Anxiety is something that affects us daily, whether it makes itself apparent or not. When anxiety kicks in, it is only natural to turn to alcohol to get the edge off. However, chronic drinking and consuming large amounts of alcohol will worsen the anxiety in the long run.
There are very severe repercussions if you consume alcohol while simultaneously taking medicine or being treated for anxiety. Do take note that one drink may sound like a good idea then, but it will certainly be something you regret in the aftermath when it affects you more than you think it could. As such, be sure to educate yourself on symptoms of alcohol dependency just to be careful.
Alcohol as a Stress Relaxant
Due to alcohol being a sedative and a well-known depressant, it indeed works as a stress relaxant. When you start drinking, it can make you feel better about the troubles you are facing and act as a distraction. The side effects of alcohol can be likened to that of the medicine you take for anxiety, as besides giving you a surge of bravery and making you feel less self-conscious, it does its job in making you feel relaxed.
If your doctor gives you the green card, having one or two glasses is not going to do much harm and you may indulge in it. However, the fact is that a tolerance will be built to the relaxant properties of alcohol, and thus make you immune to it. This can cause your anxiety and stress to spiral to levels you will not be able to handle easily.
Overindulging in drinking can affect and cause obvious effects physically as well as mentally. If drinking is done consistently over time, it can even lead the individual to faint, have lapses in their memory, and problems in the brain may occur for some. All these issues can add to or aggravate your existing anxiety symptoms.
What determines the level of relaxation you feel is how much Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is present in you. As the BAC level increases, the short-term feelings of excitement and happiness increases accordingly. Likewise, higher chances of depression will manifest as BAC levels go down. Therefore, it is important to understand that consuming a few drinks to make yourself more relaxed and happy can cause you to feel more anxiety when the effects of alcohol wear off.
How Alcohol Worsens Anxiety
Alcohol exacerbates anxiety by changing up the levels of serotonin and other chemical pathways found in the brain. Anxiety brought on by alcohol can stay for a few hours, or even up to an entire day after drinking.
Social anxiety is a common disorder most people take advantage of alcohol to deal with. Because they find socializing in such situations too difficult, most will rely on drinks to get them through approaching people. Alcohol dependence will be developed, which will only make anxiety worse. Symptoms of alcohol dependence include requiring alcohol immediately after waking up, heavy drinking more than four days a week, drinking every time they are at a gathering, not being able to control or stop drinking, and ingesting five or more alcoholic drinks in a day. It is also proven that hangovers can intensify anxiety.
Can Alcohol cause Anxiety?
It has been shown with research that people who drink heavily long-term may be inclined to develop a disorder associated with anxiety. This may be attributed to the fact that these individuals find it nearly impossible to move on from traumatic events, which is caused by the change of brain activity as more alcohol is taken.
When someone tries to withdraw themselves from drinking, there may be increased feelings of anxiety. The symptoms of alcohol withdrawal also typically consist of shaky hands, a faster than usual heart rate, hallucinating, feelings of nausea and vomiting, and sometimes even seizures.
Alcohol cannot be used as a treatment for anxiety
Although there are benefits associated with drinking alcohol, the risks of it often exceed the pros. These may comprise generally of depression symptoms, obesity as a result of high alcohol intake which may lead to liver disease, damage in the cardiovascular system.
Alcohol is not something to be taken lightly as it influences every individual differently depending on a variety of factors. For example, it is best to abstain from drinking if you do not have a high tolerance for alcohol, or if you have a frequent tendency to be anxious or aggressive, or even an existing mental health condition.
Something to remember is that alcohol cannot be used as a treatment for anxiety. If you are having issues with alcohol, you should seek help immediately lest the symptoms worsen.
Treatment for Anxiety
Treatment will largely be based on the type of anxiety you are diagnosed with. If yours is a socially-related anxiety, therapy is the best route to gradually lower your anxiety in social situations. This is often coupled with medication such as Zoloft.
If you are diagnosed with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), you would most likely be recommended to learn behaviors and/or equip yourself with the ability to not run from situations that induce anxiety. This may often be done together with talking sessions with a therapist. Since some of these medications for anxiety have chances of reacting with alcohol, it is best to seek your doctor’s advice on whether consumption of alcohol is safe before you start going on the medication.
Lifestyle Changes
If you feel like your anxiety can be coped with and is not at severe levels, you can try making several changes in your lifestyle to understand and manage such feelings of anxiety better.
A few ways to control your anxiety before it causes a panic attack, would be to slowly inhale and exhale when you feel it coming on. You may also want to try thinking only positive thoughts or doing something that makes you happy when you feel your thoughts spiralling and becoming too much. Another tried and tested way is to slowly count from 1 to 10 or until any number until your feelings of anxiety are reduced. Lastly, something to try is to distract yourself entirely and focus on things that will make you laugh and invite positive feelings until your feelings of anxiety decrease.
Conclusion
It is important to be aware of how alcohol affects anxiety, as there are many repercussions associated when the two of them collide. Do remember to seek help if you have issues stemming from alcohol-induced anxiety, or even just anxiety on its own. As much as alcohol makes us relaxed, it does more bad than good and should be drunk safely at all times.
