce he finally admitted he had mental health issues which prevented him from working. His mental health issues meant he had lost all grip on reality and as a result went bankrupt also.
I feel for you in that you probably left your husband as a result of his addictions and not because of him per se.
Alcoholism is tougher to fully recover (stay sober) from than heroin addictions. It is linked to many other challenges such as gambling addictions (which my husband had), infertility (which my husband was), domestic violence.
Post divorce you will be looking for answers to his alcoholic behaviour and why you left him, but as Al-Anon said to me ” Remember the three C’s – You are neither the Cause of his alcoholism, you cannot Control his Alcoholism and you cannot cure it”
My Mum is an alcoholic and is very violent towars me and my sister. We are convinced she also has a mental illness
My mum passed away recently and was shocked to find out it was not her liver but lung cancer. Her alcoholism had caused her to suffer with many health problems which masked the cancer symptoms.
I tried on many occasions to get the doctors to section her, but they said she would have to ask for help and admit she had a problem. Which she wouldn’t!
Why do doctors not recognise it as a mental health problem which is endangering their lives? I wish she could have been sectioned so that she could have enjoyed what years she had left, rather then wasting them.
Hello. I am an alcoholic. I was in the hospital last month for withdrawls. The worst thing ever! But yet here I find myself drinking again. I was diagnosed once as bi polar because I tried to kill myself. My dad molested me a lot when I was little. I think that has a lot to do with it. My husband hates my drinking. My teenage kids hate it and my younger ones don’t know better yet. I hate myself for it. I get sick when I don’t drink. I shake. I am scared. I think I am close to death and I am only 34. Help
sonya i have the same problem i need a drink firstt thing in the morning i hate myself for it i dont do it on purpose ive lost every job ive had either through being drunk at work or staff finnding tins of cider hidden im 32 and i feel so deppressed i could top meself i dont eat for days and lie in bed crazy thoughts going through my head only thing takes the edge off it is a drink,so i know the feeling, ive came off it before and been hospitalised several times your not alone bab xx
I believe I drink beer way in excess to ease my anxiety, depression and panic disorder. Since any alcohol is a depressant and I’m taking 2 different types of meds all thats happening is their bumping heads with one another. Meaning one’s a depressant and the other is a n anti-depressant.
Just to add in here that I don’t have all the answers but if these few words can help you, here goes.
Firstly, alcohol is very addictive, so if it has you by the throat it is not because you are weak, so don’t destroy your self esteem even more. Accept you have a problem and be kind to yourself.
Alcohol causes anxiety and depression. So if you drink because you are anxious or depressed, you are doubling it. If you drink because you have problems get help with the problems, including depression.
I feel very supported by the success stories on here. There are many good people who will shine a light at the end of a tunnel, so I suggest you look around and post on the SOS thread.
How can things ever get so bad for someone to abuse their body in such a way. To me mental health is helped by exercise. So before you take the easy option and open a bottle or a can try going for a walk or even a jog. But I suppose it is easier to pop the cork! One life live it – YOUR WAY BUT DON’T MOAN TO OTHERS ABOUT IT.
Sorry to burst your bubble Kim but exercise is not the be all and end all, i walk 5 miles everyday, yoga once a week. i came across this site by accident and believe me the easy option is not opening a bottle or can, dont insult those who are addicted or have problems. i had meeting with Alc team today and said i thought i could just quit and was told if it was that easy i wouldnt be sat in front of her and she would be out of a job. dont judge peeps with alc problems when you dont know how they got there and have no idea if they tried to control it.
I am an alcoholic i am 48 and started drinking at age 15. i believe i had mental problems since age 5 depression anxiety and ocd i also used to get very hyped up, possibly manic. anywho what a blessing it was to get pissed in my teens all my problems vanished.I managed to hold down fulltime menial jobs and was happy as larry. eventually as time went on my problems became worse exacapated by alcohol. the intial relief became a full blown nightmare, panic attacks from age 36 everyday for 7 years only drinking stopped them. now i am on benzo’s, antidepressants and antipsychotics guess what i still fucking drink! at least i’ve reduced my intake. don’t tell me to exercise to cure my problem I used to cycle ABOUT 3 HOURS A DAY EVERY DAY for about 3 years in my thirties and no matter how far i went my problems were still in my head.
people don’t choose to be alcoholics…. for some sobriety is unbearable alcohol changes one’s view of everything once abused for too long, i still want to stop drinking and the longer i leave it the harder and harder it gets.
I know there have been no comments here since Aug 2011 but have just read the thread and would like to add to it.
Exercise to cure addiction or depression , don’t make me laugh. I have suffered from anxiety and depression since I can remember.I am 49 and have been drinking since the age of 15.It used to be a great way of escaping the mental health issues that I had , It has now become a prison.
I can safely say that exercise, although a great stress reliever, is in no way a cure all .Can it help and be used as one tool in the box of tools needed, I’m sure it can.
I have battled alcohol addiction in many ways over the years .From counseling to rehab I have done the lot.
I used to over exercise if anything and at one point , all but burned myself out.There are no easy answers to addiction, if anything it is a multi targeted approach which is needed .
To all who suffer from any sort of addiction accompanied by mental health problems , you have my greatest sympathy.
I am an alcoholic and I hate it! I have know idea why I drink I always use the excuse because I worked hard all week but that is no excuse. Usally when I drink it’s 1 to 2 times a week and it never fails that I get so intoxicated that I cant remember shit at the end of the night or the next morning. I have royal embarrassed myself ultimately now all day thats all I can think about. Alcohol is so not worth this I think I have just lost a friend over this one. I didnt drink for 7yrs and when I was going through my divorce I started drinking again. I hate hate hate alcohol