Alcoholics are very sensitive and often in denial about their disease, unaware that they may have another mental illness that alcohol is masking.

When they stop drinking, their mental illness comes to the surface and is easier to diagnose. It takes up to 12 to 15 years to diagnose Bipolar 2 in alcoholics. That’s why there are a lot of “dry drunks” walking around emotionally beating themselves up and/or blaming other people for their problems.

Heavy alcohol abuse directly affects brain function and alters various brain chemical neurotransmitters and hormonal systems known to be involved in the development of many mood and anxiety disorders. Co-dependency is another emotional issue plaguing alcoholics. They are not born co-dependent as this is a learned behavior growing up in a dysfunctional environment.

Thus, it is not surprising that alcoholism can manifest itself in a broad range of psychiatric symptoms and signs. The term “symptoms” refers to the subjective complaints a patient describes, such as sadness or difficulty concentrating, whereas the term “signs” refers to objective emotions like crying.

In fact, such psychiatric symptoms and signs may vary in severity depending upon the amounts of alcohol used, how long it was used, and how recently it was used, as well as the patient’s individual vulnerability to experiencing psychiatric symptoms in the setting of excessive alcohol consumption.

For example, during acute intoxication, smaller amounts of alcohol may produce euphoria, whereas larger amounts may be associated with more dramatic changes in mood, such as sadness, irritability and nervousness.

Alcohol’s disinhibiting properties may also impair judgement and unleash aggressive, antisocial behaviors that may mimic certain externalizing disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder. Psychiatric symptoms and signs also may vary depending on when the patient last used alcohol (i.e. whether he or she is experiencing acute intoxication, acute withdrawal, or protracted withdrawal) and when the assessment of the psychiatric complaints occurs.

For instance, an alcohol-dependent patient who appears morbidly depressed when acutely intoxicated may appear anxious and panicky when acutely withdrawing from alcohol. In addition to the direct pharmacological effects of alcohol on brain function, psychosocial stressors that commonly occur in heavy drinking alcoholic patients (e.g. legal, financial or interpersonal problems) may indirectly contribute to ongoing alcohol related symptoms, such as sadness, despair and anxiety.

Alcoholics rarely tell the truth when seeking help from their local doctor. Hence, they are often given anti-depressants for a range of mental health issues correlating with excessive use of alcohol. It often takes up to 12 to 15 years to correctly diagnose Bipolar 1 & 2 another underlying mental health issue masked by the use of alcohol. The reverse can also be seen in patients with long term sobriety but still suffering from mood swings, sadness, anxiousness, relationship issues, unwarranted anger, even though the patient is not abusing alcohol.

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between assorted commonly occurring alcohol-induced psychiatric symptoms and signs on the one hand and frank alcohol-induced psychiatric syndromes on the other hand. A syndrome generally is defined as a constellation of symptoms and signs that coalesce in a predictable pattern in an individual over a discrete period of time. Long term alcohol rehabilitation services have the professionals to determine this fine line.

Given the broad range of effects heavy drinking may have on psychological function, these alcohol-induced disorders span several categories of mental disorders, including mood, anxiety, psychotic, sleep, delirious, amnestic and dementia disorders. The essential feature of all these alcohol-induced disorders is the presence of prominent and persistent symptoms which are judged, based on their onset and course as well as the patient’s history, physical exam and laboratory findings, to be the result of the direct physiological effects of alcohol.

To be classified as alcohol-induced disorders, these conditions also must occur within 4 weeks of the last use of or withdrawal from alcohol and should be of clinical significance beyond what is expected from typical alcohol withdrawal or intoxication.

Alcohol-induced psychiatric disorders may initially be indistinguishable from the independent psychiatric disorders they mimic. However, what differentiates these two groups of disorders is that alcohol-induced disorders typically improve on their own within several weeks of abstinence without requiring therapies beyond supportive care like Alcoholics Anonymous.

It is often seen that bipolar disorder (i.e. mania or manic-depressive illness) is the second-most common disorder associated with alcohol dependence. Among manic patients, 50% to 60% abuse or become dependent on alcohol or other drugs at some point in their illness. Diagnosing bipolar disorder in alcohol patients can be particularly challenging.

Several factors, such as the under-reporting of symptoms (particularly symptoms of mania), the complex effects of alcohol on mood states and common features shared by both illnesses (e.g. excessive involvement in pleasurable activities with high potential for painful consequences) reduce diagnostic accuracy. Bipolar patients are also likely to abuse drugs other than alcohol (e.g. stimulant drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine), further complicating the diagnosis.

Referring patients to a specialist for a professional assessment before starting consulting for alcoholism. Alcohol is only a symptom of an underlying issue. Low statistics for long term sobriety is the direct result of alcoholics not being treated for underlying psychiatric disorders.

Patients are advised to supplement their diet when detoxing from alcohol by including Tyrosine Mood Food and L-Glutamine, to help balance their brain chemistry.

L-Glutamine supports efficient brain function and is the body’s most potent antioxidant and detoxifier.

Tyrosine Mood Food is necessary for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy, stable mood.

Magnesium Ultra Potent is also recommended to help them reduce stress and assist with a deep and restful sleep without having to use drugs or alcohol.

LivaTone Plus is a powerful liver tonic which supports phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification pathways, ensuring optimum detoxification of many toxic substances and also supports liver function and metabolism.

 

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.