This was definitely the case with me. However I was on Mirtazapine (Remeron/Avanza) and went from a person who had to force myself to eat breakfast to someone who woke up with an intense need for porridge and loads of brown sugar. I put on so much weight and asked to be transferred to Zoloft, as I have a friend who takes that and he is very thin and describes it as being a life saver for him.

Within a couple of weeks of taking it I was relieved to feel the weight slipping off - I actually had quite intense diarrohea and my cravings for sugar had disappeared. However, I began to want a little drink at lunch time, at first it was a fun cheeky feeling that I associated with wanting to be more sociable and coming out of my shell. But very rapidly I began to CRAVE ALCOHOL! At my lowest point, I was drinking wine in the shower (in the morning) to hide it from my partner.

Yet, I didn't want to give up the Zoloft. It really did help enormously with the anxiety and it actually took away the guilt I felt at drinking. I know I was upsetting people and neglecting my work/household duties etc but I felt wonderful.

I've suffered for years with anxiety and depression, had anorexia as a young woman, and social anxiety/extreme shyness all my life. I have a high IQ which hasn't translated into any success in life. My relationships never last. I have 7 year old son who was diagnosed as on the Autism Spectrum. He is also extremely bright but suffers from a lack of social awareness, inability to make friends and I can see him growing up with the consequences of that.

I recognise these traits, to varying degrees, in family members. None of us really quite know how to socialize or do the things that a 'normal' family are supposed to be interested in doing. Perhaps my brother and I would have been diagnosed with Aspergers if it had been as recognised as it is today. Our parents are also both quite eccentric, so they may not have accepted such a diagnosis anyway. They are very lucky that they have each other, however neither my brother nor myself have been able to find a partner who really 'gets' us.

There is a strong link between high IQ, social anxiety and alcoholism. However it is usually thought of as environmental rather than biological. I genuinely believe that Zoloft has 'switched on' that part of my brain that had a genetic susceptibility to alcoholism. Even though I am no longer taking any antidepressant (which is very difficult and I am open to trying a new one), the cravings and constant desire to drink has not gone away. I have tried Naltrexone, Campral, Topiramate and am now starting Baclofen, but it's the most intense craving and I don't know if it will ever go away.

Michelle