I have Generalized Anxiety disorder. I take Lexapro 10 mg in order to counteract the negative, depressive thoughts that would come into my mind from time to time. Before taking medication life was hell, I would cry a lot, and it was very hard to do things and function as normal as anxiety was increased 3-4x regular amount.
What is happening to all of you is you are drinking a chemical substance, alcohol, which, mind you, is also a depressant and should be treated as such. Alcohol is a very nasty drug, much more nasty than Marijuana (also nasty and has withdrawal effects), but is accepted by the media and society due to government regulation.
I drink every weekend and definitely know I shouldn't but there's just a social aspect I feel that I am missing when I don't. Right now I can't sleep it's 3:29 A.M. here and this is horrible. My advice to all of you is to completely avoid alcohol because chances are good that you will develop a problem, or that your children will. If you can't completely avoid it, water it down. I've had liquor where you add water to the alcohol, therefore raising the amount of liquified substance in the bottle without increasing the amount of alcohol you are consuming. I still don't know why I can't sleep, and hopefully this won't be a problem by tomorrow but who knows. Lord knows I'm not drinking to pass out, that would just make everything worse for the 5th day in a row of getting drunk.
Please be smart in all of the choices that you do, and stay safe. Try to take it easy and if you want to check on yourself to see how strong you really can resist alcohol, don't just say "I could stop if I wanted." Take a night and go to the party, but refuse to drink. Then you will see how you really can handle yourself because drunken logic tells you to drink more, even if you shouldn't. Being entirely sober and refusing alcohol will tell you how strong you really are and afterwards for the next party have a friend watch you and remind you of your limit you set out BEFORE going out for the night.
Hi, I am 53 and have suffered depression and anxiety for most of my adult life. I have been taking anti-depressant medication for many years, which generally keeps me well. I, like all of you suffer terribly after taking alcohol. More often than not I wake after just a few hours of low quality sleep feeling awful. Anxious, paranoid that I have said things to upset/annoy people during the drinking session. I am feeling bad right now after a 50 birthday party last night. Very little sleep last night and going over and over who I spoke to at the party and what I actually said and how it came accross. The crazy thing is I know deep down that my behaviour was hardly likely to have caused offence, but oh how that mind of mine will not stop whiring, feels like it's got stuck in a groove of relentless what ifs? All I can think of is will I get much sleep tonight. Sleep is such a gift in these situations! Hey ho..
Thank you all for sharing all your experiences. Notice we all have similar traits. Until last night I hadn't had a drink for a month (after another party) I coped ok so I guess the logical side to me says stop drinking for good! Just wondering if I have quite got to that point. Just to finish with, I come accross as a confident happy individual most of the time. So most people that know me would find this heart to heart quite shocking. Oh the suffering...good luck out there!
I am 25 years old and have been suffering from this EXACT type of post drinking anxiety that has gotten much much worse over the last few years. Even when I was only a couple years younger I can't remember ever feeling the overwhelming feeling of guilt, and remorse over what I may have said or done in my inebriated state the night before. It is actually strangely comforting to read all these posts and find out that I'm not the only one out there who suffers from this affliction, which I found out recently is colloquially known as The Fear.
I also spend several days after binge drinking trying to remember every conversation I had and possessed by the fear that I may have said or done something something inappropriate (especially to women). I'll often call or text all the people I went out with to ask them if I was well behaved the night before, or to apologize to them for potentially offending or harassing them. They usually respond by saying they have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about and that my fears/anxieties are completely unfounded but there is still nothing I can do to quiet that little voice in my head telling me that I'm a f**k up and everyone hates me and that I should never go out again out of fear of running into those people.
The actual nausea and fatigue I feel from the hangover pales in comparison to the fear and anxiety which can become so overwhelming at times that I might actually start babbling to myself to try and calm myself down. Like the poster above stated most people would be shocked if they knew this is what I was going through because when I don't drink I'm usually fine.
