I drank for years while taking psych meds, and it certainly didn't help matters. I'm much better now that i've finally gotten sober, even though it's still really hard. From what I've read, and personal experience, if you're dually diagnosed (mental illness and substance abuse) then quitting the drug or alcohol is a little bit harder and you really have to be careful to treat both problems simultaneously. Also if you're self medicating with alcohol, you can be masking symptoms of mental illness - in my case once i got sober, after I'd been sober and really struggling for about 3 months I crashed into the worst depressive episode i've ever experienced and required hospitalization.

At a minimum, you should be honest with your prescribing Dr. about your drinking, otherwise they won't be able to help you.

splitimage