View Full Version : Anxiety and Alcohol "not working"
Hi everyone,
I'm glad to be back on the forums again. It's helped to reassure me.
But this might be a long post but I'm looking for input about alcohol, as I'm sure with this being an anxiety forum, there may be a few on here with "experience" of alcohol.
Back in 2013, my fear of brain tumours got so bad that I began drinking every night. It relieved the anxiety and made me not care. Every night from June 2013 until November 2014 I drank 35cl of vodka per night. This increased in August/September 2014 to 45cl as my tolerance had increased.
I decided I wanted off the alcohol - my life was just one big ethanol induced haze of work, drink, sleep repeat.
Since then, I've never "fallen off the wagon" - yes I'll still have a binge on the weekend on Friday/Saturday night, but NEVER will I return to the daily drinking I once did.
But recently, I've found my tolerance has increased again - the other night on NYE I drank ~45cl of whiskey, but didn't get the same buzz. I just blacked out at the end of the night.
I'm now doing Dry January to hopefully get my tolerance back down... It just seems alcohol no longer gives me the euphoria it once did...
Any experience?
ankietyjoe
02-01-18, 18:51
Binging is almost as bad as daily drinking as far as health goes.
I very much doubt it's anxiety causing the tolerance, but rather the sheer volume of booze you're consuming.
Alcohol actually exacerbates anxiety long term, so while you might feel like you don't care during, it's gonna come back and bite you on the ass after.
If I were you, I'd just quit for good for a while and see how you get on.
Yeah I'm definitely staying off it for the next five weeks. And then Ill reduce to maybe just one "binge" a week, consisting of no more than 35cl (hopefulyl less)
I have been considering quitting for good, but that's another story haha
Frankly RadioG, that's sounds like an alcohol addiction problem in black and white. To consume that much hard liquor on a nearly daily basis or on a binge is a real life problem. I would seek real life professional help with your addiction. I have the feeling going cold turkey is going to cause you some withdraw issues that will exasperate your anxiety.
Positive thoughts
Fishmanpa,
Yes I would tend to agree that I have a bit of an addiction. Thankfully I shouldn't suffer withdrawals as I've only been drinking heavily on the weekends, e.g. 5 sober days in between...
The withdrawals I had in 2014, when the daily drinking ended were thankfully quite mild - insomnia and increased anxiety... Thankfully no DTs or seizures!!
Annaboodle
02-01-18, 19:09
Hello. My experience is that alcohol just "stops working" when you get to a certain level over enough time due to tolerance. I found it took longer and longer to reach that feeling of equilibrium that I once got and craved, and that feeling would last for less and less time. Then things got a lot worse for me and I no longer got any feeling of peace and calm with alcohol at all ever. It no longer numbed anxiety the way it once had - just straight to worsening anxiety, followed by anger and self-pity and misery (for myself and also for those close to me sadly). Then I got sick with it, but that was due to my raging alcoholism (as opposed to problem drinking, which is more what it sounds like you're describing).
The pattern of work, drink, sleep, repeat is something I kept going for well over a decade. It's great you put a stop to that, because my experience was you need to drink more to keep achieving the oblivion/sleep part and you might think you're functioning at work, but you gradually deteriorate and aren't. I had delusions of being a "functioning alcoholic" for a long time, but I wasn't. It affected every aspect of my life.
So yes, it "works" for anxiety until it stops working, and then there's nowhere to go with alcohol really as far as anxiety is concerned. I also found earlier on that once my tolerance had raised it never really came back down again. It was like it picked up where I left off after a few days of buzzing. My only advice would be to tread carefully. It is so easy to lose your way with alcohol.
Annaboodle, I can relate to your post a lot. (My Doctor told me I was a "problem drinker" too, so you're right).
I really am determined to never end up drinking daily again... and as stupid as it sounds, I've been glad I've only drank on the weekend since 2014... (something someone without any alcohol affliction would do without giving it a thought!)
I think what I'm going to do is if I find my tolerance is not back down after this five week break, is to simply give it up... It's not doing what it used to, so what's the point? I'm only 24 after all :-/
ankietyjoe
02-01-18, 19:51
I think what I'm going to do is if I find my tolerance is not back down after this five week break, is to simply give it up... It's not doing what it used to, so what's the point? I'm only 24 after all :-/
Your tolerance will go back down again, and then it'll go right back up when you go back to binge drinking. The key here is to change your relationship with booze for good.
Booze as a medication/crutch is always a bad thing, I don't think there are any exceptions to this.
I've given up drinking. My daughter and i were talking on NYE and I said I had been thinking about giving up - and so had she (we both have anxiety at times).
I didn't drink that much - but I know it has a bad effect on my anxiety, so definitely yes, it can be a huge factor. Sounds as though there is a potential problem there so it's good to talk to someone about it.
Booze is an excellent antidote to anxiety ... until it isn't. It hits the GABA receptors, just like benzos do, and that is why you feel so calm and euphoric. It basically kills anxiety by tipping the GABA/glutamate seesaw in favour of calming GABA. Problem is, the body tries to counteract this imbalance by slowing endogenous GABA production, so what you end up with is HAVING to drink to get the anxiety relief and eventually just to funtion. It's a horrible cycle and it only gets worse.
