But they can also cause unexpected psychological symptoms, including anxiety. There’s no magic pill to improve your mood, but managing your hangover symptoms can make you feel better overall. In addition to minimizing your chances of a hangover with the above tips, the Cleveland Clinic recommends eating complex carbs to help increase blood sugar and reduce nausea. And like we said, drinking water can keep you hydrated, which may help you avoid a pounding headache. If you do wind up with one, taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, like aspirin, can help ease the pain. The Cleveland Clinic recommends that you avoid taking acetaminophen—found in Tylenol—since it can be toxic when there’s alcohol in your system.
Alternate Alcoholic Drinks with Water
Not to mention, alcohol could be considered a poison since its breakdown in the liver results in acetaldehyde, a carcinogen that causes an upset stomach and headache which can be anxiety-inducing. So, you had a few too many and now you’re left with a pounding headache and unrelenting anxiety. So, as DiLossi notes, it’s a perfect storm of a dopamine rebound with reflections on atypical behavior that can trigger hangxiety. Medibank acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of this nation. We proudly recognise Elders past, present and emerging as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work and live. We’re committed to supporting Indigenous self-determination and envision a future where all Australians embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and rights as a central part of our national identity.
It could be related to social anxiety
It found that participants who scored as “highly shy” experienced the highest levels of anxiety the following day. Gunn also suggested that alcohol tolerance may be rooted in biology. “The ALDH2 gene is a gene involved in the breakdown of alcohol,” he said. Alcohol initially gets broken down into a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde, which the enzyme ALDH then converts into a less toxic compound that can be metabolized into carbon dioxide and water. Certain versions of the ALDH2 result in less-efficient ALDH enzymes.
Alcohol is a Depressant
- These transitions, such as moving between tasks or taking breaks, can help declutter the mind and establish internal boundaries, thereby increasing one’s level of self-awareness and improving the relationship with oneself.
- For some drinkers, hangxiety—that’s hangover anxiety, for the uninitiated—is almost as reliable as the pounding headache and queasy stomach.
- After these endorphins are released, their levels naturally decrease, which could trigger the feeling of an emotional comedown.
- It’s the series of changes that happen in your body following drinking, and it usually sets in by the next morning.
Alcohol also might reduce the effectiveness of your anxiety medication, if you take it, further leading to anxiety after drinking. Your anxiety might be heightened after a night of drinking because you’re dehydrated as well. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it makes you go to the bathroom more than you normally would. Add to that the fact that many of us are guilty of not drinking enough water in between glasses of wine and it’s very likely you don’t have enough water in your system.
One of the most effective ways to avoid hangxiety is to control how much alcohol you consume. Stick to the recommended guidelines of no more than one or two standard drinks per occasion. 6 ways adult children of alcoholics struggle later in life Remember that drinks with higher alcohol percentages can worsen hangxiety symptoms. Here are a few factors that may impact the likelihood that you’ll experience hangxiety.
How to Avoid Hangxiety
Hangxiety can also be thought of as a sort of emotional withdrawal from alcohol. Drinking causes the body to release feel-good chemicals like dopamine and endorphins, but you might experience a comedown as your body attempts to recover and reset. Meanwhile, cortisol – the body’s stress hormone – is released both during and after drinking, and can add to your anxiety.
Additional hangover symptoms can cause increased feelings of stress and discomfort. “The anxiety triggered during a hangover mixes with the toxic body state induced by a night of heavy drinking, as well as the behavioral context that often follows heavy-drinking hangovers,” Naqvi explained. What’s more, people with anxiety may be inclined to drink more due to the relaxing effects of alcohol. This can be particularly true for people who experience mild social anxiety. The downside is, once the effects of the alcohol wear off, that initial anxiety could feel even more acute after drinking.
In reality, though, some people are better off—and, more importantly, happier—without alcohol in their lives. If you’re prone to anxiety after getting drunk, then the only way to prevent this from happening is by consuming less alcohol, says Dr. Bogenschutz. “Stopping sooner, or substituting non-alcoholic drinks can reduce the total load of alcohol on the body,” he says. There are also ways to minimize the severity of a hangover overall, which yes, start with drinking less alcohol, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The organization recommends having no more than one drink per hour and alternating alcoholic drinks and plain water. Staying hydrated will lower your chances of developing a headache the next morning—which will at least help reduce how awful you feel.
