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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.

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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