FORUMS

Connect with people who understand what you are going through, seek advice and surround yourself with support. We're free, anonymous, and professionally moderated 24/7.

  • 47,612Members
  • 1,358,869Posts
  • 1,400,000Visitors
Our stories

Depression & alcohol

KVM New Contributor

Depression & alcohol

Hi all, new to this space after having a read through.

I'm a working Mum, married and would appear as 'successful' to others...underneath the surface is a different story.

I was diagnosed with depression at 15, I'm now 40. I've been on and off meds since the beginning, with varied success. I saw my GP last year who advised Major Depressive Disorder. I often feel worthless, loathe myself and get so depressed about life in general, I can barely face the world.

I do see a Psychologist monthly but being honest, I often hide the worst of it.

My alcohol consumption has significantly increased in the last few years too, something I use to cope with the monotony of feeling so bad - I know it doesn't help so here I am asking for advice and support.

I know I need to make a change and start to love myself more and look after my physical and mental health. But, what are the first steps, where is that internal spark and how do I reignite it?

Thank you

2 replies

1 - 2 of 2
1

In response to: Depression & alcohol

rav3n Senior Contributor

Re: Depression & alcohol

hey @KVM welcome to the forums!!

thank you for sharing this. i can see that you've been carrying around these heavy thoughts and feelings for a while, and it takes great courage to be able to open up and reach out. you're not alone here. 💙

i see you mentioned that you often hide the worst of it from your psychologist - perhaps being more honest about how you're feeling could be a first step to take? i know it can be hard to drop the mask completely, but at the same time, our supports can only provide us the best support when they have the most accurate info from us, right?

as for self-love, a few things that have helped me were challenging negative-self talk and incorporating more self-care activities into my routine. it's so so easy to beat ourselves us but if we heard a friend speaking poorly about themselves, we'd immediately jump in and speak kindly to them... we deserve that kindness too. another way to be kind to ourselves is also through self-care activities, are there any that you could add in tonight/this week?

In response to: Depression & alcohol

tisme Senior Contributor

Re: Depression & alcohol

I used alcohol to cope it was good initially it seemed to block things out, or should I say numb me up. But it stopped working, I also realized that it makes depression worse. so, I don't drink anymore.

1 - 2 of 2
1

Powered by

SANE Forums is published by SANE with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health.

SANE Forums does not provide crisis support.
If you need immediate assistance, please see available crisis services.

Learn more about SANE and SANE services at sane.org