View Full Version : anxiety and alcohol
So, the last three bouts of my anxiety/depression have all came on after a drinking session with pals. I am on escitalopram and that seems to have helped me, but getting drunk throws me out and puts me backed feeling depressed and anxious for weeks. Think i can now safely say, i wont be having any more alcohol, not worth the hassle. Problem is, once things settle down and i feel good again, it's hard not to get into social scene like that, just have to say no from now on, i know it is a trigger for my anxiety
So, the last three bouts of my anxiety/depression have all came on after a drinking session with pals. I am on escitalopram and that seems to have helped me, but getting drunk throws me out and puts me backed feeling depressed and anxious for weeks. Think i can now safely say, i wont be having any more alcohol, not worth the hassle. Problem is, once things settle down and i feel good again, it's hard not to get into social scene like that, just have to say no from now on, i know it is a trigger for my anxiety
Great common sense decision Shiz... good for you! :yesyes:
Positive thoughts
Hi , I used to drink quite a lot at weekends every weekend from about 14 to 40 went on citalapram had a real bad reaction and haven't been able to drink since I can have one maybe two and then my anxiety goes through the roof and I can't sleep , I still try every now and then but always the same , I miss it so much used to be my escape , had a pretty good run but my old mates are drinkers so I don't go out anymore , for some alcohol and mental problems just don't mix , cheers or maybe not
Hi , I used to drink quite a lot at weekends every weekend from about 14 to 40 went on citalapram had a real bad reaction and haven't been able to drink since I can have one maybe two and then my anxiety goes through the roof and I can't sleep , I still try every now and then but always the same , I miss it so much used to be my escape , had a pretty good run but my old mates are drinkers so I don't go out anymore , for some alcohol and mental problems just don't mix , cheers or maybe not
That's the same with me Buster, mates like a drink, and I enjoy the social bit of it all, but obviously doesn't work for me anymore and must be messing up the meds if that seems to be the common factor
Hi , not sure on your age but it's seems times are changing most of the pubs I went to as a lad are gone and younger people are not nearly as bad as my generation , I am coming across more people who don't touch alcohol at all maybe it will die out like smoking , even when I could drink come Monday morning I'd be saying I'm going to quite the hangovers last a lot longer as you get older , I'm sure we've both had good times sober , I've lost a couple of old mates to drink and I see some shuffling round at nine in the morning with a bottl of strong cider they're not having fun , take care chap
My anxiety is terrible after drinking so i dont bother anymore
I've just turned 40.
I'm not an alcoholic, far from it, and don't use alcohol as a crutch, but enjoy the social side of it. I will be sad to miss out on these times, but it obviously doesn't agree with my meds/mental health
I gave up alcohol completely almost 9 years ago and haven't touched a drop since. I don't intend to either, I never had anxiety before November of last year but im sure that anxiety and alcohol are not good bedfellows. I know two people who have suffered anxiety for 10 years plus but refuse to take antidepressants as it would mean they couldn't drink to excess everyday as they normally do. They picked drink over their own mental health, I can't understand that at all. :ohmy:
I was the same till i turned 30, used to just put up with the anxiety the next day just so i can go out and have fun but it got too much so just dont bother. Realised the anxiety just isnt worth it lol. Anyway its more healthy alcohol is rubbish really
my problem is my anxiety flairs up and can last for weeks after it. I think maybe the excess alcohol messes up my meds (escitlaopram) and takes time for it to level back out again.
Best to not drink or limit yourself to 1 or 2
Should have guessed you where 40 ,76 in your user name like 70 in mine , maybe we should set up a virtual pub with virtual drinks and no hangover , I'll have a Newcastle brown and whiskey and ice , I'll warn you in advance I get rowdy after a few and get some stupid ideas got few scars to prove it but I'm not a nasty drunk , happy days miss them a lot
MyNameIsTerry
16-04-16, 05:09
Buster & Shiznit,
(what a double act that sounds like!)
I think a lot of us just get older and move on from it. I used to miss alcohol but as the years go buy without being in the pub several times a week, you just stop caring. It's like a past life to me now.
Alcohol and anxiety is a complex one in my book. I think it is also distorted by half stories where we don't always knows how people are in their anxiety before they add alcohol on top. I know I was fine in moderation and getting bladdered whilst on Citalopram but I was much more recovered by then. I have never risked it in my relapse as I just don't feel comfortable with my symptoms so expect it would hit me in some way.
It's interesting because alcohol actually causes Serotonin to spike. So, I think the more you drink, the more is used and perhaps that could explain why we feel like crap for days - because we have dumped a huge load of our Serotonin and until our body makes more from our food, we don't have enough. In someone without anxiety, no problem, but in people who are prescribed SSRI's which often help, that sounds like a possibility to me. The trouble is, it doesn't explain those that don't feel any effects but maybe it's a question of how much alcohol and how well you are at that point (which perhaps translates into having more Serotonin?). Big question, I guess.
Then there is the liver element. It's under much more stress slowly eliminating the alcohol and many of these meds need certain liver enzymes to metabolize them. Maybe a connection? Maybe a combination issue? I have no idea.
It's a shame that so much revolves around alcohol. In my city, other than pubs & clubs, there is little else other than the theatre.
haha Buster, sounds a good plan.
And Terry, good words of wisdom as always
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Think it's also hard to tell what is "normal" hangover blues and what is a flare up because of alcohol, think this is an issue for me too
nosurrender
16-04-16, 13:18
I drank excessively last Wednesday night (my leaving drinks at work), I had an amazing time with friends with lots of laughter and stories, it was like my anxiety did not exist.
