Does everyone get anxious after drink or just us with anxiety issues?

[1irishninja]

The one thing sure to give me bad anxiety and possibly panic attacks is alcohol. Sure when I am drinking I feel bloody fantastic like all my worries and anxiety have gone, but the following day I can't leave the house with anxiety, If I do a panic attack is almost guaranteed.

I can help but wonder do other folk suffer this anxiety or just us with anxiety issues?

For example last weekend my wife and I went to a fancy hotel for my birthday, we hit the bar and crawled out in the wee small hours. When I woke I felt fine initially but that was because I was still drunk, when that wore of the anxiety kicked in, I sat at the breakfast buffet unable to eat due to anxiety and scary thoughts, the drive home was also as scary while non of this seemed to bother my wife.

What's you're thoughts?

[tamo]

Hi ,

Your not alone with this , there and many posts regarding this. I also have off the scale anxiety feelings or full blown panic if I over do it with alcohol . Over the years I learned to discipline myself with my intake due to the crippling nervous hangovers I suffered .
I think it all depends what's going on in your life at the time , for example if all is going nice with your health and family , finances , job etc I feel much better mentally and able to take a reasonable amount of drink without much anxiety next day but if life is throwing up some problems all that alcohol does is temporally postpone the anxiety feeling only to return much worse after it wears off , at least that is how my pattern seems to be .However I did have an alcohol issue years ago so maybe my make up is different . The thing is we seem to be over sensitized most of the time and the power of the alcohol seems to affect us worse . Please don't do as I used to do and go for a hair of the dog :ohmy: .

Good luck

[Fishmanpa]

I'm of the strong opinion that anxiety and alcohol don't mix. If you're on meds, there can be negative reactions as well. This thread and many, many more affirm my belief.

Positive thoughts

[Oosh]

I don't think they do no.

I've always wondered about it. Like they'll always say "ugh I'm hungover, got a headache". They appear to have a headache, feel rough, nauseous maybe.

That's not the hangover I used to be familiar with.

[kim!!]

That's exactly how I feel after a drink maybe I should stop till I get better because the hangovers are ten times worse then they are if I didn't have anxiety an depression? Like u said irishninja when your drinking u feel great so do I maybe that's why we drink to feel normal if that makes sense:huh:

[MyNameIsTerry]

The issue of alcohol is a complicated one. Its not as simple as it isn't for anxiety disorder sufferers by a long way. The issue of medication is also not straight forward and whilst some meds have danger warnings, others are ok with moderate drinking and some advise against it yet doctors are ok with it in moderation.

...and there are plenty of posts on here and other web forums that state they are NOT affected by alcohol. Anyway, how many people will ever start a thread saying 'I drank alcohol and my anxiety was fine' compared to someone posting about an issue. So, of course you will always get more people starting threads about it being negative otherwise I need to start creating threads about all sorts of things that haven't caused me anxiety!

Anyway, thats the blurb.

What I believe is that it is just like caffeine, high protein meals, stimulants in any form, gluten, lactose, etc - its individual and it depends on at what stage in your anxiety you are.

If you are at a bad stage, even vitamin B can be triggering yet we can't exist without it! Yet when you are at a good stage in your recovery, you are more likely to tolerate or have no side effects. Even exercise can trigger panic attacks!

So, the issue is about knowing yourself and treating it as an ERP exercise by starting small. If its adverse, you are not ready or are someone who needs their anxiety disorder gone first.

Going back to your thread title, no they don't. There is a very good reason for this though - they are not sensitised and using a magnifying glass to examine how they feel. I drank alcohol loads before my anxiety disorder started. This was until I was about 30!

I would get up after an hours sleep, feel grotty for a bit, go to work and deal with all the stress of that and by lunchtime feel good. After work I would be back out on the booze or out at a social event or doing something else energetic.

If I strip out the alcohol factor - what about barely sleeping and getting through the next day? How many people with anxiety disorders complain about feeling like garbage for such a rough night? I couldn't do it nowadays but back then I could easily get on with my day and feel great later in the day!

