Alcohol and Anxiety – the spiral of worry
Anxiety ruins many people’s lives, and lessens the enjoyment of it for most of us. It’s focus can be anything, from the seemingly trivial to the life threatening.
Of course the solution that many people find is through alcohol. This can provide temporary but undoubtedly effective relief – allowing us to relax again and get on with life without being so preoccupied. But alcohol does not actually allow us to deal with our anxiety or manage the situations provoking it, so we fail to develop our resources.
Anxiety arises as a result of our interpretations of a situation as being in some way threatening or unpleasant. This is then combined with our perception of our ability to cope with that threat.
For example, two people are experiencing the exact same event – the possibility that they will lose their job. The anxiety prone person might think -
“but I’ll never find another job, I’m not good enough. I won’t have enough money, I won’t be able to cope – I’ll lose my house”. Obviously thoughts like that will tend to create anxiety.
The other person facing the same situation might think -
“I can get another job easy enough, I’m adaptable. Money might be a bit tight for a while, but I can cope with that”.
So if the first person can learn to adjust their perception of their abilities, they might not get so anxious, and they might not feel the need to drink so much alcohol as a result. Those perceptions and beliefs happen so automatically, we often forget that we have a degree of choice over them.
Unfortunately alcohol consumption tends to exacerbate anxiety levels subsequently – firstly by causing disruption to the nervous system, secondly by creating situations likely to induce further worry. A spiral of increasing use causing increasing anxiety can develop.
Anxious people tend to have a central belief about themselves as being helpless – they underestimate their ability to cope. Although, they are often aware that their fears are exaggerated.
Five key questions can be used to challenge the initial perception of threat and the appraisal of your coping ability:
- What alternative interpretations could I make about this situation?
- What concrete, factual evidence do I have to back-up or deny these beliefs?
- What is the worst that could really happen, and how would that ultimately affect me?
- What positive action can I take to manage this?
- What are the pros and cons of me continuing with these negative thoughts I’m having?
Coupled with some simple relaxation techniques like keeping aware of your breathing, you can soon lessen your anxiety to a tolerable level. If you can adjust the way you interpret the world, and thus not feel so worried about it, then you may not need to drink so much alcohol to cope.
Just an update – I told my best friend my situation about suffering from anxiety and being paranoid about what people think about me. He was very supportive and assured me that no-one thinks bad of me, although he did admit that it’s not healthy that I get blind drunk every now and then. This has given me a boost and for the first time in ages my mind wasn’t wandering during the week and thinking up ridiculous scenarios.
The next step for me is to be stronger and watch my alcohol intake. Then after that I hope to conquer the anxiety and paranoia! Unfortunately, I was out boozing the past friday. Luckily, I was half sensible and didn’t have a black out – still felt the blues on saturday though.
Guys, I appreciate your kind words of encouragement and wish you all the best.
The mind is a complex thing!
Hi folks just found this website i have suffered from anxiety since i was about 13 i think due to mental and physical abuse at home i am now 24 i started drinking from the age of 15 gradually found myself drinking more and more losing friends along the way as i get older.alcohol is like superman juice without it i wouldnt say boo to a fly but with it i think i can fight the world been battered around and got in troulble alot with the police
unfortunatly for me 3 nights ago i had to phone an ambulance 4 myself because i coudnt stop being sick from the night before i had been coughing up blood 4 months and shiting blood but this time i couldnt stop they took blood tests and told me my liver had taken serious damage if i carry on i be dead in within 10 years im only 24 and shiting myself now i have to go for more tests in 1 week 4 cameras n stuff down my throat its the wake up call ive needed hopefully ill be ok by this discovery this will be my first time tackeling my depression and anxiety without alcohol doctors always been telling me i ll never get better if im drinking so this time i ll try.i should tell yous that i am a binge drinker normally 3 days a week o drinkin u dont need to drink every day 4 it to get u i hope you read this and if this hasent already happened to u u realise tht drink aint your friend its your enemy holding u back from opportunitys in life i will post a note on thursday about my tests n stuff and will keep on updating yous on how my battle with anxietys going without drink
good luck
dj.norzie@googlemail.com
Anxiety attack can be lessened by learning relaxation techniques like those used in meditation. some food supplements like 5-HTP helps in easing the symptoms of anxiety attack
Hi,
I have a problem as well with anxiety and alcohol. I would go at it hard on a sat night and wake up depressed and worried about everything. I have questioned whether it is actually worth it anymore and i know that it is nt but what else would i do.