Alcoholism and mental illness runs pretty rampant in my family so I have a feeling that drinking is not something I'm going to be able to continue doing, since once that first drink goes down it's just a matter of time before I'm stumbling drunk.
im not sure if you are a woman but i started drinking to combat the c**p way i feel hormonally all i see is there is a pattern. i get very pmt and it just feels like anxiety i dont sleep cant eat and alcohol puts me out of my skin and i can run away from this feeling of anxiety guilt hate for myself then i get bad cramps period comes i calm down patch my life back together say all my sorrys pick up my bottom lip and start being and feeling more positive start attracting good things for a couple of weeks and viscious cycle comes back again. Exercise and balance helps but very hard to do when you want to lash out or run and hide and cant breathe in a single positive thing.
I went out Friday night and drank quite heavily in a part of the world that let's just say is known for it's bad quality and cheap alcohol, Its now Monday evening and ever since I have felt in a fog, I feel paranoid, confused, I feel like there is something wrong with my health, I imagine the worst, I think over the night to see what could have happened, did i hit my head? did someone spike my drink? did I get methanol poisoning, geez list goes on...... I am killing myself with worry but this is not the first time this has happened, I have had anxiety attacks on a number of occasions over the past few years, not all alcohol triggered ( as really I hardly ever drink but we will get to that in a moment) so much so that I've been on numerous medication courses to calm me down. So for almost 1 year now I haven't had a relapse, even when I got Dengue fever and was in hospital with severe symptoms I kept my cool and i had it under control. Last year in January I had a drink binge, just drinking everything that was given to me by friends, lots of spirits, wine, beer and the day after I got sick for almost a month, I was a nervous wreck, I thought it was because my cat gave me rabies for Christ sake, so I didn't want to drink ever again, the odd beer is ok but never more than 2 (as i never drink that is really enough for me to enjoy) then one year on it brings me back to the top, I forgot how bad it made me (well i convinced myself that last year was just another bout of Dengue and that it was never down to drink as the Dengue symptoms are very similar) n now i'm back to square one feeling like c**p over again and regretting my night. Even though I know that this is most likely down to anxiety it doesn't take away any of my worries so I will head to the dr n pick up some xanax this evening before It's too late like last year and i go down that nasty anxiety drain. The Ironic thing is that I am a DJ, I'm out every night in clubs but I stick to water much to everyone's amusement, because I know what alcohol does to me, just these times after a couple of drinks I seem to forget how bad it makes me feel :(
The pain from physiological symptoms is easier to understand than the pain from mental origins. Just like in everyday health issues we understand someone with a broken leg, but much less so someone with depression. It must be down to alcohol messing with chemicals in the brain. The only solution is to limit alcohol intake if the low is lower than the high is higher.
Hi there ,
Ive had the same problem the last yr or so wake up early the nx day from a night out feel anxious an cant get back to sleep ,so then im hungover ,sleep deprived ,an anxious !!!
I found red wine the worse culprit ,Now im jus focusing on not drinking very much ,drinking water between drinks ,as the dehydration gets me around 5, 6 in the morning ,Also i found out alcohol depletes youre B vits ,so i take a really good B vit everyday as its good for nervous energy ,St Johns wort is another nerve tonic lots of water the nx day excersise ..An mainly try not to focus on it in a negative way ,jus get on with youre day as best you can the feeling will pass ,hope this helps
Ha Im also a dj and im playing at a friends party tonight ,i will prob have a few drinks ,fair play to you drinking water through youre set ,i found i play better after a couple of drinks :)
haha funny, the one place I really have confidence is on the stage so I dont need alcohol, in fact all of the stuff I mentioned I was feeling above disappeared (after 3 weeks of hell and isolation and a little hep from xanax too but am now off that) when I had to do a big show last week, leading up to it I was a nervous wreck but as soon as I did it and it turned out to be my best gig ever n my mind instantly clicked back into reality.
Really never drinking again, not worth all the suffering that goes with it as it obviously does something crazy with my brain :(
Yes i know what youre saying funny i met a female djs around 5 yrs ago before i suffered with anxiety ,she told me she suffered with anxiety i couldnt get my head around ,as she was in her element on stage ,Im the same once i start playing a few tunes in, and im on a roll,id usually do half a bottle of rescue remedy first though :) Well im glad to hear youre feeling much better ,i actually believe some folk are allergic to alcohol ,right today is monday time for some weekly detoxing, yoga ,an healthy food this seems to keep me sane an balanced :)
Binge drinking also messes with your serotonin levels, dehydrates you, robs you of vitamin B, messes with your GABA receptors resulting in anxiety the following day. Especially if you have been drinking for many years.