So, if alcohol is bad for anxiety, so is lack of sleep. But we know this already, don't we? But what we haven't thought about is secondary pain. Why do we have CBT? Isn't it to tell us to change how we respond and over time change how our subconscious thinks too? Mindfulness does the same, just in different ways. However, both look at secondary pain - our ability to make our own symptoms much worse?

So, if you get up with a hangover do you spend a load of time obsessing over why you feel the way you do or do you go to work and blast through it like someone without an anxiety disorder? I think I know which we would all be saying there. Surely it is the former, but it can be the latter as we recover because we are changing how we think about our disorder, its symptoms and our triggers.

The trouble is, I don't think people think of it in these broader terms and thats why we get the old "alcohol & anxiety don't mix" argument. Its just not that simple. Try drinking a standard cup of tea when you are at your worst anxiety stage possible and feel the palpitations starting yet spin forward a year or so after you have started recovering and see it not affect you in the slightest!

[GingerFish]

My anxiety and panics used to get worse the day after drinking. Even if I only had one drink, the anxiety would still be worse the next day. It put me off drinking for about 6 months. I recently started drinking again and I've been ok each day after drinking this time around so it must just flare up with every now and again.

[gregcool]

I can relate to this as people on hear know.iv got drunk many of times to help with the depression and to enjoy myself,only to get realy bad anxiety and depression the next day or two..when it happens to me i get really negative thoughts and bad DR AND DP which is the worse feeling

[theharvestmouse]

The bottom line is that alcohol is bad for you, there is medical evidence that backs this up. A glass of wine or a beer now and again is ok but anything more is damaging. For anyone sufferering with anxiety and or depression alcohol will only make the symptoms worse and in the long term it will add to your problems.

I hear some people boast about drinking, saying 'I don't get hangovers even when I drink a lot'. Well that is a very bad sign, your body becomes so used to it that your tolerance level is heightened, meanwhile your organs are struggling to function and are sufferering damage and long term damage that can kill you.

I speak as someone who used to binge drink , but now I have managed to cut down so much so that I rarely drink at all. For all my problems that I still have alcohol is one I don't want to have to add to the mix.

[MyNameIsTerry]

The bottom line is that alcohol is bad for you, there is medical evidence that backs this up. A glass of wine or a beer now and again is ok but anything more is damaging. For anyone sufferering with anxiety and or depression alcohol will only make the symptoms worse and in the long term it will add to your problems.

I hear some people boast about drinking, saying 'I don't get hangovers even when I drink a lot'. Well that is a very bad sign, your body becomes so used to it that your tolerance level is heightened, meanwhile your organs are struggling to function and are sufferering damage and long term damage that can kill you.

I speak as someone who used to binge drink , but now I have managed to cut down so much so that I rarely drink at all. For all my problems that I still have alcohol is one I don't want to have to add to the mix.

Well yes, alcohol is bad for all human beings. There are also conflicting studies coming out time & time again about certain forms being good for you, then bad for you, then good for you again!

And no, there are anxiety & depression sufferers who are not adversely affected by alcohol and it won't make any long term impact unless you are thinking about them using it as a "coping strategy", in which case I would agree with you.

[ricardo]

9 out of 10 doctors will tell you never to mix the two unless they themselves are an alcoholic.:D

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think my GP must be an alcoholic then! :D

They advise it in moderation though...and they say the same about caffeine yet so many of us can tolerate that much easier:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anxiety/Pages/self-help.aspx

Avoid caffeine
Drinking too much caffeine can make you more anxious than normal. This is because caffeine can disrupt your sleep and also speed up your heartbeat. If you are tired, you are less likely to be able to control your anxious feelings.
Avoiding drinks containing caffeine – such as coffee, tea, fizzy drinks and energy drinks – may help reduce your anxiety levels.

Avoid smoking and drinking
Smoking and alcohol have been shown to make feelings of anxiety worse. Only drinking alcohol in moderation or stopping smoking if you smoke may help reduce your anxiety.
The Department of Health recommends that men should not drink more than three to four units of alcohol a day and women no more than two to three units.

The same with smoking though but the benefits of giving that up are far more important for the long run.

