Medically Reviewed:
Dr. Randy Gelow, MD, FASAM
Ray Hamilton, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FNP-C
Last Updated: July 22, 2025
Many people taking Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)—like sertraline (Zoloft)—wonder: Is it safe to drink on sertraline? Unfortunately, combining alcohol and sertraline can lead to increased side effects, reduced treatment effectiveness, and even serious health risks. Whether you’re treating depression, anxiety, or another mental health condition, understanding this interaction is essential for your safety and recovery.
Sertraline is a widely prescribed SSRI that helps regulate serotonin levels in the brain, improving mood, focus, and emotional balance. It’s commonly used for depression and anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. While effective, sertraline also affects blood pressure, heart rate, and brain chemistry—making interactions with alcohol potentially dangerous.
Mixing alcohol and Zoloft doesn’t just cause discomfort—it can interfere with your treatment and increase health risks. This combination leads to an increased risk of sedation, mood instability, and complications that may impact recovery from depression or anxiety.
1. Increased Drowsiness & Impaired Coordination
Both substances slow the central nervous system. Combining them can lead to excessive drowsiness, poor motor skills, and slowed reaction time. This makes everyday activities like driving unsafe.
2. Intensified Side Effects
Mixing alcohol and antidepressants such as sertraline may worsen side effects like nausea, headaches, dizziness, and irregular heartbeat. Alcohol can also reduce how well sertraline works.
3. Emotional Instability
Alcohol is a depressant. It can interfere with the progress you’re making on sertraline by lowering your mood, increasing anxiety, and reversing improvements in motivation or mental clarity.
4. Risks for Blood Pressure & Heart Health
Both alcohol and sertraline can influence blood pressure and heart rate. Together, they may cause fluctuations that strain cardiovascular health, especially in those with pre-existing conditions.
The sertraline and alcohol interaction is more than just about side effects—it may compromise your entire treatment plan. Sertraline works by balancing serotonin levels, and alcohol can disturb this balance. Even light drinking alcohol may trigger unexpected reactions or limit the benefits of your antidepressant.
It’s especially risky when mixing alcohol and antidepressants with other medications. Combining sertraline with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), opioids, or sleeping pills can increase sedation, risk of overdose, or serotonin syndrome.
In rare cases, combining SSRIs like sertraline with alcohol or other drugs may contribute to serotonin syndrome—a serious condition where serotonin levels in the brain become dangerously high. Symptoms include:
Seek medical attention immediately if these symptoms occur.
Some patients ask if light or moderate drinking is ever acceptable. In a few cases, your doctor may allow one standard drink occasionally, especially if your condition is stable and you’re not taking other medications. However, even then:
When in doubt, avoid alcohol entirely and consult your doctor or pharmacist.
Even if your doctor allows light alcohol use, drinking on sertraline still carries an increased risk of side effects, relapse, or worsening symptoms of depression. Since SSRIs are prescribed during vulnerable stages of recovery, alcohol—a depressant—can disrupt emotional stability and progress.
It may also delay how quickly sertraline works, especially early in treatment. For those with co-occurring alcohol use disorder, the risk of medication failure is even greater.
That’s why many providers recommend avoiding alcohol altogether while your treatment plan stabilizes. Long-term success often depends not just on the right medication—but on building healthy, consistent habits.
Watch for these warning signs that drinking alcohol may be interfering with your recovery:
These are important cues to reassess alcohol use while on sertraline.
Alcohol can amplify the effects of many medications when used alongside sertraline. For example:
Avoiding alcohol becomes even more important when you’re on more than one medication.
If you’ve already combined alcohol and sertraline and are feeling unwell, don’t panic—but take action. First, avoid consuming more alcohol. Pay attention to symptoms like confusion, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, or nausea. If any of these become severe or don’t go away, seek medical attention immediately.
Keep a record of when you took your medication, how much alcohol you drank, and how you felt afterward. This will help your provider determine whether any adjustments are needed to your treatment plan.
It’s also helpful to bring up these episodes during your next doctor’s visit—even if they seemed minor. Being transparent allows your care team to spot patterns and prevent potentially dangerous interactions before they happen again.
If alcohol use disorder is complicating your recovery from depression or anxiety, it’s okay to ask for help. In some cases, medications like Acamprosate may be used to reduce alcohol cravings as part of a broader treatment plan. Other support options include:
Mixing alcohol and sertraline isn’t just inconvenient—it can interfere with your treatment, raise health risks, and slow your recovery. Even small amounts of alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of antidepressants or trigger harmful side effects.
At The Hope House, we understand the challenges of treating depression and co-occurring alcohol use. Our team offers tailored care to support your mental health while helping you build healthier habits. With expert guidance and evidence-based treatment, recovery is always within reach.
