Free Essay On Depression Caused By Alcohol And Drugs

Depression is a mental and physiological disorder causing an individual to experience each day, a low mood and wide range of other symptoms that are persistent for at least two weeks. Some experts in the field regard the illness as a mode of defence of the human body to escape from intolerable stress. The symptoms and causes of depression are variable from one person to another and can occur quickly or gradually. The condition can be mild or become enough serious to impact negatively on day-to-day activities and may require a treatment. There are different types of depression with specific signs and symptoms. The most common types are major depression also called clinical depression and chronic depression, known as dysthymia. Depression can affect anyone, including women, men, children and the elderly. Depression is caused by various factors such as life events, physiological status (i.e. sickness or disorder) and /or changes in the body chemistry. It can be cures using various activities and antidepressant medicines such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors. It is estimated that 5 in 100 adults have depression every year and 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience a serious form that require a treatment at some point of their life.
1. General symptoms
The symptoms are variable from one person to another. However, the core symptoms include, a persistent low mood or sadness that could be or not accompanied by weepiness and a significant loss of interest or desire in activities included those usually enjoyed. Other symptoms commonly experienced by ill people include e.g. disturbed sleep, loss of appetite and weight or increased appetite and weight, fatigue, loss of energy, agitation or slow movements, poor concentration, feelings of worthlessness and extreme guilt and persistent thought of death. According to the number, intensity and duration of the symptoms, the depression can be diagnosed and classified as mild, moderate or severe.
2. Depression related to consumption of alcohol and drugs
Many factors can trigger the development of a depression episode but the exact cause is unknown. Some people are more subject than other leading specialists to think that there may be, in some cases, a genetic factor passed through generations, which exposes some people more to the disorder. In life, many factors can be responsible of the problem e.g. death of a loved one, loss of a job, work stress, sickness, difficult relationships, separation/divorce, child birth (postnatal depression), menopause, sterility, medicines, drug use and high consumption of alcohol. One or a combination of factors can trigger the problem.
2.1. Depression caused by a consumption of alcohol
Many depressive people are heavy alcohol drinkers. For some people, consumption of alcohol was the cause of the depression and for others, a depressive episode was the path to alcohol. Some people generally believe that consumption of alcohol can help to relax, forget problems, release anxiety and provide more confidence in difficult situations. This may be temporarily applicable to moderate drinkers, but for some people, especially heavy drinkers, alcohol can trigger or worsen a depression episode.
Alcohol is a compound that has an effect on various parts of the nervous system such as the brain where it can trigger a depressive status by affecting negatively the mood regulatory system. Drinking regularly can induce a message in the brain requesting more alcohol to feel more comfortable. When the level of alcohol in the body becomes low, negative mood change and feelings occur and motivate the drinker to drink more to avoid the disagreeable feelings. It is then a vicious circle where people drink more to avoid problems, but actually worsen their situation. When alcohol is affecting negatively the mood, heavy drinkers commonly experience a disturbance in their sleep, morning depressive symptoms such as feeling sick, anxious or guilty as well as constant fatigue and anxiety even in situations where they would usually feel comfortable. They then drink more to overcome these feelings and this affects more the regulation of the mood in the brain.
High consumption of alcohol can affect adversely relationships in families, work places and friendships leading to situation such as separation, low work performance and redundancy that are depressive triggering factors.
2.2. Depression caused by the use of drugs
A depressive condition can be caused by recreational drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, heroin and cocaine or medicinal drugs used to treat some illnesses or disorders. Similarly to alcohol, drugs can lead to mental illnesses or disorders such as depression, by affecting negatively the regulatory system of emotions in the brain. The use of recreational drugs can be incidental or the result of a depressive episode caused by another factor, which lead users to take drugs to relieve the associated symptoms. In many cases, the use of recreational drugs leads to an addiction with a subsequent increase in the frequency of consumption or use of stronger drugs. The consequence of this is a worse and prolonged depressive status. Many drug users have financial problems, issues with the law and relationship difficulties that put more pressure on them leading to a depressive condition.
Medicines are drugs that are used to treat various illnesses and disorders and are expected to bring about a positive change in the body physiological status. However, some medicines are responsible of depressive conditions. Although the patient depression usually ceases shortly after the end of the treatment, this is a serious problem for individuals on prolonged treatment with a limited availability of alternative medicines.
3. Physiological mechanisms of depression
Depression is believed to be linked to changes in the level of chemical compounds in the brain and the body that regulate various functions such as the mood. These compounds include chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters that are found in the brain and hormones.
Neurotransmitters involved in depressions are compounds such serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and noradrenaline. The compounds are produced by the nerve cells and allow a communication between the cells, leading thereby to a regulation of the mood. It is believed that when the compounds are produced in an inappropriate quantity (too low or too much) due to the action of compounds such as alcohol and drugs, the regulation of mood is negatively affected, leading to a depression status with the accompanied symptoms.
It is possible that alcohol and drugs affect the central nervous of the hypothalamus (organ regulating hormone production) provoking an increased release of corticotropin releasing factors (CRF), which are responsible for inducing the production of hormones by the pituitary and adrenal glands. This causes tension in the muscles, shallow breathing and sharper senses, which can engender depression when occurring frequently. Thyroid hormones (T4 and T3) can also trigger a depressive episode when overproduced or under produced. An overactive thyroid will result in a depression accompanied by e.g. anxiety, nervousness, and insomnia, whereas an underactive thyroid can cause depression and result in e.g. fatigue and mental slowness.
4. Conclusion
Depression can be caused by various factors, including alcohol and drugs. The latter compounds trigger the depressive status by affecting adversely the production of chemical messengers and hormones responsible for controlling and regulating emotions in the brain.
The key action for avoiding these vicious circles of depression in relation to drugs and alcohol is to implement effective prevention activities.