Depression for Women, Alcohol for Men
A study which appear in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has added some interesting new insights into the ways that women and men handle stress. It seems that men seek the stress-reduction method of alcohol consumption while women become depressed.Why might this be? The researchers think it's because men, perhaps, have been socialized to use alcohol or that there are, seemingly, gender-specific brain stress pathways that differ in the sexes. One researcher, however, said she thought it was because women tend to think about negative experiences more while men use distraction techniques, such as alcohol, to calm themselves.
So, is it biological or learned? Perhaps, as in most research findings, a little of both and it indicates that we may need to do a better job of helping men and women learn healthier ways to cope.
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6 Comments:
Decent article, but I have witnessed first hand many women who suffer from depression that use alchol as a mood altering drug.
I can relate to this article. I turned to booze to deal with my depression / anxiety but soon realized that this was only covering up one problem with another one. Not a good answer!
Thanks - Bill
I'm in need of your help for my baby sister, 1-14-03 my mother passed away @ home in her sleep then 6-07-03 my son was killed by a drunk driver. I'm was in recovery then and I'm still holding on to my sobriety date of
9-11-97 :) My youngest sister C. was drinking socially now it's everyday,she's worked for the same company for the pass 22yrs. She's married and in the process of divorce she has a 21yr.old son and she sits in her family room every night and drinks and cries over the lose's that we've had. She smokes cigar's and drinks and she has this funny cough I can't explain it, it's like the cough is an echo if she laughs to hard she's coughing @ the same time??? Anyway, she's been itching first it was her hands and feet now she feels like bug's are under her skin??? I'm telling her that it's from the drinking. Can you understand what I'm writing? I can't make her stop drinking and she's looking @ the fact that it "might" be her liver & kidney's. Can you give me any advice? She live's in Chester County do you know af any doctor's that she can go to? She's been to 4
dermatologist's and the meds that they have given her hasn't worked! I can't afford to lose anymore of my family! PLEASE HELP! PLEASE
My mother drank herself literally to death. She was a very depressed individual, but would do nothing about it. eventually she gave up on everything in her life including me and my sister and our children. I refuse to touch alcohol now, but did suffer with severe depression for many years. Unfortunatly I turned to smoking "pot". I thought because it was "all natural" and non addictive, that it was ok to use it to help with the anxiety that came along with my depression. i smoked regularly for years and my depression only got worse. I decide a while ago to stop. Well I can tell you that smoking was only adding to my depression. it made me numb and unable to feel. Therefor i was not dealing with my problems. Since quitting i have begun exercising and I can tell you that the rush of endorphins that i get when I exercise is better than any high I ever experienced when I was smoking. i now feel better than I have in years. I useed to wonder what was so bad about smoking "pot", now I know. It makes you lazy, causes you to gain weight, disconnects you from the rest of the world, causes you to loss the ability to cope with the small stuff(much less the big stuff), and definately causes depression symptoms to worsen. Trying to drown your problems in a bottle or mask them with drugs is not the answer. Dealing with them, exercising, and having a positive outlook on life are the only real solutions to depression and anxiety. I have been on many different anti-deppresnts also, and they only made me feel worse. So if anyone is suffering my advice would be to get clean, get moving, and get motivated to change your life. You are the one in control. Don't waste your life being down and stressed. You can find something positve in every siuation if you just try hard enough to see it.
Paige
To the lady who has the sister with the drinking problem and the itching, I hate to say this but it sounds to me like you are dealing with more than just an alcoholic here. The intense itching and horrible cough sound to me like she is smoking meth. i watched a dear friend loss control of her life on this stuff. The itching and feeling like she has bugs crawling on her is a sure fire sign of meth use. If this is the case then you will need help to try to get her off of it. Meth is a horrible, evil, drug. Once addicted to it, it is almost impossible for them to stop on their own. It takes intense detox and in patient treatment and then long term therapy to stay clean. my friend has relapsed several times since trying to stop. she is currently doing meth and unfortunatly it ahs come to a point where I can no longer help her. I hope tha ti am wrong about your sister, but if I am not, then you need to get as many freinds and family together and do an intervention for her. if not you will end up losing her too. Good luck and best wishes.
Jen
Is Depression a symptom of menopause? I've been having feelings of sadness and depression. My doctor says it is menopause.
I don't drink anymore - so it isn't drinking, but there is a lot of alcoholism in my extended family.
My doctor wants to start putting me on drugs for depression, but I am worried that they will become a problem.
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