Teenagers coping with Alcohol and Depression

Many young people suffer depression in their teens. 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. In the long run, drugs or alcohol just make things worse.
Other times, the alcohol or other drug use comes first, and depression is caused by:


• The drug itself, or
• Withdrawal from it, or
• The problems that substance abuse causes.

Parents often assume that teens try alcohol and drugs to rebel or to “fit in” with their peer group. However, teens with undiagnosed emotional or behavioral problems often use alcohol and drugs as a way to relieve their frustrations. A depressed teen may self-medicate with alcohol to escape the terrible sense of hopelessness.
Unfortunately, alcohol only makes the problem worse. Also alcohol is a mood altering depressant drug, meaning it slows brain activity down. While one or two drinks makes most people feel relaxed, more alcohol may cause feelings of anxiety, depression and often aggression.

When teenagers take drugs like ecstasy and cocaine, these may make them feel “normal” and happy when for weeks they have felt miserable. The impact of such drugs on serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, chemicals in the brain that regulate mood can be devastating for adolescents. The damage they do to receptors in the brain can make the road back from depression even harder.

In general, people do not like feeling down and depressed. Alcohol and drugs can be used as a way of escaping from everyday reality. But this can lead to bigger trouble like addiction and problems in school. Other reasons for teenagers to drink would be peer pressure, to sleep better, to help get over social phobia, to feel good or to help forget about their depression.

Some of the symptoms of Depression are:

• You feel sad or cry a lot and it doesn’t go away.
• You feel guilty for no real reason; you feel like your no good.
• Life seems meaningless.
• You have a negative attitude a lot of the time, or it seems like you have no feelings.
• You get irritated often. Little things make you lose your temper; you overreact.
• Your sleep pattern changes; you start sleeping a lot more or you have trouble falling asleep at night.
• Your eating habits change; you’ve lost your appetite or you eat a lot more.
• You feel restless and tired most of the time.
• You think about death, or feel like you’re dying, or have thoughts about committing suicide.

Alcohol is a powerful accelerant to suicide rates in Ireland, and when under the influence of alcohol young men, in particular, are prone to carry out irrational and violent acts, often suicidal acts. Young people are consuming for more alcohol in Ireland and are also consuming different types of drinks with more potent spirit based products being available. This compounds depression and reduces their inhibitions about suicide.

Often parents do not know how to approach the issue of drug and alcohol use with their teenager. They may be unaware that they are depressed. The adolescent may be unable to express exactly how they feel. Therefore, contacting a mental health professional such as a counselor or psychologist who specializes in the treatment of adolescents, is the first step in nailing down the source of the problem. If a youth is self-medicating to treat depression, anxiety, or other emotional or behavioral disorders, therapy can really help.
In therapy they can talk about how they are feeling and have a look at their drinking/drug habits. Therapy can help them change thoughts or behaviors that are causing the depression. Also group therapy and support groups such as AA, NA, Alteen and Al-Anon can help greatly.