anxiety after drinking alcohol

I experience all the exact same symptoms from drinking alcohol and so desperate that I decided to do something drastic about 7 months ago and completely change my lifestyle and I can say that with the few changes I have made and as important maintained I was able to have several drinks on Friday night and still function the next day with only a standard - foggy head - hangover, for the first time in years. For me it was a combination of cutting out processed foods and eating as clean as possible, no soft drinks/sugar binges etc... regular exercise for improved recovery, and practicing letting go of being in control. I believe that we who like to be in control all the time have the hardest time dealing with our body and mind when we go through the hangover experience with is contributed by massive a sugar intake to then none, depletion of important vitamins and minerals ( which is already limited in our modern day diets), Dehydration, lack of sleep, irritability, fogginess etc.... I have found that if you can let go and be ok with feeling like c**p the day after and truly accept that notion it is the first step, after all we always get through it right?. Combine this approach with a better diet and regular exercise and the body and mind will have the fortitude to handle challenge thrown its way. For me this problem has made me change my life for the better and believe it or not but I am actual thankful having these awful experiences for it has made me a healthier, happier person. I hope this helps.

The problems you experience the next day is the result of dehydration. Alcohol makes the kidneys release extra fluid. It is highly recommended to drink enough water before and after consuming alcohol. It would be helpful.

Hi guys I am the same feel really nearvous and shaky next day after drinking. I hardly drink but when I do drink I have a few. I found to help with the anxiety is vitamin B and vitamin C with a pint of water. When the vitamins kick in they replenish the body what's it lost by drinking helping the brain chill out. Plz try a good vitamin from holland and barrots and also there's other health care in the shop that will help. Good luck and don't miss this help I've offered as it helps quite a bit xxx

I found the cure to this. Ive been suffering from really bad anxiety and panic attacks the following day after a night on the ale. What I find to really help is to get out of the house and go for a long walk say 30 minutes, I usually take a banner and bottle of water with me to keep my energy up and re-hydrate myself. If you like you could also take a couple of paracetamols before hand and rennie tablets or gaviscon if you suffer from acid reflux. Also make sure that you don't sleep in too late, it is important for you to have breakfast ideally porridge.

So:

1. get up early and have breakfast (healthy food)

2. go for a long walk (30 mins at least) and take some fruit (non acidic fruit) and water

3. if you have an upset stomach or headache get some paracetomols down you

4. gaviscon to help if you have acid reflux

It is really important to replenish your body's electrolytes so the faster you do this the quicker you will feel better.

I've been lay on my couch shaking and worrying like a b****r since lunchtime yesterday,I've been off the drink for nearly three months and went a bit mad on saturday nite now I'm paranoid as hell,,who did I see,,what did I say,,did I talk to any bad people,is someone going to break into my house and murder me,,that's the extent of my anxiety when I drink I've tried to tell my friends but they laugh at me and tell me to "stop being a puff" I love my mates but I'm tempted to drop them because of the drinking culture we grew up with,,,I'm so torn

Im 33 and I suffer from hangovers that are so bad i literally dont have the balls to leave the house or open the blinds in the fear that something bad will happen to me. Im embarrassed that my neighbors or family will see me in the mess so i go on lockdown until its gone.  I wont even answer the phone, in fact i dread the phone even going off as i dont want it to be my family cause then i will have to answer cause i want them to think im ok, i cant even get the words out of my mouth if i answer. My problem is i need to drink heavily when im out with my mates as its the only was i feel i can mix socially as i am not confident. I have been arrested quite a few times for fighting etc. I have had to leave 3 jobs over the past 2 years as my sickness record at work was getting ridiculous and i felt if i didn't walk i would be sacked soon. Getting back to the hangovers unless you get it real bad its difficult to explain how you feel. Its like an impending doom and minutes seem like hours. My problem is i will go out on a friday get smashed maybe do some coke wake up Saturday and start to drink in the house whatever is there, i wont stop till it is all drank and the fear is now that bad i cant face going out to get some more because i cant put one front in front of the other. I typically stop drinking in the house on a Tuesday and dont leave it till the Thursday. I know when the hangover is going as i get the odd split second of feeling better and gradually it just gets more and more. I usually then try to watch funny videos and stuff like that. The only answer is to stop drinking, i know this but i will have to cut myself off from pretty much my whole circle of friends as they dont understand how it effects me. The only answer if you get hangovers this bad is to stop drinking full stop.

I totally agree with you here. I'm s 38yr old female and after years of of getting myself in states, blackouts, hurting myself, ruining clothes, losing shoes, bags, phones etc... I have finally had a night of The Fear and have given up alcohol.
I was in denial for so long. I would change my drink or only have a few but I would have a short memory and forget the bad experiences that had at times made me feel like killing myself. Hair of the dog- a drink first thing in the morning to prevent a hangover wasn't unusual to ease the negative feelings.
I attended an AA meeting and realised that you can have an intolerance to alcohol so no matter what you drink or how much it affects you different from everyone else. This is my 3rd week sober and I feel great. I look at life in a more positive way. I am now the designated driver for nights out and I will still be going out! I'm glad I had the wake up call. Listen to your brain and body crying out for help before you are totally dependant on alcohol.

