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Mixing Alcohol and Antidepressants: Can You Do It Safely?

Medical detox entails a set of interventions designed to help you wean off alcohol gradually and safely to minimize the risk of harm and unpleasant or even dangerous side effects. If you’re at low risk of addiction to alcohol, it may be OK to have an occasional drink, depending on your particular situation, but talk with your health care provider. Most types of antidepressants are not likely to cause life-threatening side effects, so doctors may tell patients they can limit themselves to very moderate drinking, if necessary. Although both substances are legal and can be used safely in moderation on their own, it is not recommended to use them both at the same time. Several risks arise when alcohol and antidepressants are mixed that can produce unforeseen consequences for users.

1. NIAAA’s findings reflect the widespread pattern of alcohol use across the U.S.
2. Antidepressants are common prescription drugs, and they are often used safely without significant side effects.
3. Some doctors recognize that many of their patients will not want to give up alcohol entirely while on antidepressants, especially since many people take antidepressants for many months or years.
4. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products.
5. SSRIs work by blocking the absorption of serotonin in the brain, which allows messages to be more freely sent and received throughout the brain.

Alcohol.org is a subsidiary of AAC which is a nationwide provider of rehab centers. If you have anxiety-related depression, you may be treated with a benzodiazepine if your mental health symptoms don’t respond to first-line medications. While benzodiazepines are not typically grouped with antidepressants, they are used to treat mental health and can be deadly when mixed with benzodiazepines.

Alcohol and antidepressants are two widely used substances in the United States. Both are legal substances that are relatively affordable and easy to obtain. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

Table 1. Common Antidepressants

Always check the warnings and interactions in the labeling for your antidepressant. You can always ask your pharmacist if you can take any medicine with alcohol. And never abruptly stop taking an antidepressant unless directed to do so by your doctor. Some doctors recognize that many of their patients will not want to give up alcohol entirely while on antidepressants, especially since many people take antidepressants for many months or years. It is always important, however, to have a good understanding of how you react to your antidepressant first before mixing in alcohol.

American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. This article is written by Dr. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin and Mayo Clinic Staff.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) shares that, in 2015, more than 86 percent of people reported having used alcohol at some point during their life. Nearly 27 percent of this group reported binge drinking or heavy alcohol use in the past month, with more than 6 percent of people meeting the criteria for an alcohol use disorder. NIAAA’s findings reflect the widespread pattern of alcohol use across the U.S. You should avoid activities that requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the antidepressant affects you. If you must drink alcohol while taking antidepressants, do so with extreme moderation, and stay informed about the potential side effects. You can monitor the likelihood of experiencing symptoms of drowsiness and alertness after drinking alcohol if you already know how your antidepressant affects you.

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As previously mentioned, MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) are another group of antidepressants that can be dangerous when mixed with alcohol. They are known as a particularly strong class of antidepressant medications, and they may not be used if other options are available and effective. Certain alcoholic beverages contain a chemical called tyramine, which can be deadly when mixed with MAOIs.

Most antidepressants require taking a consistent, daily dose to maintain a constant level in your system and work as intended. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include Micromedex (updated 3 Mar 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 17 Mar 2024), ASHP (updated 10 Mar 2024) and others. When the substances are taken at the same time, they can cause potentiation, which is when symptoms become more intense. At relatively moderate doses of each, you could experience overdose symptoms, including respiratory depression and death.

Types of Antidepressants

When combined, they can cause your blood pressure to rise sharply, which raises the risk of a stroke or heart attack. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of antidepressants typically reserved to treat depression that is not responding to other medications, but they can cause serious interactions. MAOIs are not frequently prescribed, but can be important treatments for patients who fail other treatments for depression. NASSAs can be prescribed for the treatment of anxiety disorders and personality disorders as well as depression. They work by blocking negative feedback of norepinephrine and serotonin and thus increasing the amount of these mood-stabilizing neurotransmitters in the brain.

When used in combination with alcohol, TCAs become relatively ineffective at reducing symptoms of depression. In comparison to the other types of antidepressants, SSRIs don’t typically cause as many negative side effects when taken with alcohol. Consuming alcohol while also on SSRIs is still not advised, however, since alcohol can cause excessive drowsiness for someone on this type of antidepressant. Likewise, antidepressants are one of the three most commonly used therapeutic medications in the United States, reports the U.S. From 2011 to 2014, about one in eight people over age 12 reported taking antidepressants in the past month.

It’s important to remember that certain dietary supplements like St. John’s wort, an over-the-counter herbal supplement often used for symptoms of depression, may have drug interactions as well. Side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating can occur when mixed with alcohol. Avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with St. John’s Wort. Always check with your pharmacist for herbal supplement and other dietary supplement drug interactions. TCAs are an additional form of antidepressant that can be prescribed for the treatment of depression, fibromyalgia, some types of anxiety, and chronic pain.