The Link Between Alcohol, Insomnia, And Suicide

Insomnia, Depression, Suicide and Alcohol: The links

Recent studies in alcohol consumption and ensuing behavioral disorders reveal that excessive alcohol consumption or alcohol addiction may result in insomnia and other sleeping disorders and these, in turn, can cause acute depression in the affected individuals. The alarming fact is that studies and surveys show that these depression bouts often lead to suicide and suicide attempts.

Alcohol and Insomnia: What is the Relationship?

Alcohol and insomnia share a sort of two-way relationship. People who suffer from insomnia are often known to revert to alcohol as a sort of curative. Since alcohol slows down the functions of our central nervous system, it acts as a kind of sedative. However, this does not mean that this leads to peaceful sleep. The tranquilizing effects of alcohol are known to last only during the first cycles of sleep but gradually wear away when we plunge into deeper sleep. As a result, alcohol-induced sleep may cause repeated waking in the last hours of sleep and this often results in fatigue, anxiety and depression.

On the other hand, people who are already alcohol addicts have high chances of suffering from insomnia and other sleep disturbances when they go off alcohol. This is one of the common withdrawal symptoms noted in alcohol addicts and it is common for many to start drinking again in an effort to escape these afflictions.

A figure shows that 1/5th of all Americans who die when drunk are suicides. Moreover, a large number of suicide attempt survivors are diagnosed with alcohol abuse-related disorders. According to researchers, young adults and teenagers form the greatest number of these suicide victims.

Researchers have found a causal link between alcohol consumption to suicidal action. Since sleeping patterns are impacted negatively by alcohol consumption and since this often leads to disturbing nightmares and hallucinatory or paranoiac vision and images, the affected individual often falls victim to acute forms of depression. And this in turn increases the suicide risk related to alcohol.

For more articles on drugs, alcohol, behavioral topics and more, follow our blog A Calming Tide: Drug, Alcohol and Behavioral Resource…

What Is Alcohol Abuse? Answers You Need To Know

When you are suffering from depression, anxiety, or you are simply unable to understand what to do with your life, many people turn to alcohol as a way of dealing with their problems. Although they could go to a doctor and get pharmaceutical help in the form of anti-anxiety or depression pills, many people avoid this option and go straight to the bottle. Drinking is something that might be part of your life as a result of growing up in an alcoholic family. You could have developed the habit on your own, finding it a better way to process your everyday activities. Regardless of how it occurred, if you want to stop, the following options will definitely help you.

What Exactly Is Alcohol Abuse?

There are people that can be considered a functioning alcoholic, those that are tied directly to their alcoholism. Their need to have this beverage, to change their state by going through life with a slight buzz, is the only way they know how to function. Signs of alcohol abuse are obvious when you walk up to someone and there is always alcohol on their breath. They may seem distant, act erratically, and are definitely people that you do not want to drive with. If any of these attributes seem to describe yourself, you might want to get help right away.

Alcohol Abuse Treatment Center Options Near You

When you go on the Internet and search for treatment centers in your area, you will likely find several that are available right now. You can check into a rehab clinic, one that will keep you for several weeks, until you can get your alcohol drinking under control. If you would prefer working with a group like Alcoholics Anonymous first, just to see if that will actually work, you can do that first, but always know that treatment centers are always available and will be able to help you with your alcohol addiction.