If you are eligible, one of our health professionals will call youin 2-3 business days to discuss your situation and help to enrolyou in the relevant program. While we hope you find this information helpful, please note that it is general in nature. It is not health advice, and is not tailored to meet your individual health needs. You should always consult a trusted health professional before making decisions about your health care. While we have prepared the information carefully, we can’t guarantee that it is accurate, complete or up-to-date. And while we may mention goods or services provided by others, we aren’t specifically endorsing them and can’t accept responsibility for them.
Your anxiety circuits go into overdrive as they try to find a balance after being suppressed. It’s a popular term that describes a widely shared experience of post-alcohol anxiety. If the symptoms of a hangover or hangxiety are severe—or if you are having shaking, tremors, a fever, changes in consciousness, or seizures—get prompt medical attention.
If you’ve figured out patterns around when your anxiety really flares, like after a night of drinking, that can be especially helpful to mention. Excessive alcohol use affects relationships and all dimensions of overall wellness. If alcohol is negatively impacting your physical self, mental health, or social wellbeing, you are not alone, and you can make a change. At Monument, you can access therapist-moderated online alcohol support groups to discuss your relationship with alcohol and hear how others navigate similar challenges. You can also explore personalized care including medication to stop drinking and online alcohol therapy. In my work on the Monument platform, I meet with patients to discuss how medication can play a role in changing their habits.
If moderation doesn’t work for you, consider reaching out for additional help. Alcohol is also known to make anxiety worse, so you may be more prone to hangxiety if you already have anxiety to begin with. That impact on your judgement and reasoning can make you say or do things you usually wouldn’t. When you remember (or try to remember) what happened the next day, you might feel embarrassment or a sting of regret. “But more than three drinks can begin to impair balance, speech, thinking, reasoning, and judgment,” Turner says. The combination of decreasing endorphins and the realization that your worries are still there is a recipe for feeling physically and emotionally unwell.
In fact, Baskin-Sommers lists anxiety, low mood and jitteriness as frequent symptoms. Essentially, hangxiety is just a catchall term for the psychological effects endemic to a hangover. addressing unmet needs in opiate dependence Following this idea, a 2019 study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences measured levels of anxiety among social drinkers before, during and after drinking.
I also advise on how to safely cut back based on their unique needs, goals, and medical history, including guidance on if they are at risk of withdrawal symptoms. If you’ve ever had an alcohol-fueled night that led to a miserable next morning, then you’re already intimately familiar with the concept of a hangover. This post-drinking slump is what major media outlets have dubbed “hangxiety” — and yes, it’s a real thing.
The point is to move through the anxiety instead of pushing past it. If your anxiety is too high to drift off, at least lay down for a while. Dim the lights, turn on some white noise, and diffuse some lavender oil in your bedroom. Some prescription meds are not supposed to be mixed with alcohol. Maybe the blend can trigger dangerous side effects or maybe the booze just dilutes the pills’ potency.
Giving your body what it needs can help you regain your balance and feel physically and mentally better. However, chronic or severe anxiety during hangovers may be an important clue that a person’s body is not tolerating alcohol well or that they should speak to a doctor about anxiety. Other people may wish to prevent hangover-related anxiety by reducing or eliminating drinking.
Some people may consider keeping a log of anxiety episodes that follow drinking to determine whether certain situations or quantities of alcohol cause anxiety. People with alcohol use disorder may experience withdrawal when they do not use alcohol. The study found that drinking led to a slight decrease in anxiety among shy individuals. While some people may be more likely to experience 16 ways to stop drinking alcohol hangxiety than others, focusing on your physical health, practicing self-compassion, and having a go-to relaxation method can all help when hangxiety hits. But reaching for caffeine may not be the best idea as its stimulant effects could exasperate your feelings of anxiety. Plenty of people reach for a coffee the morning after drinking to try and shake the feeling of grogginess.
The organization provides support through mindfulness practices, behavioral therapy, group calls, and a care team of people who have an expertise in sobriety. Queer AA is another option for people in LGBTQ+ communities specifically. It will take some work, but it’s worth making your mental health a priority whenever possible.
If it begins to drag on into two or three days, Adnand warns, this may be your body trying to tell you something more urgent. “That may not be anxiety; that might be alcohol withdrawal, and that suggests dependence to alcohol, which is a very high-risk factor for addiction.” According to Nutt, the brain tries to compensate for these effects by decreasing GABA production and increasing glutamate production. Once the alcohol has left the body, the brain is left overactive and this can cause feelings of anxiousness, as well as other symptoms of a hangover.