You don't have to have an underlying anxiety problem. Of course if you eat healthy and exercise you wont have it as bad as somebody who neglects their health which makes it worse. Just drink in moderation, you don't have drink a bathtub full of vodka.
I've been following this thread for a while and I'd like to share my story.
I am also a dj, a 15 year vet of the underground party scene, and no stranger to tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. Always loaded, on top of the world, confident as hell, and a ladykiller. Basically, the king of my world.
After suffering a really bad breakup where I essentially believed my own BS, the bottom fell out. At 37 years old here I was in the midst of a MAJOR midlife crisis, a point of no return where I realize the life I was living was completely unsustainable, and I had to make profound choices if I wanted to turn my future around.
I decided to be the person I had always wanted to be. Anybody who's been out there dicking off their life will know what I mean by that. The first thing that went was the cigarettes. Cold turkey after 18 years. Its been well over half a year since I so much as had a puff and I know I will never, ever smoke again.
Here's the funny part: 3 months after I quit smoking cigarettes, I developed an insane reaction to alcohol. . . And I used to put it down. . . 20 beers in 24 hour period, hard stuff, whatever. Now if I so much have 1 beer I start having MAJOR anxiety attacks. Like sinking feeling in my chest, earth in about to fly into the sun, end-of-the-world freakout. Sleep is piss poor at best and once I wake up the first time, I cannot get back to sleep no matter what I do.
The worst after effects happen 48 hours later. So if I drink on a Saturday, I get them on Monday. If I drink on a Sunday, Tuesday. Without fail, I will be sobbing uncontrollably, wanting to die, paranoid, fearful of people, and absolutely bat**** crazy. After 4 days of lessening symptoms, I finally feel normal by Thursday or so, wondering what the hell happened to me and thankful that I didn't hurt myself or die!
I've tried sneaking beers during a set, rewarding myself after a good meal, trying vodka instead, its always the same. For everyone out there experiencing similar issues and trying to justify losing 1,2 or 3 days of feeling sane and normal for one night of drunken highjinks with other people running from their problems let me just tell you the same thing I told myself:
YOU HAVE TO COMPLETELY STOP.
No more alcohol. That's your solution. Not the happiest decision you'll make, but life is learning how to make GOOD decisions for yourself and letting go of bad habits.
As for me, I probably need a real MD evaluation and maybe a psychological one as well to shore up my health problems. Needless to say, its baby steps for me toward a more responsible and hopefully happier life.
Cheers all. You are not alone. I've been there, I AM there, and its sucks. . . but I'm changing my attitude because I have to. I'll be lurking. . . with some Pelligrino in hand. ;)
Thanks for reading.
I just jumped on the net as I can not sleep because of terrible anxiety after drinking at a wedding I attended almost 24hours ago. This happens to me every time a drink and I never realised that so many people suffer the same fate. I really think that it is the last big night I have as it seems to be getting worse and the anxiety last for days affecting my sleep. I just play the same things over and over again in my mind and think that everybody hates me. My heart is racing. It is just not worth it.
I WISH I could just get a regular hangover! Someone up there said it's like clockwork, well it really is. It is mental torture, I can't sleep without being jolted awake, I can't work, I can't relax.. I feel like I'm going to die. Every time I convince myself that I'm going to have a heart attack or stroke, which never happens obviously. It's terrifying, it lasts the whole day after drinking, and then the next day I'm exhausted from lack of sleep and just wearing my brain out with worry and panic and fear. My face tingles, I can't breathe, my chest hurts, I can't think straight. All really scary things.... What the hell is going on? Why and when does this start? It's not even like I'm worried about whether or not i did anything embarrassing its just completely physiological as it starts out with some small physical side effects and then my brain is just like Oh here we go, commence panic attack! Would love for this to NEVER happen to me again.