You Can Stop Drinking Now

As a teen you can have depression as a result of the situations surrounding you and the stressors you have in your life.  The old, worn out cliché is depressed moods are more common in teenagers also because of the process of maturing (hormones, etc.) which unfortunately is true, and depressed moods can come about from things like conflicts with your parents on issues such as your independence and privacy.

It can also be a reaction to a disturbing event, such as a breakup or something even more serious like a death of someone close to you.  If you are a teen who is prone to low self-esteem, you will be more critical of yourself and tend to feel that you have little control over your circumstances which will also contribute to depression and make you feel more vulnerable.

Your teen years as part of the natural process are going to be full of ups and downs.  Your feelings will range from you feeling that life sucks to everything is so great.  This is normal.  What isn’t normal is when you have a persistent depressed mood and it starts affecting other things in your life like your grades, failing relationships with family and friends, even some shoplifting incidents have been associated with depression.

So what would be a natural progression for a depressed teen?  Something that makes you feel better. Getting some relief from those bad feelings. It has been said many times that teens will drink to feel normal.  But drinking doesn’t make you feel normal.  It takes away the pain and is a form of escapism.  It’s called self medicating. That’s why a depressed teen is more vulnerable to alcoholism.  Plus the earlier you start the more likely it is that you will be a full fledged alcoholic when you get older.

The biggest problem with teen drinking is you are a work in progress.  You are still developing mentally and physically.  Your brain is still developing the capacity to learn life skills.  Drinking will damage the receptors in your brain and that in itself can make it harder for you on the road back from depression, not to mention side effects like short-term memory loss and emotional problems that will crop up with alcohol abuse.

Further, no one has to tell you your behavior is more risky under the influence.  You were the first to know.  Maybe you had sex sooner than you wanted to.  Maybe you aren’t using protection when you have sex.  Maybe you are driving under the influence.  You know better than anyone the risks you have been taking.

So now you have depression and a drinking problem - what are you going to do?

Since you are presumably in deep, seeking help for the drinking would be a good first step. Try to get rid of the negative influences and unnecessary stressors in your life. And as trite as this sounds, for the depression, the best way to beat depression, and it has been proven over and over again, is exercise. The more vigorous and the more often the better. Exercise releases the chemicals in your brain that make you feel better. It is also a very good idea to get involved in something you enjoy.  Preferably in a group so the situation forces you to be more outgoing if you have been withdrawn (being in a group helps to take your mind off of yourself) but if you really can’t manage that, find some activity that really means something to you and that you enjoy and do it by yourself.