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Alcohol and anxiety
how does alcohol exasperate anxiety? I am a binge drinker..1x per week on Saturdays. I know this was part of my coping in the past, but it is doing nothing for me now. I am going to try and stop. But I want to know how this works. Also, I have high anxiety in my belly and then it goes into my head. I don't feel depressed consistently. How does all of this work??
Way to go in recognizing that the binge drinking is no good for the anxiety, let alone YOU. I agree indeed that you may not be an alcoholic NOW, but as JS said....sometimes in the future....things change. Taking anything to numb the pain of anxiety (opiates, alcohol, street drugs, etc) is a VERY slippery slope. Soon, you're bounding out of control...and now have TWO problems to solve instead of one.
I applaud you for taking action. Keep us in the loop, okay?
I applaud you for taking action. Keep us in the loop, okay?
The alcohol ITSELF is flushed from the body pretty quickly. The problem is that the metabolism required to make it go away -especially when taken in large quantities over a short period of time (binge drinking) can have serious and lasting impact on how your body operates. Think of the fire department. An alarm comes in, the trucks roll and the firefighters all get to work. Its a biggie -but they flood the area and get it controlled. After 6 hours, the fire is out. NOW what happens? The hoses get pulled back onto the trucks, the gear gets stowed, the fighters climb aboard and everyone goes back to the station. But that's not the end of it. The hoses come back OFF the truck, they are washed and hung out to dry; the equipment is cleaned up, needed repairs are handled and everything is made ready for the NEXT fire. Its a BIG deal. And what happens at the fire site? The bulldozers come in scrape up the wreckage and truck it away, then grade the surface in preparation for a new structure. If this happens often enough, the resources of the community will be directed to handling one emergency after the other and the systems may break down under the load.
You will better understand your relationship with alcohol after you've had none for a month or so, and then the opportunity presents itself to have an innocent glass of white wine or maybe a light beer. And you say to yourself, "Well, just one." And maybe you have "just one," until the next time, when you have TWO -you see where this is headed, I'm sure. I'm glad you are getting a consult and taking charge NOW. Keep up the good work.
You will better understand your relationship with alcohol after you've had none for a month or so, and then the opportunity presents itself to have an innocent glass of white wine or maybe a light beer. And you say to yourself, "Well, just one." And maybe you have "just one," until the next time, when you have TWO -you see where this is headed, I'm sure. I'm glad you are getting a consult and taking charge NOW. Keep up the good work.
I think I spelled that incorrectly....ooops. Anyway, these are the words Ineed to read and hear. I am very literal..and need actual medical descriptions on how alcohol works. I am laying off. I don't think I am an alcoholic, I don't crave it, it is simply when I am around it, I do it. I need to just not do it. You are right, it isn't worth this anxiety and these attacks in the long run. I go into the psych tomorrow. I didn't realize that alcohol can stay in your body that long and have an effect that many days afterwards. very interesting. Thank you all
The anxiety exasperates (frustrates, upsets) YOU. The alcohol exacerbates (makes worse) the anxiety. Not right away, sometimes. When you are drinking, you might feel a bit better, more lively, conversational, relaxed. (I myself turn into a wonderful singer and dancer, then I become invisible).
But the next day -or the day after, and the day after that- THAT'S when the depressant effect of the booze kicks in to the extent you sense it as a downer. And on top of that, you may feel phsyically ill as your body attempts to return to normal. And taken together, this makes anxiety get worse, while at the same time quite possibly making you addicted to the booze, to make you feel better, but later you get depressed, and more anxious, so you drink more ...and the whole viscious cycle repeats; BUT with each repetition, you need more alcohol. The binge drinking not only magnifies this effect, but also is especially stressful to your body. It will put you in an early grave. There's no magic to this -that's how booze works, period, end of paragraph.
You've been given the "top shelf" (if I may use that phrase) advice: seek treatment both on the pure medical side and also on the therapy side to address the psychology which is behind all this in the first place. If you don't do this voluntarily, NOW, then at some point in the future a court may give you no choice.
Remember this: NOT drinking never hurt anyone.
Stay in touch -many of us well know exactly what the booze and anxiety deal is all about.
But the next day -or the day after, and the day after that- THAT'S when the depressant effect of the booze kicks in to the extent you sense it as a downer. And on top of that, you may feel phsyically ill as your body attempts to return to normal. And taken together, this makes anxiety get worse, while at the same time quite possibly making you addicted to the booze, to make you feel better, but later you get depressed, and more anxious, so you drink more ...and the whole viscious cycle repeats; BUT with each repetition, you need more alcohol. The binge drinking not only magnifies this effect, but also is especially stressful to your body. It will put you in an early grave. There's no magic to this -that's how booze works, period, end of paragraph.
You've been given the "top shelf" (if I may use that phrase) advice: seek treatment both on the pure medical side and also on the therapy side to address the psychology which is behind all this in the first place. If you don't do this voluntarily, NOW, then at some point in the future a court may give you no choice.
Remember this: NOT drinking never hurt anyone.
Stay in touch -many of us well know exactly what the booze and anxiety deal is all about.
Whenever I used to go out, I would drink quite a bit...I would drink to "help" my anxiety...I couldn't stand always being jittery...the drink would, I feel, "calm me"...for the moment. One too many (which I did often) would cause tears, anger etc.... But, even without one too many, I would still feel heightened anxiety and depression for days afterward.
What do I do now? I don't drink. The after effects are not worth the few hours of what I thought was "anxiety free". It is hard to get "comfortable" with a glass of soda as I did with a glass of wine, but you get used to it...eventually, you will be able to "hang out" without needed the drink to lighten you up.
Best to you.
What do I do now? I don't drink. The after effects are not worth the few hours of what I thought was "anxiety free". It is hard to get "comfortable" with a glass of soda as I did with a glass of wine, but you get used to it...eventually, you will be able to "hang out" without needed the drink to lighten you up.
Best to you.
hiya i jus gotta tell you i enjoy a drink but if i drink to much i can definatly tell the day after my anxiety is sky high i feel awful have chest pains etc and if i have been drinkkin alco pops my heart races cause of all the caffine in them. maybe its time to stop or at the very least cut right down try alternating an alcoholic drink with a soft one or restrict your self to say 1 drink per 2 hours
hope u feel better
hope u feel better
It relates to anxiety VERY much like it relates to depression...they are all inter-mingled. Alcohol definitely wreaks havoc in the end for anxiety and depression sufferers. The temporary "relief" you get while drinking is not worth it...the lasting effects are what you are left to deal with.
I'm glad you are talking about it and want to move forward. Lydia made excellent points...move forward and take that next step. We're all here for you.
I'm glad you are talking about it and want to move forward. Lydia made excellent points...move forward and take that next step. We're all here for you.
I can tell you what my daughter's pdoc said about drinking and depression. Alcohol is a depressant but she said the depressive effect shows up after three days so that people often don't associate their down feeling with the drinking. She says that drinking is counter-productive to treating depression.
How it relates to anxiety exactly I don't know.
How it relates to anxiety exactly I don't know.
Sweetie, there are many of us on this forum who could talk for hours on the questions you pose, but the bottom line would be the same, I believe, from all of us. You need to take this to your doctor and a good therapist. The doctor for a good medical work up to rule out any damage your binge drinking may have caused and a good therapist to get to the root cause of why you needed to drink to cope. Binge drinking is so very bad for you, I'm glad you want to stop, but I sincerely urge you to get into some therapy which will help you in more ways than one.
Keep us posted, OK? We're all here for you.
Peace
Greenlydia
Keep us posted, OK? We're all here for you.
Peace
Greenlydia
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