As the 20th century brought about improvements in the scientific understanding of the brain, the medical community increasingly looked at “alcoholism” as a disease. However, the lines between personal choice, habit, and compulsion remained blurry. For people who also experience alcohol dependence, the first step in AUD Alcoholics Anonymous treatment may involve medical support. Still, only a small number of people with AUD need medical care during this process.

Feelings of isolation

• The bidirectional relationship between alcoholism and mental illness highlights the need for a comprehensive approach that addresses both conditions concurrently.
• While people with this condition may start drinking again, studies show that with treatment, most people are able to reduce how much they drink or stop drinking entirely.
• Studies show most people with this condition recover, meaning they reduce how much they drink, or stop drinking altogether.
• For those without pre-existing mental health disorders, symptoms can go away with abstinence.
• The person may drink in order to cope with stress or anxiety, but they find that mental health becomes worse, because they are beginning to experience problems from drinking.

Co-occurring disorders, also known as dual diagnosis, refer to the presence of both alcoholism and one or more mental health disorders in an individual. This phenomenon is common, as alcoholism and mental illness often coexist and interact with each other, presenting unique challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Many people who are diagnosed with AUD are dually diagnosed with another mental health disorder, further connecting alcoholism and mental illness. Alcohol abuse can begin as a maladaptive coping mechanism for the untreated symptoms of a mental illness such as depression or anxiety.

• Compared to those without them, people with anxiety disorders—mental health conditions that cause frequent worry and panic—have lower levels of zinc, iron, and selenium.
• If you have a problem with alcohol, it’s important to understand how it can affect you both mentally and physically and to seek help.
• Proper diagnosis and understanding of the co-occurring conditions can guide treatment decisions, help tailor interventions to the individual’s specific needs, and improve overall treatment outcomes.
• This classification is based on specific criteria that highlight the biological, progressive, and observable characteristics of alcoholism.
• This causes oxidative stress (an imbalance between helpful antioxidants and harmful free radicals that can lead to disease), marked by excess toxins in the body.

Health Conditions

• They may participate in mutual support groups like AA to help them stay committed to recovery.
• If you or a loved one is seeking support for mental health issues, help is available.
• When someone suffers from alcoholism, they tend to go through three different phases of drinking.

They might also start showing some of the more common signs of addiction. They are known as problematic drinking, severe alcohol abuse, and obsessive alcohol abuse. As we have mentioned earlier, unlike many other types of addiction and mental health issues, the transition from innocent social drinking to alcohol abuse and alcoholism can be subtle and take a long time. In fact, many people might not even truly realize that they have a problem until it is too late.

Australia’s drinking culture norms

There are many factors that contribute to mental health disorders, including biological factors like chemical imbalances in the brain. Alcohol addiction may also be rooted in changes in the brain, as well as other causes. Alcohol use disorder is not as simple as choosing to drink excessively. Multiple risk factors affect whether someone develops alcohol addiction, including genetics, biology, and environmental and social influences. Since alcoholism is both a physical and mental issue, treatment will focus on both the physical and mental aspects of addiction and recovery. At Northern Illinois Recovery Center, we offer treatments for co-occurring disorders such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

For those without pre-existing mental health disorders, symptoms can go away with abstinence. For those with pre-existing conditions, abstinence can reduce is alcoholism a mental illness symptoms and the mental health condition can be treated more effectively. The treatment for alcohol use disorder has many of the same treatment approaches and therapies as other mental health disorders.