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Alcohol and sad

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phil242
joined 29 Mar 2006
1 posts

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Posted by phil242, 11:15 29 March 2006

Hi People,

I am a new member , I am male and 56 yrs old , I get the impression that most people on this site are much younger ,
I am surprised that so far I have not read anyone having my problem but as I said I am new so maybe it,s been covered previously,but anyway my story.

I have always enjoyed a drop of malt whisky ( as a taste rather than an alcoholic I,d like to think) except that I have noticed that when the winter approaches and the dark nights set in I start drinking earlier and longer to alleviate the symptoms of Sad ( if I have it) until I am just about ready to fall asleep at 2am ish , I can,t get up in the mornings and couldn,t possibly work, luckily I can,t get a job and get help financial help from my fairly well off partner,

I tries anti depressants but I find that because I have alcohol in my system the side effects are horendous, and I don,t want to stop drinking because of the pleasure I get from it.

This changes dramatically in the hot summer days , I am out much more and drink about a 3rd of what I drink in the winter, I went on holiday to Las Vegas and hardly drank at all, I don,t want to live abroad but I dread the thought of Winter, Could a light box really help do you think, Would love some serious thoughts on this

cheers Phil
siddy
joined 22 Jan 2003
674 posts

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Posted by siddy, 11:00 30 March 2006

Hello,

I would say there is a mixture of ages but we are all young in mind :) .

I would suggest (as always) reading 'Winter blues' by Norman Rosenthal for an overview of the condition and advice on treating it. Keeping a diary is important also.

A lightbox helps as does meds, dawn simulator, exercise, diet, drinking water. It's a holistic approach if you like. I think it is important for you to try it otherwise your lifestyle could have serious affects on your health and relationships.

It's worth taking sunny winter holidays in future (if possible) to see if it helps.

Best wishes, Siddy
Louise
Louise
joined 1 Mar 2006
95 posts

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Posted by Louise, 21:40 30 March 2006

I totally agree with all of Siddy's advice.

When you feel depressed it is easy to reach for the bottle as you it makes you relax and feel better, but in my experience it just makes the problem worse later on.

I find that alcohol makes me feel very tired and interferes with my sleep. Unfortunately I often have a glass of wine in the evening which I should cut out, I went completely teetotal for a while and did feel better for it.

Consider cutting down or stopping completely if that is easier. I find it easier just to stop completely, but I don't drink much. If you have a lot of trouble (alcohol is addictive) then it would be worth seeing your doctor for advice. Also get a light box if you can afford it, it does help with feeling better, although it doesn't stop the feeling of fancying a drink you may feel less inclined to drink in order to relieve the SAD feelings.

Hope it all goes well. There is also hope in that it's getting very spring like now.

Best wishes
Louise
Diane
joined 4 Mar 2003
17 posts

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Posted by Diane, 22:02 5 April 2006

Hi Phil

Its a while since I looked on the forum. I find the later months of winter the start of spring really difficult. Tonight feels like one of the worst so far.

I agree with your craving for whisky. With me its red wine. I have bottles of vodka, bacardi, whisky, etc in the house but it red wine I reach for every time I'm down. I remember reading somewhere that red wine give a false seratonin high so that's my excuse :P I have always been able to down a reasonably good bottle of wine without the hangover that most people seem to get the next day and I feet tipitytop the next day.

I'm worse in the winter and worse when I'm on my own strangely enough.

Diane

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