5 Things to Know About Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Use

It also has the potential to trigger a manic episode, which is a risk all stimulants have. Have you been experiencing severe mood swings between sadness and depression, and extreme joy and hyperactivity over the past year? This could be important because those are symptoms of bipolar disorder.

Let’s explore the connection because the more you know, the safer your choices can be. Bipolar disorder and alcoholism co-occur at higher than expected rates. That is, they co-occur more often than would be expected by chance and they co-occur more often than do alcoholism and unipolar depression.

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This can cause deterioration of the mind and psychological health faster and may require hospitalization to stabilize. Alcohol and bipolar disorder are illnesses that are closely related with one study suggesting over 27% of people with it abusing or addicted to alcohol. This number is more shocking considering almost 3% of the population can be diagnosed with this.

• There are a number of disorders in the bipolar spectrum, including bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, and cyclothymia.
• Some evidence is available to support the possibility of familial transmission of both bipolar disorder and alcoholism (Merikangas and Gelernter 1990; Berrettini et al. 1997).
• Today, strategies that promote concomitant therapy of dual disorders are the established treatment of choice (80) and recommended in major guidelines (81).
• Although there is little research to treat both these disorders simultaneously, therapy is a key success factor for any disorder.

Still other studies have suggested that people with bipolar disorder may use alcohol during manic episodes in an attempt at self-medication, either to prolong their pleasurable state or to sedate the agitation of mania. Finally, other researchers have suggested that alcohol use and eco sober house complaints withdrawal may affect the same brain chemicals (i.e., neurotransmitters) involved in bipolar illness, thereby allowing one disorder to change the clinical course of the other. In other words, alcohol use or withdrawal may “prompt” bipolar disorder symptoms (Tohen et al. 1998).

Treatment Options for Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Use

Depending on the diagnostic system (ICD or DSM) used and subject sample studied, bipolar affective disorder (BD) in the general population has a lifetime prevalence between 1.3 and 4.5% (1). The World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey Initiative (2) conducted across eleven countries reported a 4.8% lifetime prevalence of all manifestations of bipolarity, including subthreshold and spectrum disorder. This paper has examined the importance of the comorbidity of BD and AUD. 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. Despite some ongoing studies, the research field still reflects the current therapeutic field; namely there are few integrated treatment programmes in existence, and even fewer leading to therapeutic guidelines. It is only through demonstration of the effectiveness of treatment integration that there will be extensive therapeutic efforts to bridge psychiatric treatment programmes and services, and substance abuse treatment programmes and services.

• Additionally, when someone is going through alcohol withdrawal, it can potentially mirror some symptoms of bipolar disorder.
• Unfortunately, several studies have reported that substance abuse is a predictor of poor response of bipolar disorder to lithium.
• However, improvement of mood was not confirmed in a double-blind study with naltrexone add-on to cognitive behavioral therapy, and there was only a trend toward less alcohol consumption (121).
• SUD comorbidity is not exclusive to adult bipolar patients but starts early in life.
• This review details methods for meeting the challenges of diagnosing and treating mood disorders that coexist with substance use disorders.
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) advises using an integrated treatment approach to address co-occurring disorders properly.

By interacting with medical professionals who can provide valuable advice, patients learn helpful coping mechanisms to help during their lifelong recovery. Additionally, group sessions put patients around peers who have similar struggles, which can help people recognize that they aren’t alone in their recovery. Bipolar and alcohol use disorder treatment involves going through detoxification to remove the physical presence of alcohol from the patient’s body. However, the specific level of care someone experiences can vary based on the severity of their addiction, their family’s history with addiction and mental illness, and whether they have experienced rehab before. People who are both alcohol abusers and bipolar will notice overlaps between the disorders. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 5.7 million Americans have bipolar disorder.

Preisig and colleagues (2001) conducted a family study of mood disorders and alcoholism by evaluating 226 people with alcoholism with and without a mood disorder as well as family members of those people. The researchers found that there was a greater familial association between alcoholism and bipolar disorder (odds ratio of 14.5) than between alcoholism and unipolar depression (odds ratio of 1.7). A positive family history of bipolar disorder or alcoholism is an important risk factor for offspring.

