Alcohol and panic attacks

[WiredIncorrectly]

I haven't cut out booze completely but have cut down. My anxiety sometimes after drinking was horrendous and yesterday was a good example of that. On Friday it was a friend's birthday night out and you know what it's like, one drink turns to two and when you're talking away you don't realise how much you have had to drink. I didn't feel drunk just tipsy but yesterday the day after drinking was hellish anxiety wise.

The anxiety I feel after drinking is nothing to do with "oh god what if I made a fool of myself while drinking?" Which can be quite common. It's pure and utter severe panic attacks for me and depersonalisation and derealization. Absolutely horrible. It was so bad yesterday that it lasted all day and I had to go for a walk around my dodgy neighborhood at midnight, call up a local mental health support group and almost called NHS24/999. I just couldn't cope and felt as though I was going round the bend.

I managed to get a few hours of sleep and still feel hazy and on edge today but I often feel like that after a huge panic and/or lack of sleep.

It's gave me the wake up call I need. No amount of fun while drinking is worth that anxiety the next day and even though it doesn't happen every time I drink, it's not worth it. I've noticed it usually happens more if I drink spirits. Rarely happens if I drink things like cider or alcopops all night.

That's generally how a hangover will make anybody feel. Alcohol is a poison to the body and the body chemistry is thrown off wack for a bit until it's flushed from the system. It'll pass within 24 hours.

[dinajafer]

The problem lies not in alcohol but in your life at all. Firstly, as I see, you can't rejoice in life without alcohol (or you treat alcohol as an escape from something). Secondly, you don't feel okay with your current state. The alcohol both makes you happy but increases the instability of your life. As a result, you feel anxiety as you don't sure you are okay. I've had the same situation before rehab treatment in Abbeycare Scotland. But even after a treatment, I'm still trying to rebuild my life without my "past".