Alcoholism & MDD. Depression and Alcohol Use. Alcohol and Depression

Alcoholism and MDD
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For many depressed patients, drinking is likely to interfere with the successful treatment of the disease. According to Katie Witkiewitz and Connie Stauffer, major depressive disorder, also known as depression or simply MDD, is a serious mental disease that is characterized by a minimum of fourteen days of low mood (Witkiewitz & Stauffer, 2014). The disease accompanies low-esteem or loss of interest in day-to-day activities. In some circumstances, back pain and headache are also caused. Both alcohol use disorder and major depressive disorder are linked with one another and are serious psychiatric illnesses that can lead a person’s life within days or weeks.
Accessing the role of alcohol in a person with a major depressive disorder is possible with physical examination, laboratory tests, and psychiatric evaluation. While doing a physical examination, we will have to ask a number of questions regarding the health and lifestyle of the patient. In some cases, depression can be linked with an underlying physical complication. In addition, certain blood tests (such as a complete blood count or testing the thyroid of the patient) are done. The psychiatric evaluation begins by asking questions about the patient’s feelings, symptoms, behavioral patterns and thoughts.
Moreover, alcohol dependence (AD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) share certain genetic factors, which may lead the patient to have long-term periods of depression. If the patient is having depression for nearly two years, then it can be assumed that they are depending on alcohol for ...