Split there is no doubt that the usage of substances will mask a whole variety of symptoms/behaviors that are relavent to a mental illness issue though it in and of itself can also be regarded as a symptom too, especially if the user (whether they actually are cognitive of the reasons or motivation) is essentially *self medicating* themselves.

That term self medicating is somewhat a misnomer because while in the begining the usage may feel benificial to the the individual eventually the usage is in no way a measured response to the depression (or whatever the mental state) it actually takes on a life of it's own and more often than not goes out of control and commonly creates a dependancy issue also which makes things worse because now it's another significant manifestation mentally AND physically!

When one mixes the SSRI's and booze it just is so totally counter productive and actually very negative, certaily if the it entails inebreation to boot.

That will really tax the dopamine producing mechanism leaving the person with less available rather than anything even approaching a normal level