Annaboodle
02-01-18, 20:52
Annaboodle, I can relate to your post a lot. (My Doctor told me I was a "problem drinker" too, so you're right).
I really am determined to never end up drinking daily again... and as stupid as it sounds, I've been glad I've only drank on the weekend since 2014... (something someone without any alcohol affliction would do without giving it a thought!)
I think what I'm going to do is if I find my tolerance is not back down after this five week break, is to simply give it up... It's not doing what it used to, so what's the point? I'm only 24 after all :-/
I know several people who have gone through a heavy or problem drinking phase for whatever reason and then returned to "normal"/moderate social drinking and continued that way without difficulty. I know others who can't though. Not everyone will agree with me, but I don't think that total abstinence is necessarily desirable for everyone. I do think that it's important though to reflect on how you drink when you drink. If you find you're always wanting to get wasted and can't just have a couple and leave it then I'd knock it on the head. For me I could never see why anyone could possibly just want a drink or two. Why didn't they wanted to get wasted? They annoyed me, lol. Getting off my face was always what it was all about. I surrounded myself with drinkers until I couldn't be bothered with that side of things and started wanting to drink on my own. So many appallingly bad signs I was screwed up.
If you wanted to speak to someone about it because you're not sure what you want to do and want to get some (honestly) non-judgmental advice, I recommend whatever the equivalent where you are is of Glasgow Council on Alcohol. You can refer yourself free online (it's all free) and it's 12 sessions of one-to-one counselling. You decide on your aims with your counsellor. Mine was abstinence cause I was a big ol' train wreck, but they work with people wanting to moderate their drinking and return to sensible limits. You keep a drinking diary. It can be useful to help you think it all through anyway and discuss options.
... it's not secretly a "12 step" thing or anything like that btw
---------- Post added at 20:52 ---------- Previous post was at 20:40 ----------
Booze is an excellent antidote to anxiety ... until it isn't. It hits the GABA receptors, just like benzos do, and that is why you feel so calm and euphoric. It basically kills anxiety by tipping the GABA/glutamate seesaw in favour of calming GABA. Problem is, the body tries to counteract this imbalance by slowing endogenous GABA production, so what you end up with is HAVING to drink to get the anxiety relief and eventually just to funtion. It's a horrible cycle and it only gets worse.
Yes, this pretty much sums up my experience of trying to obliterate my anxiety with alcohol sadly.
MyNameIsTerry
02-01-18, 23:09
Booze is an excellent antidote to anxiety ... until it isn't. It hits the GABA receptors, just like benzos do, and that is why you feel so calm and euphoric. It basically kills anxiety by tipping the GABA/glutamate seesaw in favour of calming GABA. Problem is, the body tries to counteract this imbalance by slowing endogenous GABA production, so what you end up with is HAVING to drink to get the anxiety relief and eventually just to funtion. It's a horrible cycle and it only gets worse.
It also causes your Serotonin to spike hence you feel good. You end up dumping loads of it and then your body needs to replace that deficit yet it needs the building blocks to do so from food. No wonder people suffer for days later.
And the last thing we need is spiking Glutamate, that's going to make your thoughts bounce around & race. Anything of an obsessive-compulsive nature is going to be spiked from that, it Glutamate spikes.
I haven't drank since being in my anxiety relapse as mornings are still a struggle and I was really bad for a couple of years with my anxiety. It cost me my friends but after a couple of years I didn't think about alcohol anymore. Even if I'm in a pub with family, I don't feel that bothered about it anymore. And given the lack of exercise, other than my walking, it will have done me a lot of good from a weight perspective.
And the last thing we need is spiking Glutamate, that's going to make your thoughts bounce around & race. Anything of an obsessive-compulsive nature is going to be spiked from that, it Glutamate spikes.
High glutamate/low GABA is the worst. I already have high dopamine/high norepinephrine because that's my default, genetically. Add alcohol into the mix, and it's a neurotransmitter hot mess
I already have high dopamine/high norepinephrine because that's my default, genetically. Add alcohol into the mix, and it's a neurotransmitter hot mess
I had to quote this and forgive me, what you wrote is brutally honest and eloquently stated but there was something about it made that made me smile. I read it again and it hit me... That line is something you'd see in a comedy relationship type movie. I could see Melissa McCarthy saying this....
Ok... picture this....
Melfish is sitting at the bar and a guy approaches.
Guy: *smiling* Hi!, can a man offer to buy a drink for a pretty lady?
She looks over at him, raises her right eyebrow and says:
Melfish: Really? You don't even offer your name and use a really shitty hit line like that? Look...I already have high dopamine/high norepinephrine because that's my default, genetically. Add alcohol into the mix, and it's a neurotransmitter hot mess and something I don't think you really want to see. You couldn't handle it. Thanks but no thanks....
Melfish walks away... End scene.
Positive thoughts
High glutamate/low GABA is the worst. I already have high dopamine/high norepinephrine because that's my default, genetically. Add alcohol into the mix, and it's a neurotransmitter hot mess
Best shut down to a pickup line ever... lol
How did you determine this, Mel?
MyNameIsTerry
03-01-18, 07:13
It's GABA tea all the way then :winks:
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