Hello all.
This web sight makes me feel like I am not alone in my struggles with alcohol induced anxiety. I am a 35 year-old male and will be graduating with an associate degree in business this Dec. (I say this because this disorder seems to not care who it attacks) I recently quit a job because I felt that my co-workers were out to get me, I now know that it was probably just the anxiety. I work out every day so I can become an officer in the Army, but even with running a mile and a half every day I still feel the need to get drunk about 3-5 times a week. I am trying to curb my drinking and grow the hell up so my wife will not think I am a looser. I hide my drinking from her, she is only aware of about 25% of what I actually drink.
Thanks to this sight I am now aware of the connection that alcohol has with anxiety. I think that Steve Clark (the original guitarist for Def Leppord) had this distorter. He was an amazing guitar player, but he would try to break his hands so he didn’t have to play, eventually he drank himself to death.
I will add more latter (sorry my post is not very organized it was just some things that are on my mind right now) thanks for letting me communicate this!
i am f**ked
lost my girlfriend and my life
my birthday today im on this so u guys will know how i feel
i wrote comments on this a month ago not had results never turned up arguments between me n my girlfriend not doing tht good been drinking she has left me on my 25th birthday drink fur yeee
not worth it
hello to every1 this site is great. its nice to here there are people with the same condition as me, i to have very bad anxiety the next day after drinking iam currently on beta blockers off my doctor ,do any of you get like little bursts of addrenaline rushes throughout the day when feeling like there anxiety is realy bad. iam 26 and had it since i was 18 ive been trapped in my house for 8 years as fearful of the outside world also when i have gone outside my head feels in a spin and i feel very confused i feel like iam on a different planet. been to to the sychotherapist and it nevar worked also the bad thing about anxiety is when we do get rid ov it ,it can come back wich isnt very comforting has any1 got rid of it for long then its came back ?
this website is great,1 of the things that makes me so paranoid the day after drinking is the thought that i am going crazy,the fact that i can relate to every post on here comforts me cos i know now im not alone & not going crazy!
Just thought I’d drop back in.
I’m actually doing much better now – the anxiety and paranoia have subsided massively. I’ve started taking 5htp tablets – I recommend them to anyone!
On the alcohol front, I still feel dreadful the next day, even if I know 100% that I’ve been well behaved. I’ve only had 1 bad alcohol experience since I last posted in October – 1 too many for me though. I’m finding I can deal with things much better now and not let problems grow in my head.
I’m still finding my way though. Best of luck to everyone!
hi carl did you have any side effects from the 5htp tablets and what strength were you taking
been suffering from alcohol props for a while now and have come to conclusion that the drinking with me is just a sympton . use it as self medication to overcome anxiety and stress situations in my life . so anything that releives these feelings are worth a try and your recomendations sound promising.
Brian
Hi Brian,
No side effects whatsoever. They just give me a boost. I can’t say they’ll work for everyone but I definitely feel calmer after taking them.
Here’s the company I use – the link explains what they do better than I can:
http://www.healthspan.co.uk/mood/happy-days-5-htp-tablets/ProductDetail-p211-c115.aspx?_s_ref=G56w5QP4S&kw=5htp&creative=4118214142&gclid=CJmHhf_2hqECFQRd4wodOAwVAA
I should add that I’ve also spent some time reading self help books (Paul McKenna is a good starting point), exercising and generally taking time to try and work things out in my head. I try to limit my alcohol and at least remember getting home of an evening. I have the odd set back but try not to dwell on it as much as I used too.
I think I used alcohol to give me a confidence boost. So it makes sense that being more confident naturally should reduce the need for booze!
I still enjoy a few drinks, I just can’t allow myself to get steaming drunk!
Good luck. Please let us know how you’re doing.
Hi there. I’ve just stumbled on this board and can’t believe how much better I feel already as I can relate to lots of the content!! I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the message I am about to post and I do apologise for the length of it, I just need to give a background…….
A couple of years ago, I went on holiday to Spain, got a horrendous chest infection but the symptoms eased considerably when I drank alcohol (like you do, for medicinal purposes!!) as it seemed to soothe my throat/chest. I drank a fair bit on this holiday, plus it was all inclusive so I definitely had way over my limits! Anyway, soon after it was Christmas and I drank more than normal, then I went through a stressful period at work (job can be very stressful some days) and I fell into the habit of having a couple of glasses of red wine most nights. This then turned into every night and pretty soon I realised that I was having way too many alcohol units in a week and it would definitely do me harm in the long run.
