Many people who suffer from anxiety use alcohol as a coping mechanism, due to its perceived relaxing effects.
While this may be an effective solution in the short term, it can quickly become counterproductive because of the hangovers and other ill effects of heavy drinking.
We’ll dive into alcohol’s effects on anxiety and stress below.
Alcohol often induces feelings of relaxation and euphoria -- at first. But there are downsides.
Alcohol disrupts the delicate balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, which are responsible for regulating mood. By numbing emotions and dulling your perception of your problems, alcohol may provide temporary relief from stress. However, as your body metabolizes the alcohol, the depressant effects fade, often leading to a rebound effect: a spiking of stress and anxiety levels.
Moreover, chronic drinking can skew your stress response system, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Prolonged activation of the HPA axis due to alcohol consumption can throw levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, out of whack, causing you to feel even more anxious and irritable.
Heavy use of alcohol is also linked to various mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety.
The cycle of stress and alcohol consumption can become self-perpetuating: stress triggers the urge to drink, which brings temporary relief, which is followed by a resurgence of stress once the effects wear off.
The irony is that people with mental health problems who turn to alcohol as a form of self-medication may well be worsening their symptoms in the long run.
If you tend to rely on alcohol to cope with stress, consider trying healthier ways to unwind.
Alcohol is not an effective long-term solution for stress management. Using alcohol every once in a while, to cope with stress is no big deal. Once it becomes a crutch though, you should seek alternative stress management strategies.
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