Post on 07-Apr-2018
8/3/2019 Reducing Alcohol & Other Drugs
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/reducing-alcohol-other-drugs 1/2
FACT SHEET 9
Reducing alcohol
and other drugs
For more information www.beyondblue.org.au or beyondblue info line 1300 22 46361 of 2
Sometimes people use alcohol, cigarettes,
marijuana and other drugs to deal with their
problems and eelings. These substances can
cause long-term problems.
Most illegal drugs and alcohol interere with the
eects o prescribed antidepressant drugs. I
you’ve been drinking large amounts o alcohol or
taking other drugs, tell your doctor so you can get
the appropriate treatment.
Your doctor can also help you to make a plan
to stop smoking cigarettes. This is important as
cigarette smoking has negative eects on both
your physical and mental health.
DRINKING ALCOHOL
• Riskylevelsofdrinkingcanimpactonbothphysicaland
mental health.
• Forpeopleexperiencingdepressionoranxiety,alow-risk
level o drinking may mean not drinking any alcohol at all.
It’s important to discuss with your doctor what your
safe drinking levels are.
• Alcoholhasabriefmood-liftingeffect,butlatercauses
feelingsofdepression.Anyshort-termreliefalcoholprovides
doesn’t last and it can result in long-term harm.
• Intoxicationanddepressioncanbeadangerous
combination which puts a person at risk o suicide.
• TheAustralianguidelinestoreducehealthrisksfromdrinkingalcohol1 provide inormation on reducing risks to health rom
drinking alcohol or men and women. This includes drinking
no more than two standard drinks per day to reduce health
risks over a lietime.
CIGARETTE SMOKING
• Manypeoplewithdepressionoranxietytakeupcigarette
smoking and soon become addicted to nicotine.
• Smokersaretwiceaslikelytohaveamajordepressive
disorder as the general population.
• Smokersarelikelytoincreasesmokingwhendepressed.
1NationalHealthandMedicalResearchCouncil(2009). Australian guidelines to reduce health risks
from drinking alcohol.www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/_les/ds10-alcohol.pdf
• Peoplewhotrytoquitsmokingafteryearsofusemay
sometimesdevelopdepression,anxietyorirritabilityinthe
frst ew weeks and oten go back to smoking.
• It’simportanttoconsultyourdoctorifyoudevelopsymptoms
ofdepressionoranxietywhenyoutrytoquitsmoking.
SMOKING MARIJUANA
• Marijuanamaycausedepressionoranxiety,eveninpeople
who have never previously shown signs o having the illness.
• Thereisnoknown‘safe’levelofmarijuanause.
THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF
AMPHETAMINES (SPEED), ECSTASY AND
OTHER ILLEGAL DRUGS
Many people use illegal drugs to deal with their depression
oranxiety,but:
• theeffectsofthesedrugsmayincreasedepressionandanxiety
• ahighproportionofpeoplewhouseamphetaminesand
relateddrugsdevelopdepression,anxiety,panicattacks
and paranoia• ecstasyandrelateddrugscancauseseverementaland
emotional disturbances
• therearegrowingconcernsaboutdamagetobrainneurons
rom heavy use o amphetamines and ecstasy
• withdrawaleffectsofthesedrugscanincludedepression,
anxiety,irritabilityandagitation.
WHAT RESEARCH ON SUBSTANCE-USE
IN AUSTRALIA TELLS US
• Onein13Australianadultshasasubstance-usedisorder.
• Alcohol-usedisordersareaboutthreetimesascommonas
other drug-use disorders.
• Oftheillegaldrugs,marijuanaaccountsformoredrug-use
disorders than any other drug.
• Themajorityofchildrenundertheageof17yearshavenot
taken illegal substances.
• Menaremorethantwiceaslikelyaswomentohave
asubstance-usedisorder(11percentcomparedwith
4.5percent).