The “mood swings” between mania and depression can be very sudden, and patients are at high risk for suicide. Patients in the quetiapine group experienced significant improvement in mood, but sobriety was not enhanced. 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. Your path to restoration starts with medication and working toward more health-promoting behaviors. SUD comorbidity is not exclusive to adult bipolar patients but starts early in life.

Comorbidity of Bipolar Affective Disorders in Alcohol Use Disorder Patients

A meta-analysis including nine national surveys conducted between 1990 and 2015 revealed a mean prevalence of 24% for AUD and of 33% for any SUD except nicotine (28). Analyzing SUD and bipolar comorbidity in clinical settings, the same group reports the highest prevalence for AUD (42%) followed by cannabis use (20%) and any other illicit drug use (17%) (21). Cannabis ranking second after AUD has also been confirmed in other studies (7, 27, 29). Similar rates of SUD were also reported in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program Bipolar Disorders (STEP BD) study including 3,750 Bipolar I or II patients (30). A mental health illness called bipolar disorder, originally known as manic depressive disorder, is related to both depressive and manic episodes. Some bipolar mood disorder patients use alcohol or drugs to manage their emotional highs and lows.

People with bipolar disorder frequently use alcohol to numb the condition’s symptoms. The uncontrollable state that is felt can be reduced with medication, which lessens the desire to use alcohol to relieve. In addition, many bipolar drugs have particularly bad interactions with alcohol, leading to unpleasant side effects like severe hangovers and vomiting.

Many of the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy are commonly applied in the treatment of both mood disorders and alcoholism. Weiss and colleagues (1999) have developed a relapse prevention group therapy using cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for treating patients with comorbid bipolar disorder and substance use disorder. This therapy uses an integrated approach; participants discuss topics that are relevant to both disorders, such as insomnia, emphasizing common aspects of recovery and relapse. The mood stabilizers known as anticonvulsants are the ones that are most usually used for alcohol and bipolar disorder. Bipolar illness medications can help avoid or minimize the symptoms of mania and depression. Bipolar disorder sufferers run a high risk of major manic or depressive episodes if they stop taking their meds, believing their symptoms have been treated.

Mania

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have a reported safety advantage in treating patients with a history of excessive alcohol intake.44 Another advantage is that SSRIs are seldom abused and seldom lower seizure thresholds significantly. Deleterious effects of alcohol on motor skills or cognition are not potentiated. If you or your loved one is using substances to help with handling bipolar disorder, know that you’re not alone in this mindset. A lot of people find themselves trying to self-medicate to help cope with symptoms.

Drinking on bipolar medication can turn one drink into several, especially drinking on an empty stomach. Alcohol can also destabilize bipolar disorder, giving up your control of emotions to an empty glass. Aripiprazole is an antipsychotic that partially agonizes dopamine receptors. Aripiprazole was used as an adjunctive intervention in a randomized trial of 35 patients with comorbid alcohol dependence and depression.37 There was less depression in both the aripiprazole plus escitalopram group and the escitalopram group. Imaging showed a change in activity in the left cingulate gyrus in the patients with comorbid alcohol dependence and MDD. The action of aripiprazole may be mediated through the anterior cingulate cortex.

The depressive side of bipolar disorder is the same as major depression. It comes with feelings of sadness, guilt, hopelessness, anger or possibly no feeling at all. It can also come with sleeping too much or not enough, changes in weight, unexplained aches and pains, and in some worst cases, thoughts of suicide. Alcohol has frightening effects on bipolar depression and bipolar depression medication. When you choose not to use alcohol, you improve your experience with bipolar depression, and you help your medications work. People who suffer from bipolar disorder often feel out of control or out of touch with their life.

Wellbutrin interacts with alcohol in ways that increase the risk of hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress, and more. Another example is how alcohol interacts https://sober-house.org/ with anti-anxiety medications used to treat bipolar disorder. Medications made with benzodiazepines like clonazepam interact with alcohol in ways that cause anxiety, depression, drowsiness, and slowed breathing.