Hi folks,

I'm so glad I found this thread. I, like all of you it seems, suffer from incredible paranoia after a night of drinking. Did I look ridiculous, was everyone thinking of was really drunk, did someone notice I missed my mouth while eating, was I slurring my words, does everyone hate me now, did I look awful, etc, etc?

HORRIBLE! 

It has gradually got worse for me since the age of 20. I'm now 31 years old. I remember getting drunk around 19 and not really thinking about what people thought. Now though, especially after Friday night drinks with work people, I dread going in on Monday because I'm so scared I will be a laughing stock.  

I also suffer terrible hangover. I literally can't function and get hot and cold sweats the next day. I always sleep badly too and have terrible nightmares. At the time of drinking I always feel perfectly functional, but the next day I seem to have massive memory loss which heightens my fear that I made a fool of myself - not remembering what I actually did.

I feel it's so drastic to quit drinking and I have a friend who has after suffering the same way, but she now can't relax whenever she goes to bars or clubs, so avoids them.

I wish I could have fun, laugh off any madness from the night before and, well, not give a f***!

I couldn't be any more grateful to have found this thread. For awhile I was worried if I was an alcoholic, back in 2011. I gave up drinking for most of 2012 and it was so easy, it made me feel like I would be able to pick up again and just pay careful attention. But every time, I would get some sort of emotional fixation on something and for the next few days just feel an intense HATE towards myself, shame, guilt... etc. 

I recently went to a wedding and drank far more than I ever should have, and ended up having one of these somewhat emotional fixations toward the end of the night. Sadly I was with a date and feel like it probably ruined that opportunity! 

This was the first time it dawned on me that it really IS the alcohol and not just me.. I am always so much happier without it, so much more caring, confident, (even when I do have anxiety) I can overcome it better without alcohol. And I like myself SO much better sober. The "radiance" that I work so hard for goes out the window and it's like starting all over again, reminding myself of what I love because I'm too frightened by my actions when I'm drunk. 

usually a fear we dont come to realize will make the anxiety worse when drinking, sometimes transitions in your life that you know will take some time money will power to do will hide in the back of your head and you wont realize this effects your anxiety to the max. Recently after a night of drinking my heart wouls beat pretty hard and would wake me up with worrys of it not being normal, triggering a panic attack, its been a month since I've tried drinking and im to scared to try it again, one of my fear tho while drinking is to be drughed which doesnt help. to add to my anxiety im in the process of remodeling my house which im living in which has nothing organized and has me out of wack because I cant do my normal daily routines im used to doing. add child support, being sued from an insurance company worrying about your kids daily putting mass amounts of cash into a project, car troubles lol you get the point, I feel like im never going to get passed this, hoping some anti depressants will help, btw clonazepam has been a huge help!

  I know this sounds too good to be true, but I accidentally stumbled on a real cure for this condition.  Let's call the condition "After Drinking Anxiety" since that's what it really is.

  I was diagnosed with what I thought was an unrelated condition and was prescribed medication that wasn't the anti-anxiety type.

  The first time i got drunk I was 17 yrs old and I remember the day after: I was staring at the ceiling wondering what this strange feeling was.  All of the symptoms mentioned above but especially the paranoia have worsened over time; I'm now 43.  

  Before the medication I drank maybe 2-3 times per week.  After I started the medication it was inevitable that I drank again, but this time, there was no panic, no nervousness, no paranoia the next day.  There wasn't even anything that could resemble a hangover at all!  Of course what did I do? My new found freedom from the curse I had to endure for much of my life compelled me to drink more.  After all, I was free to be normal for once.  My wife couldn't even tell I had been drinking! I acted completely normal.

  I drank every single day for six years after that and I think that my condition had become an enigma.  I had always been convinced that I wasn't an alcoholic, yet couldn't really explain why I drank.  Before the medication, I got into trouble at work for calling out sick every time I drank or for leaving early.  I just couldn't face anyone while feeling the panic.  Honestly, it was so bad I would just want to jump out of my own skin.  That's the best way to describe it.

  After I started the medication I could keep my wits about me and the next day return to work with the same state of mind and dignity I left it with the day before.  This will probably give someone a good idea for a story because it was sort of like Pandora's Box.  I had spent years suffering for drinking and now I had found a way to enjoy drinking without the suffering.  No matter how often I drank I didn't feel any negative effects.  Of course I had to make up for lost time so I now drank to compensate.

  A year ago I realized I couldn't afford to drink anymore, yet, knew the key to stopping would mean stopping the medication, as well.  It was actually compelling me to drink. I stopped taking the medication and stopped drinking the same day.  After about four months, I drank again and felt like s%$t. It has been almost a year now since my last drink without any effort and no intervention.  I knew I was not an alcoholic, I just reacted to it differently than others.  The vicious cycle of panic it created just isn't worth it.

  I hope this assures all of you that there is nothing wrong with you other than you happen to enjoy having a few drinks yet pay for it with your soul every time.  

