Alcohol Use and OCD Relief?

My grandparents had OCD and became lifelong alcoholics because they drank to get rid of the thoughts. Don’t be like them. It’s a slippery slope they couldn’t get away from after years of drinking like that.

Personally for me drinking in moderation has positive qualities. Roughly 5 days each week I drink 1 drink but never more than two in the same day .

This was a trap for me. I’d start to feel normal and then because I felt so good, I would keep drinking and drinking to excess. Sometimes I would pass out. Of course I’d wake up the next day and worry about all the bad things I could have done, which created false memories. I quit drinking 3 years ago and then over the past summer, tried it again for 2 months. Well that was a huge mistake because it created 2 new false memories that have caused me so much distress. So I have been sober again for about 7 months and am going to keep going this time.

So I used to go 2-3 months without a single drink and then go out for 1 day and get absolutely smashed then repeat that cycle. It worked for me until I got to my late 20s and then it became really detrimental i.e strong blackouts, shameful behaviour and terrible hangovers so now I barely drink at all. I went to talk therapy to try and get to the bottom of what I felt at the time where a few minor issues. My 2 monthly binges being 1 of them and I got told by my counsellor that he beleived i was an alcoholic which i totally disagree with. I suppose that everyone's definition of an alcoholic varies To answer your question I will start by saying why does anybody drink alcohol....well in my opinion it's because it relaxes us in the moment and gives us a break from our stresses and that applies whether or not you have ocd I would say that if your alcohol use is moderate, gives you some relief from your ocd and other stresses and isnt causimg you any issues like blackouts and hangovers then continue as you are. Afterall alcohol is a drug just like an ssri or anti depressant is and all of them come with potential side affects. The choice is yours to make buddy. I know lots of successful people that have 2-3 drinks everyday of the week and they don't have ocd or any other mental disorders. The question is would they have problems if someone took that away from them....it's an interesting debate

OCD and alcohol isn’t a good mix. Your OCD may tell you that it helps, but it’s tricking you . Drinking could be a compulsion to make you feel better, but it probably only helps for a few minutes, and it just leads to more bad behavior and disfunction. ERP therapy with therapists through NOCD is the best treatment, and it what I’m doing rather than drinking alcohol. It really works

Yes I did that for years until it blew up in my face. It’s the alcohol depressant effect calming the mind.

Yes, I find I have a similar experience. Probably has to do with lowering my anxiety, but when I sober up again the anxiety is back and sometimes worse. It’s possible that I feel guilty, or that I’m worried about what I may have done while not anxious. It doesn’t take a huge quantity, like you said it’s a modest amount that makes a huge difference for my mental state too. I found this meant I needed anxiety medication, and personally that has made a much more stable difference for me

Yes , I’ve used alcohol to self Medicare for quite a while. It definitely helps in the moment. I’m hoping with meds and therapy I can back off the alcohol

Yes, until it started to create false memories and now I’ve stopped drinking for good. It’s a very slippery slope

I agree with you all. I’m not suggesting that alcohol is a good replacement for meds and therapy and we all recognize the dangerous slope. I’ve got a lot of mental illness and alcoholism in my family, so I’ve always been cognizant of drinking. I don’t drink liquor or wine and I’ve even switched to light beer. But, just one or two beers and I feel like myself again. The thoughts and fears are so quiet. It is nice for a Friday or Saturday night only. But, I’ve also had more than 3 beers and I pay the next day - my OCD is twice as loud. Also, I watched the NOCD podcast last night on the connection between OCD and SUD (substance use disorder).

I had one glass of wine last night and felt relaxed, today I feel so much more anxious and my thoughts and mental compulsions are overwhelming so it wasn’t worth it

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