Once sober, brain chemistry will adjust, but it takes time. In the meantime, symptoms of depression can be very common.
Depression and Alcohol Withdrawal
Over time, your brain creates less of its own dopamine to try to balance out the levels it is receiving from alcohol. This means that when you quit drinking, you have removed your brain's primary source of dopamine, which will cause you to feel depressed.
It's common to feel anxious or cranky. Your mood should get better within 3 to 6 weeks. Tell your doctor if it doesn't. You may need treatment for long-term symptoms or an undiagnosed mental health condition.
Depression after quitting drinking is typical, as are mood swings in sobriety after alcohol abuse. If you're having trouble dealing with mood swings and being sober simultaneously, you should seek professional help.
Some examples of alternate coping skills include: Reaching out to others for comfort and support. Physical activity like walking, swimming, sports. Mindfulness practices like meditation or yoga.
Alcohol affects the part of your brain that controls inhibition, so you may feel relaxed, less anxious, and more confident after a drink. But these effects quickly wear off. The chemical changes in your brain can soon lead to more negative feelings, such as anger, depression or anxiety, regardless of your mood.
A few people will find some degree of the sense of low energy, anxiety, sleeping troubles and/or alcohol cravings present at the beginning of withdrawal continues for much longer than is usual. At the 12-month mark, almost everyone will leave these behind and begin to enjoy all the benefits of being drink-free.
Once you quit drinking, serotonin production can eventually return to normal. If you continue to struggle with depressive symptoms during recovery, you may require medication. By eliminating alcohol from the equation, you can better understand your mental health and determine what it is you need to feel your best.
After two weeks off alcohol, you will continue to reap the benefits of better sleep and hydration. As alcohol is an irritant to the stomach lining, after a fortnight you will also see a reduction in symptoms such as reflux where the stomach acid burns your throat.
However, by day 4 without alcohol, most people will have got beyond any initial withdrawal symptoms. All the alcohol will have left your system by now, and your body will begin to bounce back. If you're not as focused on alcohol, you may be eating better, drinking water, moving more, and perhaps sleeping more deeply.
As people go through withdrawal, they may experience high levels of anxiety. This is usually the result of the increased sensitivity that the body displays when it has stopped drinking. The anxiety can be so severe that people feel as though they are on edge, and they may also have difficulties sleeping as a result.
You might find yourself in a better mood
Alcohol can ease emotions in the short term, but once the alcohol begins to wear off, it can actually create more anger, depression and anxiety. Plus, after three weeks without alcohol you will almost certainly be sleeping better, which also has mood-improving benefits.
After One Year: Congrats on making it to 12 months! At this point, your risk of developing all types of disease will be reduced and your bone density will start to increase.5 Keep in mind that everyone is different and will experience different things when they stop drinking.
Although positive changes may appear earlier, 3 months of not drinking can not only improve your mood, energy, sleep, weight, skin health, immune health, and heart health. It can even reduce your risk of cancer.
According to the Recovery Research Institute, it takes 14 months of complete abstinence for the dopamine transporter levels (DAT) to return to nearly normal.
The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate.
What do you mean by heavy drinking? For men, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming 15 drinks or more per week. For women, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming 8 drinks or more per week.
Symptoms of Depression
Common symptoms of a depressive after quitting drinking include: Chronic fatigue. Persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, or emptiness. Lack of hope for the future.
“Don't let yourself become isolated and lonely,” says Campbell. “The opposite of addiction is connection. So find new hobbies and meet new people. It especially helps to spend time with people going through the same thing as you, so find a group if you can.”
If your alcohol consumption isn't problematic and you're just cutting back, a club soda with a vodka alternative or glass of non-alcoholic sauvignon blanc can replace the “real” thing. The best part is, you won't wake up feeling like you had the “real” thing.
Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins, also deficient in some alcoholics, are all involved in wound healing and cell maintenance (14). In particular, because vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting, deficiencies of that vitamin can cause delayed clotting and result in excess bleeding.
Nine in 10 adults who drink too much alcohol are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In 1980, the third edition of the Manual, DSM-3, identified alcoholism as a subset of a mental health disorder. The current edition, DSM-5, classifies alcoholism, now referred to as Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD), as a mental disorder presenting both physical and mental symptoms.
Alcohol abuse can cause signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and antisocial behavior, both during intoxication and during withdrawal. At times, these symptoms and signs cluster, last for weeks, and mimic frank psychiatric disorders (i.e., are alcohol–induced syndromes).