  On a side note: I'm not positive, but I think some famous people have this, too.  Edgar Allen Poe was the life of the party, then disappeared from sight for weeks or months after a binge.

I used to be able to binge no problem with hardly any side effects up until about a year ago when I started having "episodes" the next day(s).   I tried all kind of diets, exercise, water, etc. and nothing seemed to help. Recently, I drank a recovery drink that contained a prickly pear extract in it that for some reason seemed to help (a little).  So I did a little research on google and it seems there is some conclusive evidence that not only does it (prickly pear/nopal) help with hangover symptoms but it also helps regulate blood sugar, which I think may be the main cause for a lot of us.  Anyway, I bought a supplement from a health food store (can't remember the brand name) that was called nopal blood sugar and have been taking the suggested dosage daily.  I can drink again.  I needed to put this out there hoping that someone may have the same condition as me and that they find a little relief.  All I can say is it's (for me, so far after two weeks) a miracle.  I'm not a medical professional and don't want anyone to take something without checking to make sure if it's okay for them, I just had to write on one of theses pages something that might help that didn't involve giving up drinking entirely.   Hope it helps!

Hi All, I'm wondering around here because I recently realized that my fears and paranoid feelings were only caused by (heavy) nights out.

So now I just anticipate them; I know which stages I'm going through and just accept them. Laughing about it helps. As in "Yep, that scares me because I drank 2 days ago" or "Now I'm so impatient and angry because I drank yesterday".

I believe I'm a very social and liked person, but not the next days after when I'm fighting my demons, as I call it.

I'm pretty sure that every human on earth suffers from this, but not every human on earth drinks/drank so much as some of us out there.

Well, the funny thing is that everybody (I must confess I haven't read all of the posts) focusses on the effect of alcohol but we all have the tendency to forget the mess of toxicants we create in our blood after drinking. I hear people say that it got worse with age; for the simple reason that your liver and other organs are getting ruined and it takes longer for the alcohol to break down and for the toxicants to leave your body. The psychiatric disorders which are associated with long-term effects of alcohol (alcoholism, just face it - and I'm quoting Wikipedia) include major depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, suicide, neurologic deficits (e.g. impairments of working memory, emotions, executive functions, visuospatial abilities and gait and balance) and brain damage. 

So some advice:  Just don't over do it and if you do it, then accept that you're normal and thus reacting normal on alcohol and the toxicants: after all you're poisoned!

Don't go that far that eventually you'll never be able/allowed to drink again: our world is full of social gatherings in many ways where alcohol flows: it would be a pity if you can't have that glass of champagne anymore on New Year's Eve...

Cheers, I'm of to the bar now for an afterwork ;-)

Hi, I'm just adding my two cents to let people know this is something that is still happening to people.  The stories on this site/thread really help me feel better.

I am currently going through this post-drinking anxiety/dread (day two) after attending my 30 year high school reunion on Saturday night. While I did't ever get slurring drunk, I drank from 7PM to 3AM.  I've been dreading this event for a long time coming because I knew I would have to drink significantly.  I know some would say just don't drink etc. but I had a reputation as a little bit of a partier back in the day and I knew my old friends would be disappointed.  Plus, I just don't have as good of time at something like this without drinking.  It is quite the conundrum.  What I am experiencing is not a normal hangover in the traditional sense.  I've been through those plenty of times when I was younger with the physical ailments but not the emotional distress.  This is wholly different in that I feel like a horrible person with these. What did I do, say etc.? I'm happily married and a father of three. For the next couple of days I will be thinking I'm a bad husband/father.  Then, hopefully after a couple more days I'll get back to normal.  It usually works that way.  I have friends that can get drunk on occasion and feel physically bad but not suffer the emotional distress.  How I envy them.  It's not like I want to be a boozehound but I do enjoy having a couple of beers and hanging with people every once in a while.  I tried quitting for a few months and it just sucks. But this sucks too.  

I do find that if I only have about three beers and then eat I don't suffer this the next day.  Maybe a strategy of limiting myself to that amount is the answer.  Anyway, I just wanted to throw in my part and keep this conversation going as I think it helps a lot of people. 

Incidentally, I do suffer from anxiety disorder and take anti-depressants.  They don't seem to help with this though.  Also, I am Irish-Catholic.  I've been told by my psychiatrist that that is a risk factor for alcoholism.  I wonder if the contributes to the post-drinking anxiety?

it's been good to read other people's experience with this. I'm 52, and this anxiety/depression/guilt started up ten years ago and has progressed now to the point that I have asked my GP to hospitalise me for a controlled alcohol withdrawal. In the past year, I've been through the 'vicious cycle' of binge and depression and abstinence over twenty times. I have always enjoyed a drink, but these times are indeed terrible. I will have 4 pints, a wine with dinner. Next day, I need a beer to calm down. Soon, I'm at the pub again. 3 days can roll into 5 this way, and it can take up to ten days of self-loathing to recover. I should point out that I am unemployed from the seafaring industry, and quite alone except for a son 1,000 kms away. He is 17 and I don't want to burden him. Thanks Everyone for the stories. I feel better knowing I'm not alone, and if you can take anything away from my story, good luck. Ill be revisiting this forum.