Does Alcohol Cause Anxiety?

Alcohol addictions and anxiety disorders are common when it comes to co-occurring disorders. In many cases, these issues cause major distress and impairments to a person’s daily functioning. It has been proven that alcohol use disorders can worsen anxiety disorders and vice versa. 

If you or a loved one is dealing with alcohol abuse and it has caused you to have anxiety or it worsened your anxiety disorder, please reach out to us here at Midwood. We have numerous treatments for alcohol addictions and mental health disorders.

Does Alcohol Make Anxiety Worse and/or Cause It 

Alcohol could cause you to have feelings of anxiety or it could worsen the symptoms of an anxiety disorder that you already have. The problem is that a lot of people abuse alcohol to cope with their anxiety or other issues they are having in life. Usually, this just causes those issues to get much worse. 

You may believe that alcohol helps you to either forget about or relieve your stressors and anxiety. However, alcohol use won’t take away the underlying triggers, obstacles in life or other problems you are having. Whether your anxiety disorder is a cause of financial stress, untreated mental health issues, alcohol withdrawal symptoms or past trauma, alcohol just covers it up for a bit. The longer you try using alcohol to cope, the worse your anxious thoughts and feelings are likely to get.

Even if you don’t have anxiety to start with, using alcohol can begin a cycle of anxious thinking and behaviors. Over time, more than likely, alcohol consumption is going to make this cycle become worse and more frequent. 

If you need help to stop drinking, so you can start healing your mind and body, don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Midwood Addiction Treatment Center today. 

Understand More About Alcohol Use, Abuse, and Addiction

Alcohol is a substance that is used and abused commonly throughout the United States. According to research, 85% of people say they drank alcohol at some time during their life, 26% of people 18 and older say they binge drink from time to time and over 14 million people 12 and older have an alcohol dependence or alcohol addiction. 

Substance abuse is defined as using alcohol in harmful, unhealthy ways to the point that it negatively affects your life. Excessive alcohol use is defined as heavy drinking, drinking while pregnant or binge drinking.

Alcohol use disorders are chronic brain disorders that lead a person to keep drinking alcohol even though it is causing problems in their lives. With this type of disorder, a person will compulsively drink, not be able to control how much alcohol they use and experience cravings and/or withdrawal symptoms when they aren’t drinking. In addition, it has been shown that the majority of those who have an alcohol use disorder do develop some level of anxiety and/or depression.

If you need short-term or long-term treatment options for a mental health disorder or addiction or health problems caused by these issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team today.

Types of Anxiety Disorders Caused or Worsened by Alcoholism

Almost everyone will experience some anxiety throughout their life. In fact, it is normal for humans to have some anxiety (as it can pertain to a dangerous situation, stressors in life or being worried about normal things like diseases or appointments). 

In general, it would be nice if anxious thoughts and feelings subsided after something upsetting happened. However, there are times when this doesn’t happen. You might have worries or fears that don’t go away. Sometimes, these can be caused by internal, instead of external factors. 

If you are having symptoms of anxiety that are affecting your daily functions, it could mean you have a mental health disorder. Some of the disorders that you might have include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder or GAD – generally includes excessive chronic fears and worries, having daily things interfere with your functioning (usually these feelings happen most days and last a minimum of 6 months)
  
• Social anxiety disorder or SAD – generally involves intense fears revolving around performance or social situations like with public speaking (you probably worry people will negatively judge your behaviors and/or feelings)
  
• Panic disorder – Includes unexpected, recurrent panic attacks that are intense and sudden episodes of dread and fear (usually debilitating or even life-threatening due to feelings of doom, trouble breathing, losing control of emotions, and chest pain)

If you are experiencing symptoms of any mental health disorder, you shouldn’t ignore it. There are treatments out there that can help you to manage the disorder and ease some of the symptoms related to it, as well. If you contact us, here at Midwood, we can help you get the alcohol addiction or anxiety disorder treatment you need. 

Alcohol and Panic Attacks

Some studies have shown that about ¼ of those who got treatment for panic and/or anxiety disorders had an alcohol use disorder or addiction, as well. The truth is that alcohol effects the brain on so many ways. It affects brain chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and GABA. When this happens, the body can react differently to basic, daily situations. These changes can cause the body and mind to panic since relaxation isn’t possible during those situations. Heavy drinking makes these feelings much worse. 

If you have a panic disorder or any other kind of anxiety disorder, you might even attempt to self-medicate by drinking alcohol. Most people hope this will help to lessen their anxiety. However, when you abuse alcohol for longer, you become dependent upon or addicted to it, leading to even worse panic attacks. 

Alcohol-Induced Anxiety – How Long is it Going to Last

Not everyone is going to experience the same length or severity of alcohol-induced anxiety. However, it is common for people who have a hangover to experience anxious thoughts and feelings for 14 to 16 hours after the start of their hangover symptoms. When people binge drink, they can expect their anxious thoughts and feelings to last for 24 hours after their hangover symptoms start. In addition, when someone has an alcohol use disorder or addiction, they may experience these feelings in greater severity and possibly even daily. 

If you abuse alcohol or can’t control how much you drink and/or are struggling with symptoms of anxiety, don’t keep going at this road on your own. Our Midwood team is able to help you get the treatment you need starting today.

How Do I Stop Anxiety After Drinking?

There are millions of people who have an alcohol use disorder and millions of others who struggle with anxiety disorders. There are people with co-occurring disorders, too, which means they have an addiction and a mental health disorder. Whether your alcohol abuse caused your anxious thoughts and feelings or vice versa, there are still treatments that can help you to get your life back. Here at Midwood Addiction Treatment Center, we can help you stop the damaging effects of alcohol abuse and untreated mental health issues on your life. Contact us today to get started detoxing from alcohol and improving your anxiety.