Hi folks,

I guess it's a well known fact that people with depression/anxiety disorders tend to use alcohol to 'take the edge' off the bad feelings.

I have been ill with the above for nearly all of my life (it started at 16). Alcohol has always been a part of my life, initially through peer group behaviour and then socially.

When my daughter was little I was teetotal for 7 years. I felt rough for a lot of that time, with a lot of anxiety which I managed to hold down. My friends tell me that alcohol is not my problem, and I think they are right, but I am concerned by how much I drink now that I am older.

I have a pattern, which is to drink most or all of a bottle of red
wine with an evening meal, to be slightly hung over the next day and then have a day clear. Then I do it again. So, I probably drink at most three bottles of red wine per week. It's not a huge amount, but I do find that the wine makes me feel easier, as if it were a medication rather than just a social drink. Also it helps me to eat, which has often been a problem with the anxiety. The alcohol also tends to 'jerk' me out of tired depression, and helps with the creative writing that I do.

I don't take any medication, despite having been prescribed SSRI's on more than one occasion. My fear of the SSRI's is a fear of getting panic attacks, which don't come very often these days. Also I have seen friends on SSRI's and I don't like the way it can change them.

So, my question is this. I have a coping strategy that includes three bottles of wine per week, maybe a bit less. This has been stable for ten years or so. Do people think that this is OK, or should I cut down or even give it up?

I have been pretty good at giving things up, I gave up smoking a few years ago, and I have never been hooked up on other recreational drugs, although I've tried them.