CHRISTMAS drink

[Melvyn Jimmy james]

Went out with my mates yesterday afternoon for a few drinks as this was the last chance of us meeting before Christmas I had several drinks and walked home alone I woke up today and my anxiety is very bad , and although I got home safe and sound I keep thinking what did I do and all sorts of stupid thoughts keep running through my head like a stuck record .This happens every time I over indulge in alcohol I have suffered with anxiety and panic
attacks for many years though I do have good periods where I can go many months without any anxiety or panic Does anyone else find that their anxiety/panic returns after drinking to much .

[Fishmanpa]

While some can handle alcohol and manage their anxiety, there are pages of posts similar to yours here. Let's put it this way, if it weren't an issue for you, you wouldn't have posted :shrug:

Positive thoughts

[Melvyn Jimmy james]

Thank you for your reply.

[nomorepanic]

I really think you need to consider not drinking alcohol if you end up like this to be honest.

[fishman65]

Hi Melvyn, I used to drink very heavily during my late teens and through to my early 30s. Mrs F gave me an ultimatum after we had been together for about 6 months, as my drinking was causing arguments. My life had to have alcohol in it, when I drank I drank to get drunk.

I always had a predisposition towards anxiety from my early teens but looking back I think my first ever panic attack (aged 20) was triggered by alcohol. Your own experience resonates with me and with the benefit of hindsight I can see where alcohol impacted negatively, especially at times of crisis where I would use it all the more to block out what was causing the anxiety. The only drawback there, as you may be finding, is that the booze hinders problem solving, it causes anxiety to fester unresolved and then in the morning we are hit by cold sobriety. And of course, our worries haven't gone away.

My advice to you would be to try to cut down if you can. I know peer pressure rears it's head, not to mention the time of year. Everyone's situation is different but what I do know is that alcohol nearly always exacerbates anxiety. Good luck mate.

[KK77]

Having a drink this time of year usually leads to having many - and is best avoided if it makes your anxiety worse, which is usually the case.

If you can't settle with ONE then have NONE!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Alcohol causes your Serotonin to spike. Your brain has to rebalance that. I suspect much of the exaggerated handover those with anxiety/depression get could be because of that considering they put us on meds aimed at increasing our availability of Serotonin.

Plus we tend to react more to symptoms we feel. What was once just an annoying hangover that cleared by dinner time and you wanted to go back out on the lash turns into days of elevated anxiety.

That's not the case for all and it is going to be important how bad your anxiety already is but for some this seems to be the case. Several days later and they report back they feel back to normal.

So, don't view this as a relapse. See it as a few days to hold on and get through. Then see how you are.

[Melvyn Jimmy james]

Thank you all for your replies and advice I think I will try to give drink a miss in future .:)