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.
hi I just want a bit of advice, my daddy is a paranoid schizophrenic but he is also a alcholic. He dosnt live with me my parents have been sperated for a long time I go see him once a week, he’s always been ill but I can’t even face seeing him anymore he’s completely hit rock bottom he’s not talking, looks drained, not himself at all, let himself go just a completely different person. I can’t handle seeing him I get to upset but he wants to see me, should he be in hospital? how can I help him? I’m worried what he might do. I’m 16 and my mummy says I can’t help him but I must be able to some way.
Hi, I have been a drinker most of my life, always associated it wil being social as most family and friends do the same. Over the last two years things have gotten way out of control, I have now been divorced, got myself in some much debt through gambling that I will have to declare bankruptcy, drink every day to dull this. 2014 started with me being diagnosed with cancer then the next day got charged for high range drink driving, will now loose my job for this. Life waas so stable two years ago, high paying job, wife and kids with a nice house etc. Alcohol, party drugs, gambling, depression is killing my life. Im 38 had it all and lost it all in the blink of a eye.
Thankyou to all of you who have commented. I’ve hit rock bottom and dont feel so alone after reading your stoies. I am going to die soon i’m sure. I’m 51 and have tried over and over to give up. Rehab twice and just got to 6 months sober then a friend bought a bottle of champagne on the occassion of her first grandchild. I only had 2 glasses then felt very proud of myself. Then a week later i thought oh well i handled that well and rewarded myself with a drink. The true danger is when you are actually feeling wonderful . What was i thinking? Kidding myself into thinking i would NEVER go down that road again.Just got my relationship with my 4 children on track, then i sabbotaged myself. Now here i lie in bed , absolutely hungover and so sick after my 3 bottles of wine yesterday. And had to have a drink in the morning to stop me feeling so ill. Called in sick for work …again.full of remorse cos i lost 2,000 gambling which i dont do sober. I feel like the worst mother in the world.I want to see my 3 daughters have babies , but the alcohol always wins, i’m just so tired of it all. Its just too hard fighting this every single day of my life .I like me when im sober, i dont need to drink to be sociable, so why the hell am i doing this? My husband loves me but i dont know why, i dont even like me…
Hi
Im an alcoholic with 15 years sobriety. I still feel the pull of the alcohol but i dont have another recovery in me so if i have one drink, im gone. I also had depression and anxiety from a very early age and was so happy when i had my first drink. It was the only time i had ever ever been happy.Take one day at a time and you will succeed. I feel for you all because i know how terrible, how utterly horrific it was to get sober. Then i found out both my children had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder from my drinking during pregnancy. If your children have behavioural problems please consider FASD as the sooner they are diagnosed the sooner appropriate strategies can be implemented. Good luck everyone. Go to AA, do whatever it takes to get sober. Its worth it.
I am married to an alcoholic who also has mental issues (bi-polar and paranoia schizophrenia) and pill addiction. We have been married for almost 3 years (we were best friends in high school, so we have known each other for 33 years). I have caught him stealing my medication out of my purse (I now take my purse everywhere I go in the house, etc.) and denying it and his hands were literally in my purse, lieing constantly and so much he forgets his own lies, I found 5 pints of hard liquor (empty hidden under the guest bed) and he made a promise before we were married he would only drink an occasional beer (which he lies about because one morning I had to run home from work and it wasn’t even 8 a.m. and he was drinking a couple of beers), spends money on alcohol, tobacco, pot, has taken a few of my things and pawned them (even his wedding ring) and now he is becoming very paranoid and blaming me for hiding his pot bowl, saying things happened and they never did, losing track of days, asking me the same question within 30 min. like he never had asked it before, and I can go on and on. I love this man dearly and want to grow old with him, but I just do not know what to do. He is getting worse by the day (he was not like this when we first got married for the first 1 1/2 years). I just do not know what to do. He is ruining us financially, I sometimes wonder if I am in danger (he is a deer hunter and has a shotgun by our bed-paranoia). My family and friends all want me to take my prescious dog (no children involved) and leave so I am safe and maybe be happy again. I am in counseling 1x week to try to figure stuff out.
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
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.
This acknowledgment isnt because we share the same name Kevin’ but very close past life time history. Excessive alcohol isnt the crime of the century’ but none the less, something that everyone, does feel that, the following day they have something to boast about, to gauge to what level they alowed their bodies to consume and survive! But seriously, as the years go by chritmas after chrismas, celebrations,parties,and the years of weekend drinks,mixed with lifes emotions, strugglels,lifes worries,problems and real lifes knock backs, that drink wasnt my problems it was my problems that made me turn to drink
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
My Mum is an alcoholic and is very violent towars me and my sister. We are convinced she also has a mental illness
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”
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.
Thank you for this resource. I like very much the non judgemental approach to helping us