FRIDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) — While alcohol may be considered a depressant, teetotalers as well as heavy drinkers are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than moderate tipplers, a new study has found.
Norwegian and British researchers also found that people who don’t drink report having fewer friends than drinkers do, a possible reason for their increased likelihood of being depressed.
“We see that this group is less socially well-adjusted than other groups,” study co-author Dr. Eystein Stordal, an adjunct professor in the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s neuroscience department, said in a university news release. “Generally when people are with friends, it is more acceptable in Western societies to drink than not to drink. While the questionnaire recorded non-drinkers’ subjective perception of the situation, a number of other studies also confirm that teetotalers experience some level of social exclusion.”
Another possible explanation, the researchers said, had to do with general health of the teetotalers.
“We found on average that there were more people with physical complaints among the non-drinkers than in the other groups,” Stordal said. “These individuals are more likely to use medicines that mean they shouldn’t drink. But it may also be true that having such an illness increases a person’s tendency to be anxious or depressed.”
The study, based on a survey of 38,000 Norwegians and published in the August online edition of the journal Addiction, found high levels of depression and anxiety even when it factored out people who abstained from drinking because of previous problems with alcohol. In all, roughly 17 percent of abstainers reported having anxiety and nearly 16 percent reported having depression.
The researchers also found that people who averaged only two drinks per week reported the fewest bouts with depression or anxiety.
More information
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more about depression.
— Kevin McKeever
SOURCE: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, news release, Aug. 27, 2009
Last Updated: Sept. 04, 2009
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Comments (4)
Thats the problem right there, never trust a Norwegian!
Scenario 1. I do not drink. I am a 57 year old male with some free time to spare. We gather with a group of friends over the weekend for a barbecue. I drank a total of 15 beers.
Scenario 2. I do not drink. I am a 57 year old male with some free time to spare. I had a business meeting with an important business client in a Latin American country. That 2 million dollar deal for my company meant 3 bottles of whisky and some female companionship. Company paid.
Scenario 3. I do not drink. I am a 57 year old male with some free time to spare. I got divorced after 25 years of marriage. I am devastated. I got together with my friend John. We lost track of our drinking binge.
Scenario 4. I do not drink. I am a 57 year old male with some free time to spare. I work in the construction field day in and day out. I looking forward for the weekend so we can relax with some friends. We will have football, girls and beers.
The above scenarios are just some of the many possibilities an individual who does not normally drink could be drawn into a drinking binge, although drinking or not drinking would not make any difference regarding depression. If an individual sufferes from depression he most likely would drink as an avoiding mechanism to fend his disorder off, unfortunately.
people who are depressed do alot of things and think of alot of things. i think the best thing to do when depression strikes is to journal out ur thoughts. it really helps. i also get depressed and i turn to my friends or my journal.
I Love this programm bcos I Love to do with anything that have to do with Health.