Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder: A review

Establishing healthier patterns of behavior and improving coping skills also helps people manage BD. Each program is structured to provide the highest quality support for individuals in recovery. Clinicians help clients learn how to identify potential problems and find healthy ways to cope, reducing the risk of relapse. Often, individuals who become dependent or addicted to alcohol have multiple risk factors and co-occurring or underlying issues affecting their ability to abstain. Genetics, age, and gender all impact how a person physically responds to alcohol. This was true for individuals with both of the most common forms of the condition, called bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder, although it was even more pronounced in individuals with bipolar II disorder.

1. Seeing a mental health professional right away is very important if you also have symptoms of bipolar disorder or another mental health condition.
2. While alcohol can provide temporary relief from bipolar symptoms, its long-term effects are overwhelmingly negative, often exacerbating the very symptoms individuals are trying to alleviate.
3. Maxwell and Shinderman (2000) reviewed the use of naltrexone in the treatment of alcoholism in 72 patients with major mental disorders, including bipolar disorder and major depression.
4. Moreover, neurocognitive functioning was negatively correlated with lifetime duration of manic or depressive episodes, suggesting that patients with greater illness burden had poorer performances.
5. Alcohol eases the anxiety between the crazy feelings and the ups and downs bipolar disorder brings about.

A 2018 review looked at epidemiological data to evaluate the likelihood of people diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs to cope with challenging symptoms. You may be more likely to experience manic symptoms when you’re actively using a stimulating substance or engaging in prescription medication misuse. You may find yourself needing less sleep, becoming easily distracted, or even acting out in ways that can have social, work, relationship, sexual, or legal consequences. how to talk to an alcoholic in denial These difficulties, the possible side effects of the drugs, and the features of bipolar disorder itself can make it hard for a person to keep to a treatment plan.

Contrary to the self-medication hypothesis, there was no evidence that having increased mood symptoms predicted lasting changes in alcohol use over the following six months.” For bipolar disorder, medication and a mix of individual or group therapy have shown to be effective treatments. To diagnose bipolar disorder, your doctor will look at your health profile and discuss any symptoms you may have. Your doctor may also conduct a medical exam to rule out the possibility of other underlying conditions. To receive a diagnosis of bipolar 1 disorder, you must have experienced at least one episode of mania. This episode may precede or follow an episode of depression, but isn’t necessary.

How these disorders are diagnosed

If you have depression and drink too much alcohol, then you may be wondering if there are any treatments or lifestyle changes for someone in your situation. Excessive alcohol drinking can also cause problems socially, such as issues with family, school, employment, and friends. This could have a carryover effect on depression since loneliness and lack of social support are linked to depression. Alcohol consumption can lead to feelings of depression due to chemical reactions.

Data availability

This detailed guide explores how alcohol can affect those with bipolar disorder and the risks of use. Based on different initial symptoms, doctors can develop personalized treatment plans and early medication interventions. For example, Previous studies have shown that patients whose first polarity is manic seem to do better with lithium 87, 88. Based on our findings that the volume of subcortical structures is reduced more extensively in the PBD-FEM group, the use of potential neuroprotective drugs such as lithium may help delay changes in subcortical structures in PBD-FEM patients. At the end of the day, bipolar disorder and substance use disorder are mental health conditions and can change your brain’s way of thinking and coping with tough situations.

The Complex Relationship Between Alcohol and Bipolar Disorder

These findings underscore the special needs of BD-AUD patients in terms of intensive treatment and support aimed to achieve early recovery after relapses. To that end, detailed and serial neuropsychological evaluations during this critical period remain as a backbone. The higher the high alcohol would bring, the lower the low a bipolar individuals mood would project onto daily life, yet for some it is all worth it. Alcohol eases the anxiety between the crazy feelings and the ups and downs bipolar disorder brings about. Mild drugs don’t seem to cut out all the symptoms many feel with bipolar disorder. Additionally, many with bipolar disorder find that the side effects of most medications are so extreme that they would rather self-medicate and deal with the consequences.

The person may experience hallucinations, or they may believe that they are very important, that they are above the law, or that no harm can come to them, whatever they do. The findings were seen even in people who were not engaging in binge drinking, drinking with high intensity or frequency, or experiencing impairment related to their alcohol use. If you have bipolar disorder, AUD, or both, talk to your doctor about treatment options that will work for you. The information in this blog is provided as a general educational resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purpose.

Therefore, we used FreeSurfer 7.2.0 to segment the above structural sub-regions further and compare the differences between each group. The potential for rapid mood swings, adverse medication interactions, and heightened impulsivity make alcohol and BD a dangerous combination. Individuals with BD may be more likely to misuse alcohol when experiencing severe symptoms of depression or mania, which is precisely when the effects of alcohol may cause the most damage. Pathways Recovery Center uses relapse prevention education and skill development to help people recover from AUD and find healthy ways to manage severe symptoms during manic or depressive cycles. Clinicians help clients recognize the connections between various emotions and behavioral responses. Managing AUD reduces the risk of people experiencing severe side effects of BD.

However, these symptoms typically resolve once alcohol use is discontinued, unlike true bipolar disorder which persists independently of substance use. One of the most pressing questions for individuals with bipolar disorder and their loved ones is whether alcohol makes bipolar disorder worse. The short answer is yes, alcohol can significantly exacerbate bipolar symptoms and interfere with treatment efficacy. Unfortunately, the field is marred by a paucity of well-conceived, conducted, and published studies informing the clinician about how to manage a comorbidly diagnosed patient.