Why does alcohol make stress and depression “go away” almost instantly but is making it worse in the long run?
In: 125
The reason some say that alcohol makes depression/anxiety better in the short term but worse in the long term is based around the assertion that depression and anxiety have causes, and that by medicating the symptoms away, it becomes too easy to avoid addressing the causes. Consequently the depression and anxiety never go away, and require constant medicating for relief.
Imagine having a broken arm and taking prescription pain medication to help manage the pain. It’s effective, but at some point we might hope that you’d get the bone set and healed so the pain goes away naturally instead of being on pain meds with a wonky arm for the rest of your life.
It’s the same with alcohol vs. depression/anxiety. We’d like people to address the causes, not just medicate the symptoms, otherwise the causes continue to manifest and make life harder over time.
Latest Answers