New Low

[frazm88]

Evening All,

trying to avoid posting as much as possible to shove anxiety to the back of my mind but here goes.

I find myself drinking nearly every weekend at the moment in order to escape my anxiety but the hangovers and general depression that follow are far outweighing the "enjoyment of drinking".

As a consequence of the drinking i've drummed a fair whack of debt up now swell and really have hit a new low this weekend, with smashing my phone to bits by accident.

I'm not actually sure why I felt the need to share this but hey.

[robinsky]

Can I suggest you try and not drink? It seems that the depression and hangovers are a symptom - if not, there is a deeper issue.

You posted here because you want help and hopefully we can help you.

Can you speak to anybody about your issues or maybe loan you some money to help you out until you can get yourself back on track, i.e. a family member?

Things will get better, given time. Trust. Positive Thoughts :-)

[spuder]

Hi I've read that alcohol causes you to be depressed it's a depressant I don't know if it's true or not xxxx

[blueangel]

Alcohol is definitely a depressant, as that is the overall effect it has on your brain. In the short term, in reduces inhibition, but this is a short-term effect. Alcohol is also very good at increasing anxiety - you'll find loads of posts on here about it.

[Emphyrio]

Everyone has smashed a phone accidentally at some point, drunk or not.

The main issues with alcohol are not the short-term effects (even though the hangover depression can seem horrible) but the long-term ones. Long term use of alcohol, particularly to those so predisposed, can raise the 'baseline' level of anxiety. Lots of people who suffer from generalised anxiety disorder were found to be long-term users of benzodiazepines or alcohol. In addition, the amount of alcohol needed to raise baseline anxiety differs between individuals - you don't need to be knocking back a bottle of whisky a night.

The good news is is that a baseline level of anxiety can return to how it was, but it can take a year or two,

[frazm88]

thank you for all your posts, apologies for the delay.

Yeah I think it's time I maybe knocked the drinking for a while to get my anxiety back under control, I think the drinking also comes down to boredom as well, but that is just looking for excuses also.

Does anyone have any way of handling social situations and not drinking without being made out like some sort of idiot?

thanks,

[Fishmanpa]

Does anyone have any way of handling social situations and not drinking without being made out like some sort of idiot?

Firstly, drinking and anxiety don't mix and if you're on meds, it's an even bigger no no.

Concerning social situations, usually, it's the other way around ;) It's been my experience that the ones drinking typically make idiots of themselves. Without trying to be cheeky (well maybe a little). Unless you are an an actual idiot, just be yourself :) And it's actually a lot of fun to watch others drink, get stupid and make fools of themselves ~lol~

Positive thoughts

[TooMuchToLiveFor]

Everyone has smashed a phone accidentally at some point, drunk or not.

The main issues with alcohol are not the short-term effects (even though the hangover depression can seem horrible) but the long-term ones. Long term use of alcohol, particularly to those so predisposed, can raise the 'baseline' level of anxiety. Lots of people who suffer from generalised anxiety disorder were found to be long-term users of benzodiazepines or alcohol. In addition, the amount of alcohol needed to raise baseline anxiety differs between individuals - you don't need to be knocking back a bottle of whisky a night.

The good news is is that a baseline level of anxiety can return to how it was, but it can take a year or two,

This is really interesting to me and I'd like to read more about it-- can you point me in the direction of where you found this information? Thanks!

[Emphyrio]

I found it on the wikipedia page on GAD - its well referenced to previous studies.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_anxiety_disorder