What Happens if You Take Antidepressants and Alcohol?

The Effects and consequences of taking antidepressants and alcohol they are rather negative. Although in principle it will depend on several factors (specific or continuous alcohol consumption, type of antidepressant consumed and dose, etc.) It is very convenient to carry out this mixture of substances due to the chemistry that they generate with possible harmful reactions to our organism.

Next, from Psychology-Online we will expose in a little more detail some aspects to take into account in this situation.

Index

1. What happens if I take alcohol and antidepressants?
2. Interaction between alcohol and antidepressants
3. Effects of mixing alcohol and antidepressants
4. Consequences of alcohol and antidepressant consumption
5. Can you have antidepressants and beer without alcohol?

The mixture of alcohol and antidepressants It can be due to several reasons:

1. The person is taking antidepressants and occasionally considers drinking alcohol (at lunch or dinner, for example).
2. The person is taking antidepressant treatment and the same depression leads him to consume alcohol frequently.
3. The person habitually consumes alcohol (cases of "alcohol dependent syndrome") and, while alcohol abuse has a depressant effect, decides to take antidepressants.

In the three possible cases, the most advisable thing would be for a doctor to adequately inform us about the convenience or not of the combination of both substances. However, it is possible that this decision is made unconsciously (especially in cases 2 and 3), usually pushed by an internal malaise that does not allow responsible decisions for your own health.

In cases of antidepressant treatment, personal characteristics and the type of antidepressant taken and its dose will determine the efficacy of the treatment, the manifestation of side effects and the specific interaction that the drug has with the intake of alcohol. In the case of people with alcohol dependence syndrome, it is recommended, before consuming sporadically and unconsciously antidepressants, seek professional help to solve your trouble.

Both alcohol and antidepressants have, among other effects, a direct action on the serotonin secretion in our brain. The serotonin It is a neurotransmitter that functions as a regulator of certain behaviors and bodily needs, promoting effective self-regulation of the body. Depression generates a deficit in the availability of serotonin that causes imbalances in said self-regulation (sadness, loss of interest, appetite and sleep disorders, fatigue, ideas of suicide, etc).

Antidepressants, as their name suggests, work to counteract the effects of depression by synthesizing serotonin in the brain to restore unbalanced functions. There are different types:

• Tricyclic antidepressants (such as imipramine and nortriptyline)
• MAOIs o monoamine oxidase inhibitors (such as tranylcypromine and phenelzine)
• SSRIs or selective serotonia reuptake inhibitors (such as fluoxetine, paroxetine and sertraline)
• IRSNs o Selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (such as duloxetine and venlafaxine)

Currently, the most widely used are SSRIs and SNRIs because they produce fewer side effects.

The alcohol, on the other hand, when it involves moderate consumption has an antidepressant effect while increases the availability of serotonin in the brain. For this reason, the interaction between antidepressants and alcohol causes an excessive increase in serotonin in the brain that manifests itself with various effects that we will discuss in the next section. On the other hand, when alcohol consumption becomes continuous and prolonged, its effect changes, generating a greater demand for serotonin in the brain and, therefore, contributing to increase (or relapse in) symptoms depressive

In the following article you can read the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system.

As we have just mentioned, the mixture of alcohol and antidepressants contributes to unnecessarily increasing serotonin levels in the brain causing, mainly:

• Alterations of the musculoskeletal system.
• Psychorganic disorders and psychological disorders due to their effects on the Central Nervous System.
• Repercussions on the cardiovascular system, increasing blood pressure.
• In general, the consumption of alcohol together with antidepressants presents adverse effects causing greater symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The most serious symptoms caused by the intoxication of this serotonin syndrome can be:

• High fever
• Epileptic attacks
• Irregular heart beats
• Unconsciousness, which can cause death

Taking into account all the aforementioned, the consequences of the consumption of alcohol and antidepressants will be one or the other depending on the person and the treatment and dose that they are taking. However, in general, we can speak of adverse and harmful effects on health due to the chemical interaction caused by the mixture in the body: increased risk of accidents and falls, dizziness, behavioral disturbances, even overdose.

Consulting various sources it has not been clear to us whether the consumption of beer without alcohol is appropriate or not if you are undergoing antidepressant treatment. In principle, the appropriateness of its consumption will depend on several factors:

• that the non-alcoholic beer does not contain any degree of alcohol (There are "without" beers with small percentages of alcohol)
• consumption should be occasional and moderate
• it will depend on the personal characteristics and the type and dose of the treatment, as we mentioned previously.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What happens if you take antidepressants and alcohol?: Effects and consequences, we recommend that you enter our category of Psychopharmaceuticals.

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• Moreno, R. A., Moreno, D. H., & Soares, M. B. D. M. (1999). Psychopharmacology of antidepressants. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 21, 24-40.
• Royal College Psychiatrists (March 2007). Antidepressants. Ed. Philip Timms
• Stahl, S. M., & Pérez, V. S. (2009). PEssential psychopharmacology / Neuroscientific bases and clinical applications (No. 159.91: 615). Ariel ,.