Comments on: Does Drinking Alcohol Increase Anxiety?

By: shed

shed — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:07:27 +0000

hi,i suffer from anxiety and ocd since i have been through alot of stress in my life.drinking does not go well with anxiety the next 3 to 4 days i feel terrible like im gonna lose my mind.i have even been down to the hospital thinking i was going crazy!its good to know im not alone as you can feel isolated like nobody really understands how you feel.

By: John

John — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:23:32 +0000

I also face the same problem. I would feel anixety 2-3 days after I drink. I hate it, but then after couple of weeks w/o drink, I end up drinking.

I have made one observation. If I don’t have workload at office, I can afford to drink and I don’t feel the anixety. If i have a lot of work todo, I feel anixety. So I steal the occasion for drinking, when I know I am not going to be loaded with work next week.

Few tips which are mentioned in the chain above:
1. Drink slowly, Drink less (know what is the limit beyond which your anxiety level increases too much. Over a period of time, you would know what is the limit you need to respect).
2. Keep atleast an hour after you finish drinking and go to bed
3. Drink lot of water, on the same day as well as on the next when you drink

By: ellz

ellz — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:13:45 +0000

i have been drinking for about 7 years straight and developed anxiety in the last few years.
with my drinking, it got to the point where ide just drink to make my anxiety go away.
i quit drinking last year for 8 months due to my anxiety and felt GREAT!
somehow i let myself get back on the wagon and slowly started drinking again. especially over the xmas holidays just gone..i was drinking pretty much everyday, so ive quit cigarettes and alcohol again cold turkey (its been just shy of 2 weeks so far) and the last few days ive noticed i feel like crap. my anxiety has come back, im feeling depressed, getting headaches and my moods are up and down like crazy. i was wondering what was wrong with me because im on a strict diet, have been going to the gym & have been loading myself with vitamins and good food. after reading other posts, this seems to be normal? i usually take the natural approach when trying to cure things so is there anything i could do naturally that may help?

By: ben

ben — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:47:13 +0000

I am 29, been drinking usually just weekends up until the last year or so when work slowed down and i went thru a period of drinking everyday. Also had anxiety problems before…usually drinking one night doesnt cause to much but if i drink 2-3 days or more in a row the anxiety kicks in earlier in the day and is worse. Ativan and librium doctors have given me to use on an as-needed basis and it kills the side effects for the most part but it also makes you think you can drink more often and it doesnt work as well and you need higher dosage as you keep doing it.

Someone mentioned Attenelol as a fix for the flight or fight symptom, the main reason i started to drink more was because of that – when i wanted to go out i would take like a shot or 2, then it turned into 6 beers, then 10 beers and even more to the point where i never could leave comfortably.

Now i have stopped for a little over 2 weeks and looking for a solution so i feel good and can drink once in a while and not lose my mind or get caught in these binge drinking episodes…..

One thing i have learned – take vitamin B’s…especially B1 after drinking – it helps a lot…..dont take when your drinking, your body doesnt absorb it when your drinking thus why you get deficient and get the shakes. Whole grain breads with flax seed also have a lot of B1 – really helps!

By: rhys

rhys — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:55:26 +0000

this site has been really helpful. It is reasuring to know your not alone. I suffer from anxiety attacks but since Iv stopped drinking they have stopped too. I do still drink a little say 5 pints or so and its enough to have a buzz but feel ok the next day. Its finding the right balance anyway whats the point of drinking too excess the more u spend the worse u feel in the morning its a no brainer. The worst thing you can do is cut yourself off from friends because ur worried about drinking too much it sounds obvious but its all about moderation!

By: Princess

Princess — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:12:55 +0000

I’ve had generalized anxiety disorder since I was 3 years old. I spent my childhood and teenage years on cocktails of prescription drugs. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, amphetamines, mood stabolizers, benzos. When I got off of them the anxiety returned and was intense. Drinking doesn’t make my anxiety worse or better, it makes me silly. My anxiety started when I was 3 years old, a child, way before I started drinking. Alcohol has not affected my anxiety either way. Some other drugs have, but my anxiety was so intense as a child that nothing could make my anxiety more intense than it was.

By: Erica

Erica — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:23:43 +0000

I’m 21 years old and recently (about 2 months ago) began suffering from panic attacks due to high amounts of stress and what not that had been building. Since those began I have changed my diet and lifestyle a lot which has helped. I very rarely drink, but last night I drank only 2 beers and felt fine, but after my buzz had worn off, I noticed that my heart rate was really increased, I didn’t sleep the entire night, I needed to take xanax this morning to help ease what is going on. I am not feeling mentally stressed, but definately feel the side effects of what even a small amount of alcohol has done to my body. I felt anxious this morning, increased heart rate, and in a daze. I have been doing so well recovering from my anxieties and panic attacks only to have this happen. Very disapointing, but I’m glad that I know now.

By: mike domican

mike domican — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:53:12 +0000

i have very bad anexity and drink everyday to cure it im no going to aa meetings to get more help, i panic so bad with anexity and i need as much help to cope.
if anyone can help me or support me in anyway add my msn address or email me thank u.

mkdomican@hotmail.com

By: dawn

dawn — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:06:45 +0000

well im 31 and have been sufferiing from anxiety for years. about five yeaars ago i started working nights and started drinking after work my anxety became unbareable. i would get home at 3am sleep untill i had to catch the train to go back to work. i was always freaking out so i drank to make it go away, it took some time to realize that is was the alcohol triggering it. i was going to the doctor and a few trips to the er and no one said it was anxiety. i even met with cardiologist and he wasn’t sure what to tell me. the problem was i wasn’t being honest about my alcohol consumption. well when one morning i woke up and was freaking out so bad i went to the freezer to do a shot and realized this was way out of control. so i went to the doctor and told him the truth i developed trust for him over time. he put me on lexapro for general anxiety disorder. i started 5mg once a day and i worked my way up to 20mg. it completly changed my life i felt awesome after about a month.

By: John

John — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:21:41 +0000

I don’t even have anxiety anymore now that I quit drinking for the most part. I drink a couple of beers on the weekend but never any more than 4 usually. I know that sounds pointless or boring but I’ve learned to enjoy it and I don’t feel horrible the next day. Find a girlfriend that doesn’t drink too…that helps a lot lol! I used to drink a 6 pack every night and party hard on the weekends, and every day I felt it. I was always tired, anxious and felt crappy. I was hungover just about every Saturday for years. I’ve settled down a lot since then and I feel like myself again…hardly tired, awake and alert and best of all, I feel like I can think again. Since I still enjoy drinking, I hang out with my buddies sometimes but only drink a few beers. I still like to get smashed if there is a party going on but that’s not all that often and sometimes all it takes it reminding myself how horrible I’ll feel the next day to get me to avoid over drinking. Use your best judgment and regulate how much and how often you drink. It’s been working great for me.