There is a complex link between alcohol and suicide; drinking can change how the brain works, strain relationships, and make an existing mental health condition harder to manage – all of which can impact the risk of suicide.
Whether you’re worried about your own drinking, or you’ve noticed changes in someone in your life and you’re trying to make sense of them, it’s important to understand that the risk isn’t only there once alcohol addiction looks obvious. It can affect someone dependent on alcohol for years and those who’ve never considered they have any challenges with their consumption.
At Castle Craig, your treatment plan is built around your drinking and your mental health, from the start. Whether it’s your own drinking or someone else’s, the next step is understanding what’s going on.
Alcohol dependency and suicide risk
If you’re in immediate danger, please call 999 or go to A&E.
If you need to talk to someone urgently, Samaritans are free to call on 116 123, any time, day or night.
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) is on 0800 58 58 58. Castle Craig isn’t a crisis service.
We treat alcohol addiction and mental health conditions on a planned basis. We’re not an emergency response service. These helplines are available for a crisis that you may be facing right now.
Table of Contents
How alcohol use raises the risk of suicide
Suicide is one of the more serious risks of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Samaritans research links suicide risk to both long-term alcohol use and to the effects it can have at the time. Alcohol can make it harder to manage difficult emotions, affect how someone copes with pain, and change how easily they read a social situation:
- One review found that people living with AUD are 10 to 14 times more likely to exhibit suicidal tendencies than people in the general population
- The same review noted that ~four in ten people living with AUD could attempt suicide at least once in their life
- A separate meta-analysis found that alcohol use disorder increases the risk of suicide by around 94%.
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What alcohol does to the brain and mood
Alcohol is a depressant that changes the balance of chemicals in your brain, including ones that affect your mood. Many of the dangers of alcohol for mental wellbeing build up gradually, which can make them hard to notice at first. Drinking a lot, or drinking every day, can make your mood worse over weeks and months. These effects can hit sooner too, with your mood dipping the day after a single heavy drinking session.
That’s part of why Drinkaware guidance states no more than 14 units a week, spread across three or more days, with several drink-free days.
If you’re already living with a mental health condition, alcohol can make it worse. Hangovers can also add to this which might leave you feeling ill, anxious, and jittery on top of everything else. Alcohol can also affect self-control, making it harder to stop a passing thought from turning into an impulsive action.
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How alcohol dependency affects relationships and support systems
Alcohol dependency can put strain on friendships and family relationships, and as difficulties repeat, those relationships can break down. A person can end up isolated, without the support network they’d normally rely on.
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Alcohol, mental health and suicide: the dual diagnosis link
Alcohol dependency can occur alongside conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. There is a strong link between drinking a lot on a regular basis and suicidal thoughts, attempts, and death by suicide.
When it comes to addiction and mental health, treating cases of dual-diagnosis well means treating both conditions at the same time. UKHSA data shows how common this overlap can be:
- An estimated 589,000 people in England are dependent on alcohol
- About a quarter of them are likely to be taking mental health medication, mostly for anxiety and depression.
The same data explains why treating both together helps reduce suicide risk specifically. NHS Trusts that introduced a clear policy for managing patients with mental health conditions and substance dependencies that reduced patient suicide rates by 25%.
Warning signs that alcohol use may be linked to suicidal thoughts
Some signs are easier to notice than others, and may include:
- Drinking more, or more often, than before
- Talking about feeling hopeless, trapped, or like a burden to others
- Withdrawing from friends, family, or things that were previously enjoyed
- Suddenly putting affairs in order
- Sudden calm after a period of depression or distress
- Direct or indirect talk about death or suicide
Any one of these on its own may not mean much. Several signs together, or a sudden change in someone’s usual behaviour, is a stronger reason to act.
If you’ve recognised any of these signs in yourself or in someone in your life, never hesitate to call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time.
You can also call CALM on 0800 58 58 58
NHS 111 can also help with urgent advice that isn’t a 999 emergency.
Castle Craig isn’t a crisis service, so please use these lines for anything immediate.
How Castle Craig approaches alcohol addiction and mental health treatment
At Castle Craig, we treat alcohol addiction and any mental health conditions together, at the same time. If your own experience has connected suicidal ideation and addiction, our dual diagnosis approach is built for that.
Treatment starts with a medically supervised detox in our dedicated unit, with doctors and nurses available around the clock. A Consultant Psychiatrist builds a personal treatment plan for each patient.
This can include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other talking therapies, alongside the 12 Step model of recovery. Our approach is abstinence-based, and it includes family therapy and a structured aftercare programme once treatment ends.
There are many ways to pay for addiction rehab, and we can help outline your options in plain terms. You can also read about the success rates of those at Castle Craig if you’d like to understand more about outcomes before you decide anything.
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If someone in your life is showing signs of alcohol use and suicidal thoughts
Addiction and suicide can be worrying to witness as it is to experience. It can be hard to watch someone you know go through this, and not know what to say.
Many people worry that asking directly about suicide might plant the idea or make things worse, but it has been noted in the past that asking someone directly about suicide doesn’t increase suicidal thoughts, and it may help reduce distress.
You don’t need the perfect words. Try something direct and honest, such as asking if they’ve been having thoughts of harming themselves, or telling them plainly that you’re worried and want to understand what’s going on for them. Listen without rushing to fix things, and let them know you’re there.
UKHSA data shows that between 2007 and 2017, there were 5,963 suicides in England among mental health patients with a history of alcohol dependencies.
source: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2020/11/17/alcohol-dependence-and-mental-health/
We’ve helped many people turn their lives around
Taking the first step
You don’t have to have made any decisions to get in touch. A call to Castle Craig is only a conversation, and it doesn’t commit you to anything.
- Call us to talk through your options, in confidence and without judgement
- Read more about our alcohol addiction and dual diagnosis treatment
- Save a helpline number, even if you’re not ready to use it yet
Whatever you decide today, Castle Craig is here when you’re ready to talk.
Frequently asked questions about alcohol and suicide
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What do UK statistics tell us about alcohol and suicide?
The government’s data on alcoholism and suicide is stark. Roughly one in ten suicide deaths in England involves someone with a history of alcohol misuse who was also known to mental health services. That’s close to 6,000 people between 2007 and 2017 alone. Part of the reason is how common the overlap is. Alcohol dependency itself affects an estimated 589,000 people in England, and a large share of them are also managing a mental health condition. NHS Trusts that treat alcohol and mental health problems as one combined issue have cut patient suicide rates by a quarter.
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Does how much you drink affect your risk of suicide?
Yes. Research on suicide and alcoholism shows the risk works in more than one way. Drinking a large amount in one go can raise it straight away, while ongoing alcohol dependency raises it in a different way, across months and years. Alcohol can also make it harder to handle pain and judge a social situation clearly, and either of those can tip the balance when someone is already struggling.
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What support services are available in the UK?
- Samaritans, free on 116 123, open 24 hours a day
- CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) on 0800 58 58 58
- NHS 111 for non-emergency medical advice, any time of day
- Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, for confidential advice about alcohol
- 999 or A&E if you or someone else is in immediate danger
