Post heavy drinking anxiety

[worriedsoul]

I have been suffering with anxiety for around 10 years and in the last 5 i have been on and off antidepressants (fluoxetine) which really helps. I have always been a drinker but as I am getting older I am now noticing that as well as physical hangover symptoms, my mood is decreasing the next day and also my motivation to work is bad - this never used to be like this.
I have just had 1 week off work and drank every day - last night I had loads and I’ve been in bed all day. Today my anxiety is through the roof and I took one of my emergency diazepams which hasn’t helped.

[Fishmanpa]

So what does that tell you? :whistles:

FMP

[spectrum123]

Hangxiety, very well known, even with people who don't generally have any anxiety problems.

[fishman65]

Hi worriedsoul. I used to drink a lot in my younger days, initially social drinking but over the course of about 15 years it became problem drinking. Super strength lager became my drink of choice as it got me drunk more quickly. Vodka too, disguised in an Evian water bottle. I would fall asleep in pubs, get into arguments, find myself staggering in the middle of a road with no knowledge of how I got there.

Anxiety had been present in flashes prior to alcohol, but it was booze that accelerated it to a higher level. After meeting my future wife, she put up with my boozing for about 6 months before giving me a choice between booze or her and her two children. That was a turning point and I rarely drink now, I'm not sure I'd even be here if it weren't for her intervention.

The thing about alcohol is that it gives us that initial buzz, the feeling of invulnerability. But as you know, it doesn't last and the next day dawns and feels that much more frightening in the stark sober light of morning. Our problems have only been postponed and because alcohol has sent us into oblivion, we haven't been able to work through those problems.

I think you need to seek help over your drinking, you really can't do this on your own. See if you can speak to your GP who might be able to recommend alcohol support services in your area. I was lucky having a wife to provide an incentive to cut down. And she supported me too. But first you have to acknowledge that the alcohol is the catalyst in exacerbating your anxiety. It may even be the underlying cause of it. Also it is likely countering any benefits you might get from the ADs.

PM me if you'd like to talk more. Take care.

[tham]

Hi , I was exactly like you . My heavy drinking eventually turned me into a total wreck with unbearable days and even weeks of anxiety , fear,dread ,depression and more . Im well read up on alcoholism and walked the walk very painfully. I wasnt suffering hangovers ,these were near death experiences . I,m sorry to tell you that there is only one way things can go for you IF YOU KEEP DRINKING and that is worse and worse , Alcoholism is a progressive illnes which WILL take you over unless you give up completely . Please seek help with stopping the drink . I was 60 when I had my last drink 5 years ago . something deep inside me said THATS IT im done with drink . I just knew I would never drink again .

I could write for an hour the horrors of the progression from normal drinking to heavy drinking to alcoholic drinking , its not a nice story but similar to many many stories from recovering alcoholics but I will one day once i feel a bit better from this episode of anxiety problems .

PS : excellent forum is SR , Sober Recovery . https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/

[charlie1986]

Hi worriedsoul,just come across your post now as I'm going through a similar thing. Last time I had alcohol I had the most horrible panic attack and anxiety the day after. Tbh,I've had bad anxiety the day after alcohol for a while now,but last time was the worst,the anxiety and panic was on and off all day,it kept coming back in waves over the next few days too. Like you I'm also on fluoxetine,been on it for 16 years now,and I think high alcohol use really doesn't sit well with it. I'm definitely guilty of necking it as I've always been a drinker but the last year or so I've been quite bad,like drinking the odd night during the week as well as weekends.Over the next few months I'm giving myself a break from alcohol,let my mind and body settle and actually give my tablets to chance to do what there supposed to do. My anxiety feels so much more under control since I cut booze out 2 weeks ago. I'm not gonna become teetotal but I really think I need to do this and control my drinking in the future. Good luck with everything and stay positive 😁

[medesis]

It’s called alcoholism. Go to AA and have a nice life..,….I did!!

[AnxietySufferer]

I just wanted to join in with the I get terrible anxiety after drinking also :lac:

I shall be attempting dry january this year.

[worriedsoul]

It’s not just anxiety, it’s hours and days lost to alcohol when you could have been doing productive things. 6 hours drinking of an evening followed by a whole day needed to recover on the sofa, gaining weight ordering a takeaway cos you feel so crap.

I see friends on social media posting photos drinking on a daily basis and i think just how do they get up in the morning? But i am a hypocrite because I do the same!