I was VERY rarely drunk on these occasions, I never craved a drink it was simply a habit I had fallen in to.
Anyway, I decided just not to have anything alcoholic at all to drink. No problems, it was an easy decision and I was happy. However, after a few days I began having palpitations and had the most horrendous chest pressure. I really thought I was having a heart attack one night! I saw my GP and after telling him all the above, (and after he’d listened to my heart, done an ECG, and taken bloods……all normal….) he vaguely mumbled something about withdrawal symptoms.
I’d never even considered this so started looking it up. I suffer only from a FEW palpitations and to be honest they are getting rarer now I’ve discovered that chocolate and coffee also trigger them, so I avoid both as much as possible now. I have no other symptoms of withdrawal, I don’t crave alcohol, I’ve gone 6 weeks or more without any alcohol and it hasn’t bothered me a bit….but I STILL get this chest pressure from time to time which drives me crazy. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest some days and others it just feels a little tight or like there is a bubble of air in the centre of my chest and I have to keep burping to relieve it. This is usually coupled with aches in my shoulders and back. But then, some days I don’t get those feelings at all and it can feel perfectly fine for days or even weeks……then it comes back. It isn’t during stressful or busy periods either, it’s just out of the blue!
I KNOW that if I went back to my old habits of drinking daily again, I wouldn’t get this pressure, I know because I tried the theory a few months back!!! What I’m saying is that alcohol seems to stop me getting this chest pressure.
That leads me to think it IS like a withdrawal effect….or is it anxiety???!! Finding this board is making me think it’s anxiety, your stories are ringing similar to mine!!
I don’t want to drink daily, that was a thing that I did for just over a year, then I realised one day that is was WAY too much and it was simply a very bad habit.
Just to end, I’m female, 39, live in the UK, don’t smoke and never have, don’t do drugs, I AM a bit overweight, my cholesterol level was bordering high when it was taken so now I’m going down the sensible eating route and it’s coming down. As I said, my blood tests and ECG came back ok (that was a year ago though) and my blood pressure is normal (not even high normal!) and my resting pulse rate is generally around 80 on average (high would be about 98 for me) I have my own blood pressure monitor and it’s always stable although sometimes it feels like my heart is racing and I can feel it almost in my throat. There’s no history of heart problems in my family either.
Is something that anyone can relate to??? Quite simply, I’m sure that if I’d have carried on drinking as I was, I wouldn’t be typing this now as I wouldn’t have the symptoms!!
I’m very confused and would love someone to share their opinions!!
Thank you SO much!!!!
i would say that it probably is anxiety, anxiety comes in many different ways to different ppl. why not try consulting the doc about it again and asking him about the anxiety theory?? good luck
this is gonna sound very strange but reading all of ur problems has made me feel so much better knowing that im not on my own with this! i have been drinkin for 10 yrs now and have really bad anxiety for the same amount of time, i drink everyday and have done for the 10 yrs, im 28 and already feel really old. ive nearly lost everything good in my life so 2day is the day when its gotta stop, been on my comp for 2 hours looking at self help stuff for alcohol addiction and anxiety and am amazed how good i feel about trying to do this! have a doctors appointment 2mrw and mite mention the 5htp’s someone was talking about? what are they, are they like beater blockers? been on them b4 on the past and found them very helpful. good luck everybody, WE CAN GET OVER THIS! keep u updated on my progress.
