Why Alcohol Causes Anxiety: Part 2

All right, all right… I know this post might only appeal to the drinkers among you, but I just had to do a podcast on this topic.

Today, I want to do more than just answer the question: Why does alcohol cause anxiety?

I want to get into details, motives, and provide you with some information that I hope will help you to avoid the panic and worry associated with alcohol related anxiety.

The deal is, I wrote about this topic a long time ago and it has become the most popular article on Anxiety Guru Dot Net, so elaborating on the original article just made sense to me.

So recently I did a little recon and went through every single comment on the old article to gain some insight.

I wanted to know a few things like: What drives people to drink when they know they’re going to pay the price the next day? Among other things.

The answer lies in a well-known fact that everyone likes to ignore. And, of course, there’s more.

But instead of hashing this out in text, I produced a new podcast to bring this topic to life. See, day after day, week after week, this topic gets the most views, comments, and emails.

So I thought, why the hell don’t I have a podcast dedicated to this problem?

In this episode I discuss:

Why alcohol causes anxiety.
How to drink alcohol and avoid anxiety.
How I overcame my own alcohol phobia.
And why people drink alcohol despite the anxiety it causes.

So, here it is.

Please comment below. You know you want to!

mary says

September 18, 2014 at 11:19 am

I am a 52 year old woman who has been drinking heavily for 10 years now. 5:00 is the magic time for me. And I can easily down a bottle of wine, and then some. I drink far more than my friends, and “maintain” much better than they do. I don’t stagger, fall down or do anything stupid, BUT: it makes me feel much less anxious. I know this. I spend the day in terror and fear, with all sorts of physical twinges in my chest, down my arm, my stomach. You all know what I am talking about. But with the first drink, all that goes away, and I am able to get through my evening a little more “normal”, even though I am intoxicated. But this has turned into a vicious circle. I wake up sweating through the bed at 2 a.m., I am not hungover too often, but I don’t feel “well”, and then…..here comes the pain down the arm, the tight chest, lightheadedness.
I am just now acknowledging the fact that I suffer from dreadful anxiety. But I didn’t realize that alcohol would be a contributor to that. I thought it was helping! I’ve known that I am drinking too much, and on one hand, I want to stop, but on the other, I’ve been scared to stop, because drinking is the one thing I could do that took the anxiety away! How do I do this? It’s a habit! A crutch!
I didn’t take a drink at one point in my life for 4 years. I did it then. And I never was much of a drinker, till 10 years ago. I didn’t want to be so altered, and I feared alcohol. Now, I can drink away.
You have given me some stuff to think about. I do know that my anxiety is inherited, in that I grew up in a chaotic violent environment, and as an adult, went into chaotic and violent relationships, till I met my current husband. Funny, the more that I got my act together with my outward environment, the more financial security I have attained, the more my outward life has calmed, the more severe my anxiety has gotten. The more alcohol dependent I have become. My father had extremely severe anxiety, and only treated it with meds. He released it by being violent with me. I didn’t want to admit I had anxiety because I despised his, and all the misery it brought into our home.
But two weeks ago, I broke down totally. I had gone through every round of medical test imaginable, some twice, just to be told it’s nothing (I have a little stomach acid). I’ve had heart catheter, two rounds of every gastro test. And I was trying to decide what color hand towels for the bathroom, and that little twinge in my chest hit, my arm started to hurt, my breathing and chest got tight and I became very detached. I left the store, and my husband happened to call, and I broke down. He very quietly said to me, “this doesn’t happen to you much when you are home” and that phrase threw open the door! I finally admitted that I have anxiety, and hypervigilance, and hypochondria. Now, I am not sure how to proceed, so here I have found your site.
I guess I have hoped that I could find a way to “drink like a lady” easily, but unless I uncover what my motivations are, I won’t. I will journal this one. I do know that the alcohol takes away all my cares. One doctor suggested that I take a lorazepam at 5 pm, and not drink. But I fear doing that, in case I think “hmm, some wine with dinner would be tasty”, and I am scared to mix. I do have lorazepam, but only take a half a one on rare occasions.
I am rambling, aren’t I? But I am happy to have found your site. I have cried and cried and cried these last two weeks. Some good crying, some not so good. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am tired of being frightened that I am dying, or that we are going to be invaded by ISIS, or that I will not enjoy my life ever because I am now so anxious since my life improved. (so weird, I sound like a weirdo. I got to retire due to inheritance, I can come and go as I please, husband doesn’t abuse me or take anything from me, kids are fine, grown and gone, yet it’s worse then it was when life was crazy).
I can see, however, that I am not alone. And that I am not weak. Although I still fear I am crazy. And since this is only a two week revelation, I am still struggling with symptoms. Especially because I drink.
Thank you, guru. For listening. For sharing.

