Treatment

Question:  I was never depressed until I started drinking heavily. Even after I became sober a year and a half ago, I still felt depressed for a month or so. Is that depression likely to come back?

Answer:  It won’t come back if you stay sober. That depression is part of the illness of alcoholism in many people, more frequently women, and more acutely during the withdrawal from alcohol.  There are those unlike you whose depression predated the onset of alcoholism and whom we consider as having two disorders – depression and alcoholism. Both require treatment. However, as with all dual disorders, the addictive component must be treated first to address the emotional or mental disorder.

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