bipolar and alcohol.

do drinking alcohol make bipolar worse if u not taking medication also is it common for people who suffer from bipolar to turn to alcohol.

if ur like me u may hav a substance abuse disorder along with bipolar. i smoked a lloooot of weed but was able to quit easily once diagnosed. unfortunately alcohol is much harder to get over should it become a problem, and, being a depressant, may cause problems of its own regardless of a mood disorder! im currently trying not to drink so much, i try to keep it a social thing just remember: addictions begin when someone's looking for an escape... its good practice for me to 'just say no' to myself once in a while.

another thing i've heard is bipolar people sometimes tend to binge drink n such mostly when they're going through active cycles of mania or depression... i believe they inferred that the cycles incited substance abuse, and not vice versa. after the moods flattened out in the studies, so did drinking.

A person can have more than one mental illness. I have alcoholism, bipolar depression, and ADHD. I basically use AA and other 12-step fellowships to treat them all.

My guess is that alcohol, which reduces inhibitions, might make bipolar worse. The main probem though is that many of the drugs used to treat bipolar should not be used with alcohol.
Jim S

Is it possible that substance abuse could cause bipolar.

I drink. And, yes, it's to self medicate. Even I recognize this. It's to calm what I think and feel down to tolerable levels. When I'm severely depressed - I can't drink - it doesn't help (nothing does) - makes things worse. So I don't drink in the basement (in deep depression).

Substance abuse can induce mania. And, I would think it could cause depression. There is such a thing a substance induced mania - that I know for sure.

Bipolar can be activiated by many different medicines and drugs. I believe my bipolar illness was started by my drug abuse in college. Now, I'm stuck with a life long illness. But, many medicines that seem safe can start the cycle. It may be that the bipolar was just waiting to happen. I do not think we know all there is to know about bipolar or many other diseases.

I went to AA for my alcoholism. The AA fixed my alcoholism and my bipolar at the same time. I've been many years without alcohol and medications.
Jim S

im going to try my best in not having a drink this week. Hope i can manage it.