To be honest, I find it curious that they don't advocate stopping alcohol consumption completely as a way to help anxiety as opposed to moderation on top as it could be an extra plus for some/many. Maybe thats too controversal and unrealistic so people wouldn't accept it?

[gregcool]

Well i enjoy a drink socialy and will continue to do so..i have gone mad a few times,as some of you know and regreted it..but nowadays i drink smaller amounts only..not making that mistake again...need to give up smoking tho as my chest is realy bad

[1irishninja]

I think my GP must be an alcoholic then! :D

They advise it in moderation though...and they say the same about caffeine yet so many of us can tolerate that much easier:



Avoid caffeine
Drinking too much caffeine can make you more anxious than normal. This is because caffeine can disrupt your sleep and also speed up your heartbeat. If you are tired, you are less likely to be able to control your anxious feelings.
Avoiding drinks containing caffeine – such as coffee, tea, fizzy drinks and energy drinks – may help reduce your anxiety levels.

Avoid smoking and drinking
Smoking and alcohol have been shown to make feelings of anxiety worse. Only drinking alcohol in moderation or stopping smoking if you smoke may help reduce your anxiety.
The Department of Health recommends that men should not drink more than three to four units of alcohol a day and women no more than two to three units.

The same with smoking though but the benefits of giving that up are far more important for the long run.

To be honest, I find it curious that they don't advocate stopping alcohol consumption completely as a way to help anxiety as opposed to moderation on top as it could be an extra plus for some/many. Maybe thats too controversal and unrealistic so people wouldn't accept it?

I never had any issues with smoking or caffeine. I suffered anxiety day in day out for a long time. These past couple of years though I have been fine, the only thing that will bring back those feelings of anxiety is alcohol.

[MyNameIsTerry]

The last time I had alcohol (pre relapse and about 5 years ago now as I am not drinking thesedays until I'm in a much better place) I was ok with it. But I would struggle with a stimulant like a supplement that ramped me up. For me, that would be closer to my symptoms whereas with hangovers it would only be more the acheing side.

Is it a volume thing do you think? So, if you drink over X you get this effect but drink under X and it doesn't happen?

[sial72]

I felt sooooo bad after drinking and had such terrible anxiety and felt so guilty for doing "stupid" things that in the end I gave up drinking all together.
At the time it was very difficult because my social life all revolved around drinking and because it also helped to loosen up and not feel so shy. I was 27 when I gave up.
After some time I learnt to enjoy myself just the same (or more) without drink.

[1irishninja]

I felt sooooo bad after drinking and had such terrible anxiety and felt so guilty for doing "stupid" things that in the end I gave up drinking all together.
At the time it was very difficult because my social life all revolved around drinking and because it also helped to loosen up and not feel so shy. I was 27 when I gave up.
After some time I learnt to enjoy myself just the same (or more) without drink.

I change completely when drinking, and other people comment on it, I go from the person who speaks to no one to the loud mouth.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I felt sooooo bad after drinking and had such terrible anxiety and felt so guilty for doing "stupid" things that in the end I gave up drinking all together.
At the time it was very difficult because my social life all revolved around drinking and because it also helped to loosen up and not feel so shy. I was 27 when I gave up.
After some time I learnt to enjoy myself just the same (or more) without drink.

I lost all my friends due to anxiety due to my own avoidance but all of it revolved around drinking. Its just like for young blokes in my neck of the woods.

I would drink again but not to get hammered like I used to. I have found though that you miss it for a few years and after that it barely ever enters your mind anymore and you find yourself looking for sober hobbies & interests.

[1irishninja]

The last time I had alcohol (pre relapse and about 5 years ago now as I am not drinking thesedays until I'm in a much better place) I was ok with it. But I would struggle with a stimulant like a supplement that ramped me up. For me, that would be closer to my symptoms whereas with hangovers it would only be more the acheing side.

Is it a volume thing do you think? So, if you drink over X you get this effect but drink under X and it doesn't happen?

I don't think its volume, last night I have 5 light beers, the are low strength around 3.8%. Been anxious all day and irritable. I think I am just going to have to avoid alcohol altogether, It does not mix well with me.