Then I woke up the next morning dragged back into reality with the night before just being a blur, there was no way I could go to work that day and I really struggled just being at home.
I managed to collect myself together and go into work for my final day yesterday, which was like being in a nightmare, I went out again last night for more leaving drinks and every sip of alcohol just elevated my anxiety, I didn't feel drunk just very anxious.
I have woken up this morning feeling dreadful, and weighing up the benefits of a night out drinking against what I have to deal with the next days maybe weeks, it's not a hard decision to make really, I'm 43 years old and have enough drunken night out stories from my past to last a lifetime, I don't think staying sober on a night out with friends will be a bad thing, maybe I could just be the sensible one who looks after people when they are falling over.
I did say to myself a few years ago before this bout of anxiety I need to stop drinking or never get sober , terry you are an absolute wealth of information you might be handy on my virtual quiz night there on Wednesdays when trades a bit quite ,agrophobic nights on Thursdays but not expecting a good turnout , cheers
This thread and many others like it just affirm my beliefs concerning alcohol and anxiety. It's tough enough for someone who doesn't have anxiety to deal with the after effects of too much alcohol (been there done that too many times to count in my life... I STILL remember the 2 day hangover from tequila night at the Lucky Star!). Kudos to those who are listening to their own common sense.
Positive thoughts
I have found alcohol to help me totally relax and like a good night out also, but after this most recent bout, and being able to see the last three bouts have all happened after very boozy nights out, i now know that its not worth it. Lucky im 40 i suppose, be harder if had made this decision earlier in my life
Lucky im 40 i suppose, be harder if had made this decision earlier in my life
Age, experience and common sense definitely play a part in it. I now know intimately why they coined the phrase "Young and Stupid"! ~lol~
Positive thoughts
Very curious to know if you guys who have replied are open with your mates about your mental state , anxiety , depression etc , I tell one or two things are bad but I hide my true state I've not told one that I had a breakdown after meds messed me up they know I've had more than my share of family problems so I doubt they would judge me on it but I do feel a deep sense of shame , I didn't turn my back on two of my mates when they where sectioned one for drug induced psychosis and one scizophrenia , it's hardly somthing you say " can't come out drinking tonight I'm having a panic attack over an imaginary illness " there's still a big stigma attached to mental illness pretty sure you can't catch it , cheers
Well, I am due to go on a weekend away next weeKend with my mates for my 40th and I've had to disclose I wont be drinking causing it messes me up. I have told them before that i am on meds, but this is a brave new step! It is only the very close group of 5 i have told, not common knowledge. Also one person at work, she guessed it with me as she suffers to and could tell by way i cover up for it that i suffered also!
---------- Post added at 21:03 ---------- Previous post was at 21:02 ----------
my mates are good about it and can even make a joke about it. One said in a group message that he could be doing with some of my meds today after the football results!
That's good that you feel reasonably comfortable telling them people my daughters age 20 are much more open about things like that and sexuality , I've had total strangers tell me about breakdowns when I'm walking my dogs and I haven't told them but I wonder do they pick up on it I hide it well , trouble is if they don't know and you let them down or dissapear it comes across as being ignorant , one good thing I have taken from this is empathy for others who have problems I'm not so judgemental about addiction or sexual orientation if you are not hurting somone or somthing that's your business , now child abusers and animal abusers I would have lined up and shot
MyNameIsTerry
18-04-16, 04:44
My friends new why I was off work but I retreated a lot and so didn't see them until I got back to work much later. In relapse I just let go of them really.
I never told them much of anything. I didn't understand it myself and neither would they.
I think it's different for men anyway, women are more open about their bodies with each other from a young age and talk about health matters. Things may have changed since my generation but we never talked like that - football, pub, birds, work. Typical bloke stuff really.
Women show each other their boobs and even touch them. I've never heard of blokes talking like that, let alone touching! The closest would be towel flicking and a fist bump to the shoulder. Balls may be grabbed in a jokey way but certainly not to investigate anything! :ohmy:
Hangovers were easy back then. I would go out all night on the sauce, have a hours sleep and get up and do a full day of work. By the afternoon we were talking about going out on the sauce again!
When I went to the walk-on groups, there were men my age, younger & older. We did talk more about our troubles and if we ran into each other outside the sessions.
skittlebeanz
20-04-16, 14:20
Its a vicious cycle sometimes...alcohol can be a mood booster particularly when in a social situation and the idea of never drinking again could be a downer for lots of people but then the withdrawal of it causes such bad anxiety that it seems a better option just to give in...
I have only ever been a social drinker and alcohol always acts as a mood booster for me - so much so that I always get carried away. My problem is that I just do not know when to stop. As I have got into my mid 30s most of my friends have learnt the skill of self restraint. I on the other hand have not and I still try to drink like my uni days.
The hangovers are far worse now and can easily last a whole day. This is generally when I get angry with myself for drinking so much and basically writing off a whole day with a hangover. This in turn fuels my anxiety because its not who I want to be. I have thought about quitting alcohol a number of times but I really enjoy the social side and love a good pint of real ale. I always convince myself that I will be a responsible drinker next time. But it is yet to happen......
Greenman50
20-04-16, 19:51
I need to quit but i,m in a vicous cycle .
One can of beer lifts my mood and the anxiety goes so you carry on drinking .
The problem is drinking makes anxiety and depression worse the next day , i had a long chat with my DR about it .
But the next day to relieve anxiety / depression i will "maybe" drink again , i know its just throwing a blanket over it but i,m alcohol dependent .....must try harder :weep:
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