8 FACTS ABOUT ALCOHOL & MENTAL HEALTH

Anxiety and alcohol: Looking at everything from alcohol-induced anxiety to alcohol brain fog

Can alcohol cause anxiety?

In this blog post we help answer “can alcohol cause anxiety?” and take a close look at alcohol and mental health.

Alcohol changes levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, which can worsen anxiety.

You may feel more anxious after the alcohol wears off.

Alcohol-induced anxiety can last for several hours, or even for an entire day after drinking.

Does alcohol help anxiety?

So does alcohol help with anxiety?

Well… booze – friend or foe?

For those with anxiety it is definitely a foe. While it may make you feel better in the moment, using alcohol to ease your anxiety will backfire in the long run.

Yes, alcohol can deliver a fleeting positive lift or ease of mood, but over hours its effect is negative: inducing anxiety, low mood and mental fog. Our brain, mind, body and emotions all function via chemical interactions — and alcohol REALLY disrupts these.

In the long run booze can cause major problems to mental well-being, and lead to severe alcohol-anxiety, depression and suicidal feelings. Which is why the WHO classifies booze as a depressant.

Hardly the party-partner we’ve been led to believe in!

Anxiety & Alcohol – 8 Facts: the good, the bad & the ugly

THE BAD

1. Alcohol reduces serotonin levels

Serotonin is one of our happy-chemicals and contributes to a pleasant overall feeling of well-being and contentment. Booze interferes with this and puts the fire out.

2. Alcohol increases anxiety and stress rather than reducing it

As your body processes alcohol, the effects start wearing off — the buzz or calming feeling fades and you begin to experience withdrawal. Not just physical hangover symptoms, but psychological unease like agitation, irritability and low mood.

3. Some suffer more than others

Some hardly notice the agitation and anxiety that alcohol withdrawal creates. But if you have a tendency toward anxiety, these feelings can be really intense.

4. Never-ending cycle

Those with anxiety often relax with a few alcoholic drinks. Initially, it soothes.

But as it leaves your body, the anxiety gets really bad again.

So you want/need to drink again.

Then you’re in a never-ending cycle.

The very thing you believe is helping… is actually causing it.

5. You need more to feel OK

The more you drink, the higher your tolerance.

So you need more to get that buzz or that sense of calm.

But the withdrawal gets worse.

The cycle intensifies — terrible for your mental well-being.

THE UGLY

6. The cruel twist – messing with your happy chemicals

Alcohol increases dopamine in your brain’s reward centre, tricking you into thinking it’s making you feel great. But at the same time, alcohol is altering other brain chemicals that drive feelings of depression and anxiety.

Alcohol is the ultimate frenemy — giving as it takes away.

THE GOOD

7. Hangxiety

We now have a word for all this. More and more people realise that instead of helping with anxiety, alcohol actually makes it worse.

We’ve started talking about it — with each other and in the media.

We are beginning to ask:

“Is it worth it?”

“Have we been conned?”

Just like smoking once looked sophisticated until the medical truth broke through — the same cultural shift is happening now with alcohol.

8. There is a cure – how to stop anxiety after drinking?

If you experience alcohol-induced anxiety, there IS a brilliant cure:

Go alcohol-free.

Symptoms usually subside once the cause (alcohol) is removed.

Some people feel profound relief after 3–4 days AF.

For others it takes a bit longer.

But generally after 10–14 days, incredible feelings of energy, well-being and mental clarity kick in as your natural brain chemistry resets.

Yes, there will be a few challenging days between drinking and not drinking — but after that comes low anxiety, stable mood, and a calmer mind.