Drinking is a common social activity, one which is popularized in modern culture. Just about every bar or restaurant, game night, or movie theater will offer alcohol. But sometimes people drink alone.
Is drinking alone, rather than in a group, a sign of depression?
Is Drinking Alone a Sign of Depression?
Unfortunately, this is not a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question.
Let’s start with the ‘no.’
Drinking alone isn’t always a sign of depression. Let’s look at an example:
Mary lives in a popular wine growing region. She recently went on vacation with her spouse for a wine tasting week. They bought several cases before returning home.
This week, Mary’s husband is out of town on business but she has made a steak dinner with which she wants some wine. So Mary opens one of their new bottles and drinks alone.
Consider Mary: Is drinking alone a sign of depression for her?
Probably not. She isn’t depressed, she isn’t drinking to mask or hide feelings. She is drinking a wine that she has paired with her food. What’s more, she isn’t drinking the entire bottle in one night, just a glass or two.
Now let’s look at another example:
Mary’s grandfather just passed away. She is incredibly upset over this loss, as they were quite close. Immediately after the funeral, Mary was tasked with cleaning out his home, and he was a bit of a packrat.
Mary would make a cocktail, alone, while working at her late grandfather’s house in the mid-afternoon, about the time she started to feel overwhelmed by all the good and bad emotions.
Consider Mary now: Is drinking alone a sign of depression now?
It isn’t at face value. However, it could be because she is drinking to help deal with negative emotions like grief. But it only becomes a serious issue if Mary continues to drink alone, continues to do so with more frequency, and does so instead of participating in other activities.
Let’s see where this example might diverge into a red flag of potential depression:
Mary’s brother and uncle come over to help over the next few weeks. They, too, are overwhelmed by emotion, so they take some time each day they are clearing away things from the house to have a few drinks and talk about the things they miss most, the silly stories or the embarrassing moments with their respective late family member.
In this example, the group is going through their grief and they are not using alcohol to avoid feeling negative emotions, or numb the pain. Plus, they are doing it together, as a form of bonding and camaraderie.
Things, however, can take a much more drastic turn if:
Mary’s brother and uncle come over to help over the next few weeks. Mary doesn’t want their help. She is often found drinking alone in another room, and acts like everything is ok. She stops answering calls or texts from friends over the coming weeks, withdrawals at work, and refuses to talk about her late grandfather.
In this case, the drinking alone is now an absolute sign of depression for Mary.
Drinking and depression often go hand-in-hand but it is important to know when it’s time to get help for either, or both.
Getting Help for Alcoholism
If you are struggling with your alcohol consumption, and find it difficult to moderate your intake or stop, then it might be time to consider alcohol rehab in Asheville, NC. At Ritual Recovery, we provide flexible partial hospitalization programs, intensive outpatient programs, and traditional outpatient treatment options.
We offer upscale facilities and housing with different programs like housing-included-PHP, day time PHP, and IOP. We provide clients with the opportunity to participate in different types of group therapy and one-on-one counseling as well as outings and activities on a weekly basis.
During a program, family programming gets scheduled via Zoom with holistic treatment available in addition to family programming, on-site activities and games as well as access to a library, musical instruments, and weight room. All of these activities help to boost mood and overcome signs of depression in addition to the group and individual counseling.
Overcoming addiction to alcohol means getting physically healthy, so a big part of that plan often includes good exercise on a regular basis as well as proper food. Those clients who reside at the facility have meals provided for them to help boost their physical and mental health while other clients have the opportunity to make their own meals.
If you are worried about drinking alone and whether drinking alone is a sign of depression, we can help. Call today to learn more: 866-530-5836.