• Theprevalenceofsubstance-usedisordersactuallydeclines
withage.Forexample,oneinsixAustraliansaged18-24years
hasasubstance-usedisordercomparedwithjustonein90
over 65 years o age.
8/3/2019 Reducing Alcohol & Other Drugs
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/reducing-alcohol-other-drugs 2/2
FACT SHEET 9
Reducing alcohol
and other drugs
For more information www.beyondblue.org.au or beyondblue info line 1300 22 46362 of 2
• Thereislittledifferencebetweenratesofsubstance-use
disorders in rural and metropolitan areas.
• Australiansfromnon-Englishspeakingbackgroundsareless
likely to have a substance-use disorder.
HOW CAN YOU REDUCE YOUR ALCOHOL
AND DRUG USE ?
Partofreducingalcoholandotherdruguseistobeawareof
how much alcohol you are drinking and what drugs you are
taking.Recordingthisinformationinadiarycanbeauseful
waytokeeptrackofyourintake.Onceyouknowthis,there
are some ways to help yoursel.
1. Stop completely.
It’simportanttostopcompletelywhen:
• yourdepressionoranxietyissevere
• you’veexperiencedphysicalhealthproblemsasaresultof
your drinking or drug use
• you’vebecomedependentonalcoholoranotherdrug
• yourlifeandhappinessisaffected
• you’retakingantidepressants.
2. Moderate or control your use
It’s oten very hard to stop drinking or taking drugs completely.
Askingyourfamilyandfriendsforhelpisagoodplacetostart.
Your doctor can also develop a program to help you to change
your habits. Your doctor may prescribe medication i needed.
I you have developed drinking problems in association with
depressionoranxiety,it’simportanttocontrolormoderateyour
drinking.Agoodwaytoreduceyouralcoholordrugintakeistoset your own personal goals on how you plan to cut back. This
mayinclude:
• howmanyalcohol-freedaysyouwillhaveeachweek
(Itisidealtohaveatleasttwoalcoholfreedayseachweek.)
• howmanystandarddrinksyouwillhaveonanyone
drinking day
• whatyourmaximumnumberofstandarddrinksisperweek.
I you are depressed and are drinking alcohol or taking other
drugs, it is worth remembering that you need to set out to
address both problems. The two problems may relate closelyto each other, but once your pattern o substance use is
habitual, you will need to do something about it as well as the
depression in order to make a ull recovery.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?
• Don’tdrinkalone.
• Don’tdrinkwhenyouknowyou’redownoranxious.
• Don’tkeepalcoholinthehouse.
• Avoidsituationswhereyouknowyouwilldrinkexcessively
(e.g.bars,pubs,hotels).
• Limitdrinkingtomealtimes.
• Drinklow-alcoholbeersandmixers.
• Alternatealcoholicdrinkswithnon-alcoholicdrinks.
• Don’tdrinkduringtheworkingweek.
• Havealcohol-freedays,weekendsorweeks.
• Countyourdrinksandstopatapre-setlimite.g.twoperday.
• Drinkslowly–limityourselftoonedrinkperhour.
MORE INFORMATION
NDARC
www.ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/ndarc.nsf
T: 02 9385 0333
TheNationalDrugandAlcoholResearchCentre(NDARC)is
working to increase the eectiveness o interventions or drug
andalcoholproblemsinAustralia.
Quitline
www.quitnow.info.au
T: 131 858
Thisprogramcanhelpyouquitsmokingorhelpyoundout
more about how smoking harms you.
National Cannabis Prevention and
Information Centrehttp://ncpic.org.au
T: 1800 30 40 50
Cannabisinformationandresources
Australian Drug Information Network
www.adin.com.au
Centralpointofaccesstoalcoholanddruginformationand
servicesinAustralia
© beyondblue: the national depression initiative ,2009.
POBox6100,HawthornWestVIC3122
T:(03)98106100 beyondblueinfoline1300224636
F:(03)98106111
E:bb@beyondblue.org.au
W:www.beyondblue.org.au04/09