;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=0d3bb41f925e1f0a596346c7e51f0a87691cfc8603373b0619d35fee2c2cf8ea "Why depression often leads to addiction")
Sad news from Jenny Elvers. Just a few days ago, the actress apparently suffered an alcohol relapse. As “Bild” reports, the 51-year-old was checked by the police at the entrance to Wittstock/Dosse in Brandenburg in the early evening of October 31st because her car was parked conspicuously. A test showed that Elvers had 1.7 per mille in his blood.
“I have been suffering from depression for over ten years, which is why I started drinking and drugging myself with alcohol,” she told “Bild”. Although she is “well adjusted to medication”, there are always phases in which she is very sad and realizes that she has to be careful.
She wasn’t feeling well at the end of October: “I just cried and didn’t have the strength to get up.” Then she resorted to alcohol. “Combined with the medication, it was the worst thing I could have done,” she admits.
Interaction of alcohol with medications for depression
In fact, the interactions between depression medications and alcohol are particularly dangerous. Depending on the preparation and the amount of alcohol, a combination can neutralize the effect of the medication, which can make depression symptoms even worse. “The effect is completely uncontrolled,” says the website of the Betty Ford Clinic, one of the best-known addiction clinics in the world.
Alcohol in combination with antidepressants could also lead to poisoning from toxic metabolic products. The breakdown of alcohol is also delayed by some antidepressants, so patients should definitely avoid using these two substances at the same time for their own safety.
Depression is very common in people with alcohol addiction
Not that easy, because alcohol addiction and depression are often linked. In Germany, 1.7 million people are considered alcohol dependent. According to the BZgA, around 30 percent of them also suffered from depression. Divided according to gender
24 percent of men and 49 percent of women also suffered from depression.
This means, similar to Jenny Elvers, about half of the women become dependent because of depression or develop depression due to alcoholism. Because both are possible.
Alcohol addiction is often a consequence of depression
“In most cases, alcohol dependence arises as a result of depression,” says the BZgA. Those affected drink alcohol to reduce symptoms of depression such as
Listlessness Sadness Irritability Negative feelings Feeling of meaninglessness
to dampen. Alcohol initially improves the mood and creates a feeling of “artificial euphoria” and a “feeling of well-being”, which alleviates depression in the short term. It’s a vicious circle, as this relief doesn’t last long and very quickly leads to those affected drinking even more.
That’s why people with depression have a higher risk of developing alcohol addiction. In the long term, however, alcohol causes depression to worsen. In the worst case, this can lead to the risk of suicide.
Alcohol addiction can cause depression
Conversely, alcohol abuse can also cause depression. Because it interferes with the brain’s mechanism of action. “Like other drugs, alcohol directly impairs the messenger substances and the transmission of stimuli in the brain,” says the BZgA. “So if alcohol constantly releases a stimulating substance, the brain reduces its receptors responsible for it so that there is no oversupply.”
In the long term, this leads to a change in the brain structure. This change in the brain can in turn lead to depression. Therefore, depression that arises from alcohol abuse must be treated like a mental illness.
Expert: The psychological component of addiction is the most serious
According to her own statements, Jenny Elvers is feeling better again. The alcohol is out of the body: “It was that one day when I relapsed,” Elvers told “Bild”. She is also sorry about the incident because of her son. She also apologized for endangering other people on the road. “I’m grateful that no one was hurt,” she said.
For Elvers, the fight against alcohol is far from over. Because the psychological component of addiction is the most serious. “Those suffering from addiction have learned that certain substances such as alcohol, medication or drugs have helped to mitigate stress reactions, fears or trauma and that they initially function better as a result,” explains Maurice Cabanis, Director of the Clinic for Addiction Medicine and Addicted Behavior at the Stuttgart Clinic. “This creates a strong bond with the substance,” says the addiction doctor.
“If this mechanism has become imprinted, it can lead to the person affected returning to this old consumer behavior in a difficult situation, even after a long period of abstinence, and becoming addicted again.” These are often completely unconscious processes, says Cabanis . Therefore, psychological dependence is the much stronger component of addiction, which must be accompanied or treated with psychotherapeutic measures over long periods of time.
Long-term therapy shows the best chance of not relapsing
The fight against addiction is not an easy one and is a lifelong task for most of those affected. When it comes to alcohol in particular, depending on the treatment method, the number of people who achieve abstinence is between five and 60 percent, explains Cabanis. “The chance of remaining abstinent is highest with long-term therapy,” says the doctor.