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Are adults with mental health illnesses more susceptible to alcohol addiction

Are adults with mental health illnesses more susceptible to alcohol addiction?

The relationship between mental health illnesses and alcohol abuse is a complicated one. Mental health illnesses can both be a cause of people drinking to excess and an effect of heavy drinking itself. As alcohol dependency acts as both a cause and an effect of mental illness, it is something that attracts a large amount of interest and research in the field.

Mental health illnesses and alcohol addiction commonly go hand in hand. A recent survey has shown that adults with mental health illnesses are have higher rates of alcohol dependence than individuals who do not suffer from mental health disorders. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) found that alcohol addiction rates were up to 4 times higher in individuals with a mental health illness.

It has also been found that the rate of alcohol dependency increases alongside the severity of a mental health illness, with an overall increase of 5.3% between mild and severe mental health illness.

Some of the reasons behind this relationship can be attributed to the effect that alcohol has on us physically. Alcohol acts as a depressant on our central nervous system, leading to feelings of anxiety and depression being reduced. This can lead to individuals using alcohol to self medicate in order to alleviate unwanted symptoms of mental health illnesses. This coping strategy is detrimental though, as following high alcohol consumption the after effects can be greater, and perpetuate many of the symptoms that the individual had originally tried to relieve.

It has been advised that the results of the SAMHSA and similar surveys are taken into account by policy makers and service providers in order to address this problem, and target a group particularly vulnerable to alcohol addiction .

Source:

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-a-z/A/alcohol/

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/227308.php

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA)

Published by Addiction Advisor on 14/07/2011.

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