The physical effects of alcoholism, such as liver disease, are well known. Likewise, the short-term psychological effects of alcohol consumption such as impaired judgment are fairly well understood by most people. Fewer people, however, are aware of the long-term psychological effects of alcohol abuse. Alcoholism is linked to a number of psychological problems, including depression and anxiety.
The Addiction Process
Different people have different levels of tolerance to the day-to-day stresses that we all experience. People from healthy family backgrounds typically have a high tolerance for stress, while people who grew up in dysfunctional families typically have a low tolerance to stress. When your tolerance to stress is exceeded, you may seek coping mechanisms to compensate. Alcohol is a popular coping mechanism because it creates a temporary elevation in mood and an increase in relaxation. Long-term use, however, will actually increase your stress levels, requiring further alcohol to compensate for it. This is how alcohol use can become a self-perpetuating addiction.
Link to Depression
Although alcohol abuse can cause depression, you will not necessarily experience symptoms of depression due to alcohol abuse. Likewise, although many depressed people turn to the temporary mood elevation effects of alcohol, many depressed people do not become alcoholics. Nevertheless, the rate of depression is higher among alcoholics than among non-alcoholics, and the rate of alcoholism among depressed people is higher than for non-depressed people.
Link to Anxiety
The use of alcohol will relaxed you at first, because it depresses the central nervous system. Long-term abuse of alcohol, however, produces toxic effects on the brain that reduces the brain's tolerance for anxiety. Consequently, the chronic use of alcohol has been linked to panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder.
Gender Differences
Since women typically have lower body weight than men, consumption of the same amount of alcohol will affect the average woman more than the average man. This holds true not only for the psychological effects of acute intoxication but also for the long-term effects of chronic use. Christina Mule of the Rochester Institute of Technology reports that women are considerably more vulnerable to depression than men are. Consequently, women are more vulnerable to depression that is induced or enhanced by chronic alcohol abuse.
Withdrawal
You may experience withdrawal symptoms when you try to quit drinking. These symptoms range from mild to life-threatening, depending on the individual. The psychological effects of withdrawal include sleep disorders, delusions, hallucinations, anxiety and depression. If you originally began using alcohol to cope with pre-existing psychological problems, you may find yourself unable to cope with these problems without new, healthier coping mechanisms.