Comments

andy says

April 13, 2011 at 1:42 am

ive been struggling with panic atacks since i was 10 years old im 32 and its sucks im currently hungover so forgive me if this doesent makes much sence. i feel i have so much goin 4 me if i can just catch a little break also i think i could do what you givin advise an stuff havin dealt with this shit 4 so long . keep up the good work ;]
Bryan3000 says

April 24, 2011 at 4:32 pm

Good luck, Andy… and thanks for the podcast, Paul Very interesting stuff!
Fredde says

February 15, 2012 at 7:45 am

A major cause of alcoholism is GAD or generalized anxiety disorder. Alcoholics who try to stay sober and keep relapsing often manage to achieve lifelong sobriety when properly diagnosed and treated for GAD. For those who are not alcoholics and can sometimes overdrink because it feels so good could to relax from anxiety, start using a shot glass to pace yourself. You might be ssurprised to see that two shots,two measured cocktails will give you a good glow and not likely promote a hangover. Avoid sugar mixers to avoid anxiety. I tuned into this page to see about heart palpitations and alcohol. Gave up booze and still have the palpitations so why not have a martini and know that palpitations and anxiety go hand in hand. Ya gotta live. I definitely agree that alcohol and hangovers can trigger anxiety attacks and people often drink with a hangover to offset the panic and this feeds into alcoholism. Like the man says on his alcohol blog, look in the mirror. You know if you have a problem or not. But if you have an anxiety disorder you might need more help than just saying no so do go to AA or whatever, but do get the anxiety properly treated to help with the abstinence. Soon you might get high on feeling calm and good about yourself in sobriety.
mary says

September 18, 2014 at 11:19 am

I am a 52 year old woman who has been drinking heavily for 10 years now. 5:00 is the magic time for me. And I can easily down a bottle of wine, and then some. I drink far more than my friends, and “maintain” much better than they do. I don’t stagger, fall down or do anything stupid, BUT: it makes me feel much less anxious. I know this. I spend the day in terror and fear, with all sorts of physical twinges in my chest, down my arm, my stomach. You all know what I am talking about. But with the first drink, all that goes away, and I am able to get through my evening a little more “normal”, even though I am intoxicated. But this has turned into a vicious circle. I wake up sweating through the bed at 2 a.m., I am not hungover too often, but I don’t feel “well”, and then…..here comes the pain down the arm, the tight chest, lightheadedness.
I am just now acknowledging the fact that I suffer from dreadful anxiety. But I didn’t realize that alcohol would be a contributor to that. I thought it was helping! I’ve known that I am drinking too much, and on one hand, I want to stop, but on the other, I’ve been scared to stop, because drinking is the one thing I could do that took the anxiety away! How do I do this? It’s a habit! A crutch!
I didn’t take a drink at one point in my life for 4 years. I did it then. And I never was much of a drinker, till 10 years ago. I didn’t want to be so altered, and I feared alcohol. Now, I can drink away.
You have given me some stuff to think about. I do know that my anxiety is inherited, in that I grew up in a chaotic violent environment, and as an adult, went into chaotic and violent relationships, till I met my current husband. Funny, the more that I got my act together with my outward environment, the more financial security I have attained, the more my outward life has calmed, the more severe my anxiety has gotten. The more alcohol dependent I have become. My father had extremely severe anxiety, and only treated it with meds. He released it by being violent with me. I didn’t want to admit I had anxiety because I despised his, and all the misery it brought into our home.
But two weeks ago, I broke down totally. I had gone through every round of medical test imaginable, some twice, just to be told it’s nothing (I have a little stomach acid). I’ve had heart catheter, two rounds of every gastro test. And I was trying to decide what color hand towels for the bathroom, and that little twinge in my chest hit, my arm started to hurt, my breathing and chest got tight and I became very detached. I left the store, and my husband happened to call, and I broke down. He very quietly said to me, “this doesn’t happen to you much when you are home” and that phrase threw open the door! I finally admitted that I have anxiety, and hypervigilance, and hypochondria. Now, I am not sure how to proceed, so here I have found your site.
I guess I have hoped that I could find a way to “drink like a lady” easily, but unless I uncover what my motivations are, I won’t. I will journal this one. I do know that the alcohol takes away all my cares. One doctor suggested that I take a lorazepam at 5 pm, and not drink. But I fear doing that, in case I think “hmm, some wine with dinner would be tasty”, and I am scared to mix. I do have lorazepam, but only take a half a one on rare occasions.
I am rambling, aren’t I? But I am happy to have found your site. I have cried and cried and cried these last two weeks. Some good crying, some not so good. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am tired of being frightened that I am dying, or that we are going to be invaded by ISIS, or that I will not enjoy my life ever because I am now so anxious since my life improved. (so weird, I sound like a weirdo. I got to retire due to inheritance, I can come and go as I please, husband doesn’t abuse me or take anything from me, kids are fine, grown and gone, yet it’s worse then it was when life was crazy).
I can see, however, that I am not alone. And that I am not weak. Although I still fear I am crazy. And since this is only a two week revelation, I am still struggling with symptoms. Especially because I drink.
Thank you, guru. For listening. For sharing.