i have just spent the last couple of hours looking into drink related anxiety. I get it bad, after a very heavy all dayer with my girl friends on sunday i spent most of yesterday not being able to move off the settee and to worried to step outside my front door, the reason i cant remember getting home, i go out every other weekend and drink i go into town have a great time with my friends, but more increasingly spend the next few days after with palpations and stress that everyone hates me i must of upset someone said something wrong became really loud and very annoying, i dont know where all that comes from as my friends tell me that this so isnt the case, sunday in particular was bad as i cannot remember getting home, i have obviously fallen over as i am covered in bruises, i left my friends and they made sure i got in a taxi they say i seemed absolutley fine but i cant remember anything about it, i convinced myself yesterday that terrible things had happened to me, i have been able to piece timings together i think altho still not sure, i left the girls at 10 and was definatly home by 10.20 as i must have attempted to call a take away as when i did 1471 on my phone they were the last ppl to call back, but i have no recollection of this whaat so ever and its really freaked me out, i am glad that im not crazy and other ppl suffer with this in the same way, but after the umptenth time i actually feel scared and i am never doing that again, im nearly 34 years of age and a mum what a stupid thing to do. anyway just felt i needed to add these comments and to be honest i feel a little better now, i binge drink i dont think that qualifies me as having a problem with drink, im not sure but i do know that feeling this way is not good. i have a huge group of friends around me who all do the same but never ever feel the way i do and think im daft for getting so upset but on the same token although i have been friends with these girls for years they always tell me how boring i am when i go out and dont drink and i do feel sometimes that i am the life and soul of the party as i like being centre of atention at the time and entertain everyone and make sure that everyone is ok and enjoying themselves, anyway thats enough from me, but i hope by explaining a little how i feel may help others to realise that they are not mad its just alchol has different effects on different ppl and it obviously isnt good for me,
Hi Toni,
Sounds like you are a similar character to myself!
Experience has told me to listen to your body and remember how bad you’ll feel the next day. It’s all about reducing your intake – whether that’s having singles instead of doubles, shandies instead of pints or whatever…
I writing this is a middle of a crisis. I have been an anxiety sufferer for as long as I can remember. At times im overwhelmed with anxious thoughts, depression, fear and guilt. I find alcohol a reprive but sometimes I take it to far and the feelings im left with after a night out are devestating. For years I have been taking Lexapro the antidepressant. Lately I have switched to Lustral. The combination with alcohol in recently weeks has really screwed me up. My Girlfriend of eight years left to go abroard for a year and I have hit the bottle bad. On nights out my behaviour is more and more risky.Picking fights and waking up with things that dont belong to me, clothes, alcohol, ashtrays out of bars. This is completly against my character. I wouldnt harm a fly. The guilt and paranoia im left with after a weekend on the beer is overwhelming. Im trying to combat this with sleeping tablets and valium but im sleeping all day and when im awake I can’t eat and im in a permanent state of worry. I feel like im falling head first. I feel old. Im 34 this month.
Anxiety and depression is one hell of a nasty disease. even if you have everything but if you have clinical depression, you are still nothing.~:,
Hi all,
Also extremely glad that I found this thread. Some people suffering with the same thing. Im actually seeing a doctor this afternoon.
My last episode, on the weekend resulted in me waking up in bed not remebering almost the entire evening before.
I find myself to be an extremely anxious/paradoid/worried/depressed person at the best of times, and when I go out, after having a few drinks, I become my old self, the one that I know. Have a great time. And then wake up with the above symptoms times ten. Just wanting to sleep and not see the light of day, worried as to who may have seen me, what I may have done. If im in trouble with the law. Are people looking for me. Are people laughing at me.
I call the guys that I was out with to find out what happened, and im worried, just to be told that dont worry man, we all had a jol.
Because I cant remember, I cant believe them and will actually persist in asking people what could have possibly gone wrong, or what I did, surely this guilt cant be for nothing.
I am currently on contract in another country than my girlfirend, and although she knows I suffer and suffer on a higher level after been out, she is very understanding. I cant understand why, I love her but have huge amounts of guilt, What if I cheated or tried to cheat or etc etc. I will never know if i did or didnt, and will worry for the rest of my life. And feel quilty. Did I get into any fights, be horrible with anyone. Jeez I could go on forever. I know I wouldnt do these things sober and to think i may have whilst out drinking kills me.
Obviosuly Alcohol exaggerates the symptoms, but when out having a few beers I do feel better. I dont feel that im an alcoholic, although drinking to feel better is not an option. Need to try treat the anxiety, and if drinking will still cause this problem If a feel even okay sober, then the drinking will stop.
Would rather live a life without alcohol, than sit worrying, anxious, and guilty for the rest of it.
Just hoping to find a way to recover this time, treat it, and be gone with it.
Good luck everyone.
Hey i’ve been suffering from anxiety since i was 14(now 18), i could no longer go out because i’d feel dizzy, see lights and go into a huge panic attack. I’d try to take my mind off it by looking around shops but it didn’t work eventually i’d end up with the jelly legs feeling totally helpless. Taking medication only made me worry more. Only things that seems to calm my anxiety is online gaming+alcohol