Self-Medicating Anxiety with Alcohol Is Risky and May Lead to AUD

But that can be easier said than done, and sometimes the message to “just stop” can backfire, Dr. Brewer said. People who have trouble going cold turkey may feel ashamed of themselves and wonder if there’s something wrong with them, he said, which makes change even harder. If you’re experiencing hangxiety often, it may be worth reflecting on your drinking habits or cutting back on your alcohol consumption. CBT is a form of talk therapy that champions the idea that if you are aware of the things that stress you out or bring negativity in your life, you will be more prepared to control those feelings. The tools you learn from CBT can be applied to many other areas of your life where you feel you are unable to control your emotions.

• AAC’s therapeutic staff will tailor your mental health and recovery treatment plans in order to best address the comorbidity.
• We review laboratory, clinical, family, and prospective studies bearing on the validity of these explanatory models.
• Addiction treatment helps you manage mental health disorder symptoms and teaches you alternative ways to cope with anxiety and stress.

At the very least, I find comfort in remembering that my shaky-emotional-ground feeling, no matter how intense, will dissipate soon enough. As Dr. Greenfield puts it, “Time is on your side.” Just breathe, take care of yourself, and remember that hangxiety isn’t forever. Even if you’re consuming a standard amount of alcohol — a 12-ounce beer or a 5-ounce glass https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of wine — you’ll experience a mild detox or withdrawal. It takes your body and liver about eight hours to remove what’s essentially a poison. As this is happening, it can affect your central nervous system and cause you to feel jittery or anxious. Long-term alcohol use also often leads to tolerance, when a person needs to drink more to get the desired effect.

GABA and Alcohol: Negative Alcohol Effects on Neurotransmitters

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 7% of Americans have this type of anxiety. When an individual has social anxiety, it’s common to find social situations unbearable. It is common for individuals with a social anxiety disorder to engage in alcohol use to cope with social interactions that are difficult for them. When this occurs, alcohol dependence can occur during socializing, which worsens anxiety. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for someone who has become addicted to alcohol to develop symptoms of anxiety.

Although the researchers in that study did not find a strong link between alcohol consumption and negative mood the next day, other studies have shown that sleep deprivation can spark feelings of anxiety. As it turns out, I’m not alone in having anxiety the day after drinking (a.k.a. hangxiety). People cling to the term for whenever they feel nervous or shy about a new experience or social setting. It is common for students or an employee to feel anxious about an assignment of presentation, this is normal anxiety. However, actual Anxiety Disorders can be much more dangerous if left untreated and can often be a trigger for someone to self-medicate.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

For some people with anxiety disorders, their fear may be limited to specific social situations, such as speaking in public or beginning conversations. Those who are prone to anxiousness may also be more vulnerable to anxiety after drinking alcohol. By the time the effects of alcohol wear off, anxiety will have doubled due to the sudden realization of what might occur while you were intoxicated.

• Reach out to a treatment provider for free today for immediate assistance.
• Perhaps as a result of the influence of these theories, psychotherapists frequently reported deep-seated emotional difficulties or persisting psychiatric symptoms in alcoholics, even when alcohol-dependent people were sober.
• When his patients want to stop drinking, Dr. Brewer advises them to focus on how they feel the morning after they drink, and to compare that to how they feel after nights they don’t.
• The problem comes, however, when you drink to excess and eventually build a tolerance to the distressing elements of alcohol use.

By Sheryl Ankrom, MS, LCPC

Sheryl Ankrom is a clinical professional counselor and nationally certified clinical mental health counselor specializing in anxiety disorders. If you have anxiety and are using alcohol to cope, it’s important that you seek support from your doctor or mental health professional. It’s never too late (or too soon) to reach out for help if you panic attacks and alcohol are trying to cope with a mental health condition or substance use disorder. If a person experiences alcohol withdrawal symptoms, it can create a cycle of heightened anxiety and increased alcohol misuse. The initial symptoms of anxiety and panic may be related to alcohol withdrawal. It could also be that alcohol use provides a mechanism for these disorders to develop.

GABA and Alcohol FAQ

A recent report from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) focused on 591 personally interviewed relatives of alcohol-dependent men and women (Schuckit et al. 1995). Neither male nor female relatives showed increased risks for obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, and/or agoraphobia. A preliminary evaluation of the lifetime rates of major depressive disorders in 2,409 interviewed relatives of alcoholics revealed a rate of 17.5 percent, a figure that was almost identical to the rate observed in control families. Indeed, several disorders are more likely to be observed in COA’s than in control groups, including conduct problems, such as difficulties with discipline at home or in school (Schuckit and Hesselbrock 1994). As cited in our recent review, however, an evaluation by Hill and colleagues1 of 95 COA’s and control subjects at ages 8 to 18 showed no evidence of increased rates for depressive or anxiety disorders in the offspring of alcoholics (Schuckit and Hesselbrock 1994).

Weinstein said alcohol addiction or AUD is characterized by the inability to control or stop drinking despite negative consequences and to meet the clinical diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder, the amount of alcohol consumed is already at an unhealthy level. “Studies have shown that people with anxiety who also abuse alcohol have severe anxiety symptoms. Drinking to relieve the anxiety that will return can eventually become very unhealthy,” he told Newsweek. In general, people may feel the stimulating effects of alcohol up to around 0.08 mg/l BAC. After that point, the initial energetic and happy feelings start decreasing and the depressant effects of alcohol kick in.

You should avoid drinking alcohol regularly while taking SSRIs, as the combination may leave you feeling drowsier than usual. The most commonly prescribed SSRIs used to treat anxiety include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), Celexa, paroxetine (Paxil) and escitalopram (Lexapro). Using alcohol to cope with anxiety can begin a cycle that brings on even more anxiety. If anxiety relief is what you’re seeking, it will start taking more alcohol to ease those symptoms. Your tolerance to the self-medicating effects of alcohol can lead to stress and anxiety. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your anxiety disorder, there are other ways to seek help.