Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

[jessie]

I have recently been diagnosed with BPD and a lot of things suddenly made sense. The intense feelings of anxiety and boredom when I left school and started to work quickly led to evenings numbed with wine. I managed to supress my anger at people, circumstances on the outside, but inside I was a brewing mess. Once again alcohol was great for numbing that pain. Alcohol leveled out the sudden swings from optimism and happiness to boredom and depression. Etc, etc.
What I would love to know is how many of us here know how our primary problem or personality disorder led to seeking relief in alcohol abuse?
I feel a sense of relief though. At least I know now for a scientific fact that I'm not just a bad person, but a person with a real illness, and it makes me more determined to work out my life without alcohol.

[jessie]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

Lol, it should read " Underlying disorders"

[nancy]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

co-morbid disorders

They definitely play a big role and this is recognized by national alcoholism societies:

NIAAA Publications
NIAAA Publications

The dogma in recovery programs is that the alcohol is the real problem but the truth is that alcohol abuse is often just a result/coping mechanism of a psych condition.

Hope these references help.

[jessie]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

Underlying disorders in alcoholism

Thanks Nancy, I'm so happy to see your post. It's funny, I would think that treating the underlying disorder first should come first or simultaneously.
I'm on day 10 AF and feeling okay, not great, not bad.
Take care.

[Doggygirl]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

Hi jessie. I'm sure happy for you that you finally got the full diagnosis! In case this gives you hope, I know several people through AA who struggled mightily just like you until they were finally diagnosed and on proper medication for the bipolar disorder. Now they are sober.

I hear from psychiatrists that it is very, very difficult to treat underlying disorders while people are still drinking. The fact that alcohol is such a strong CNS depressent makes it difficult to get medications right with the alcohol mixed in the picture. FWIW.

All the best to you!

DG

[nancy]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

treating while drinking

I am sure that in some cases it is hard to treat. But I can say from personal experience that through long-term psychotherapy I recovered from depression while drinking, though this is not chronic, daily drinking, more of an occasional issue. So the dogma may not necessarily be right. And I don't know what it is like with bipolar depression. I know that people with extreme anxiety have a hard time going cold turkey too, and they seem to be migrating to the baclofen solution.

[Doggygirl]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

Nancy, this issue is medication. Medication + unpredictable amounts of alcohol is what makes it challenging. Makes effective dose calculations very unpredictable. I've heard that from several psychiatrists. That is not to say that people aren't sometimes helped while still drinking, but it's suboptimal. That makes a lot of sense to me studying drug interactions.

DG

[nancy]

Unerlying disoerders leading to alcoholism

broader than that

I take your point DG but I see the issue more broadly than that. Some psychologists say you can't get over depression while drinking, as a broad issue, not just about medication.