Drinking Women More Vulnerable to Depression!

Published by editor | Filed under Depression

Alcohol is a drug. Its effects are mood altering. As drinking makes people feel relaxed, happy and even euphoric, many find it surprising to learn that alcohol is in fact a depressant. Drinking switches off the part of the brain that controls judgment leading to loss of inhibitions. As most people are aware, alcohol also affects physical co-ordination. The more drinks you have the greater the effect - speech becomes slurred, vision blurred, balance is lost and movements are clumsy. Heavy drinking will depress all bodily functions, so drinking very large quantities can result in unconsciousness, coma, or even death. Vomiting while unconscious or in a heavy sleep can cause death by asphyxiation.

Women’s bodies are more vulnerable to harm from alcohol. Today we know that women, like men, can become addicted to alcohol and other drugs. In fact, women seem to be more vulnerable than men to many adverse consequences of alcohol use. For women, the long-term effects can be catastrophic. Research cited indicates that:

• Compared with men, women develop alcohol-induced liver disease over a shorter period of time and after consuming less alcohol. Women are also more likely than men to develop alcoholic hepatitis and to die from cirrhosis. Women who drink heavily develop heart muscle disease at the same rates as male heavy drinkers, even though women have 60 percent lower lifetime alcohol use.
• Moderate to heavy drinking increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Higher levels of drinking increase menstrual disturbances, spontaneous abortions, and miscarriages.
• Fetal alcohol syndrome, a leading cause of mental retardation, can result when women drink during pregnancy.
• Among male and female drivers with similar concentrations of blood alcohol, women are more likely to die in car crashes.
• Drinking during adolescence and the young adult years can dramatically compromise bone quality and may increase risk for osteoporosis.
• Women with alcohol problems can have a variety of sexual and reproductive health problems
• Drinking during pregnancy can negatively impact fetal brain development, growth, physical appearance, learning and intelligence.

And these are just some of the physical effects. Women with alcohol problems also tend to have a more complex mental health profile than men. Common psychological problems among women in treatment for alcoholism include depression, anxiety, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, suicide attempts, posttraumatic stress syndrome, and histories of physical and/or sexual abuse. Drinking increases a woman’s risk of being a victim of violent crime, especially sexual assault. For instance, one survey of female college students found a significant relationship between the amounts of alcohol the women reported drinking each week and their experiences of sexual victimization. Rates of these disorders are at least twice as high among alcohol-addicted women as women from the general population.

Alcohol is a poisonous substance so having it frequently circulating in your body will harm your health. Regular drinking may damage internal organs even if you rarely drink to the point of intoxication. Treatment for an alcohol problem depends on its severity. Women who have alcohol problems, but who are not yet alcohol dependent, may be able to stop or reduce their drinking with minimal help. Your health care provider can either help you in his or her office or refer you to an alcohol treatment professional. He or she can help you take a hard look at what effect alcohol is having on your life and your health, provide advice on ways for you to stop drinking or to cut down, and work with you on coming up with a plan of action to do so.

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