I have to say that I totally agree with this. I have had this problem many, many times. Get drunk and hours later i’ll tend to feel a bit edgey. When drunk it can have this effect too – particuarly with regards to the increased heart rate.

I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I have had to quit drinking because I’m the type of person that usually can’t just have one drink. I have noticed a pattern in my life which is every time I have a big night or weekend of drinking it is usually followed by overwhelming feelings of anxiety and depression. I then would in turn drink even more to deal with these feelings. It is a vicious cycle that can only end badly. Wether a person should not consume alcohol while suffering from an anxiety disorder really just needs to be evaluated by that specific person. Take a long stint off drinking and see how you feel…… what do you have to lose?

Hey Brent,

I think you nailed it right on the head. Deciding to cut back or eliminate drinking altogether is a personal decision that should be made while sober.

And I think the heavy drinking tends to be the real problem. One or two drinks is a lot different than drinking so much that you lose your balance or any other motor function for that matter.

Using good sense will ensure that you don’t lose anything and even more importantly that you don’t ADD yet another obstacle to your anxious life.

This article is on point. I quit drinking since I noticed that even 1-2 drinks a few hours before bed time will keep me up. I also think alcohol in general is a crappy drug (hangovers & too hard on the liver) and is not an effective way to deal with chronic anxiety. I noticed even after drinking 2 drinks, I will feel slightly edgy. Also alcohol will deplete B-vitamins, and in the long run, that isn’t good for anyone with an anxiety disorder.

I do agree with everyone who has posted. Alcohol does indeed make me feel anxious the morning after heavy drinking. What I find more difficult though is when I have a drink or two on two or more consecutive days. The cumulative affect of small amounts of alcohol make me feel depressed and anxious at the same time.

With this knowledge, it would make perfect sense for me not to drink at all. The thing is, I enjoy having a few drinks now and then. It’s a constant balancing act though between enjoyment and escape and I do ‘wake up’ sometimes and realize that I’ve been drinking too much or for the wrong reasons.

I have recently experienced my 1st panic attack and have been anxious ever since, The one thing that sets it off is drinking. Even just the thought of one beer gets me anxious. Its unfortunate to me because beer tasting and brewing is a passionate hobby of mine. I don’t want to give up this craft I love.

Hey Brett, sorry to hear about the panic attack. My advice would be to to learn all you can and treat it now. The faster you step in and do something the easier this will be to manage.

And believe me when I say that not drinking because of anxiety is a heart breaker. I used to love drinking beer and because of all this anxiety biz i haven’t been drunk in 10 years. Hang in there and don’t lose your passion. Just be smart and proactive.

I too love to drink,a nice cold modelo with lemon andsalt!MMM.but know i suffer from majore anxiety and panic attacks the day after.the anxiety will last days and i get so tired of filling anxiouce that i have to have anouther drink,but i cant just have 1-2 i have to drink 6-8.This cycle is so hard to deal with because filling like your about to have a heart attack is scary.Iguess this filling is the result of alcohol and its horrible witdrawls.gotta go threw it sometime.

Hello I used to drink a lot but only occasionally. 8 months ago, I had a first panic attack and I was admitted to ER thinking I’m going to die. They did chest xray, cardiac markers the whole nine yards and found nothing so they gave me ativan to relax and the doctor have told me im suffering from anxiety attack. Ever since then it really scared me to the point that I dont even wanna drink, workout, or just about anything that would trigger my heart to beat fast. Now i’m still paranoid of consuming at least one cause it scares me I might get panic attack after having one. I wish I can handle one drink without being scared.

Hi DJ, I know what you mean. Something very similar happened to me. Although now I can have a few drinks without too much trouble. Haven’t been drunk in 10 years though. And even though drinking too much is not a good thing, not being able to have a drink when you want one can be frustrating. Go slow, and over time you’ll get back to were you were. Just remember anxiety alone will not harm you.

Hows it going Paul? Thanks. I actually tried having one this halloween and I ignoring the palpitations which is normal if you consume one beer. I just hate the feeling that once you start thinking about not able to control the palpitations after consuming one. How we’re you able to start drinking without worrying about your anxiety? what did you do for you to at least handle couple?

Hi guys, great topic. I experience very bad anxiety when drunk or especially the next day when hungover. I find it hard to rationalise how I am feeling and think horrible stuff happened in the times I cant remember. I think it generally runs the nervous system down and is underated as an anxiety causer. These days I see alcohol as poison, liquid anxiety. I avoid it completely as i could become 20-30.

Hey DJ, I can’t say that I’ve gone back to my old ways but I can certainly have 2-3 drinks. A few weeks ago I even went a little overboard and had 3 shots of brandy.

Now in terms of how I got to that point has everything to do with me doing many things that make me uncomfortable. I frequently do things that I know will make me anxious because I know, at least in part, that this will help me heal my overall anxiety.

I think Justin has a point though in saying that alcohol produces anxiety, sure can. But my whole issue was getting to that anxious place and attempting to overcome it. And remember you don’t have to just drink alcohol to challenge your anxiety. It can be flying on a plane, going to a busy bar, or whatever.

For me its more about not allowing anxiety to rule my life and not so much about getting drunk. Once you see things in terms of an ‘anxiety challenge’ that is when things start to change for the better. Slowly of course.

Hi Robert,

I can relate to what you are saying there.

Can I please add that it seems that there is a popular belief in terms of a ‘ one size fits all relationship between alcohol and anxiety’. Whilst I am sure that there are people out there that are anxious about something and drink to attempt to overcome that…. What I am saying is that I actually think this chemical creates it even in people without anxiety, much the same as dope does.
How so?

Well, It decreases serotonin, which is the feel good chem that keeps us from anxiety and depression.

Also..It alters our sense of reality when we have enough of it. (There’s a situation where we may not feel in control).- not in control- anxiety.

Whilst I try to avoid drinking I agree it’s bloody hard. But it did and still does add water on the fire when I avoid it. Now that I know that that hard earnt cold beer after work could be the start of a downward spiral (agree with the acuumulative thing Rob.)

Look its not easy, but overall I think if you notice the grog makes you’re anxiety worse and you want to keep drinking when you are having problems from the booz, you’d be the equivelant of beating you’re head with the same big stick.
So if the booze makes you anxious kick it, you dont need it.
Cheers (but not in the literal sense)

This is so true. I am suffering from alchol anxeity right now. I keep slipping up and having a drink just to loosen up but the next day is hell. It causes me horrible anxeity and over all just feeling like something is wrong even when nothing is.

Stay away from alchol if you have anxeity it WILL make it worse.

Hi Kenny, if quitting altogether is getting hard at the moment, find a level of drinking whic casues none or minimal anxiety ie 4 beers create a rule and stickj to it. hope this helps.

Im with you on this one Kenny. Im stuck in a cycle of booze and anxiety and more booze to cure the anxiety. Its a messy life. I cant seem to stop drinking, but Im really living in my own anxious hell!!

I’m going through the come down/anxiety issue as we speak. I’m a huge binge drinker, and usually only drink on weekends or sometimes I’ll go through a 4 or 5 day bender of constant drinking day and night. I’ll wake up in the morning after a big night out and just start drinking again…just because its fun. But the following week afterwards is hell. I used to be able to binge like this without any anxiety feelings at all, however lately i havent been dealing well. I was out at a restaurant a couple of nights ago, hadnt had any alcohol i was just slightly hung over from the previous day’s of binging…and i had a massive panic attack for no apparent reason. I stumbled out to the car hyperventilating/freaking out..with about 20 restaurant patrons all looking at me. Not pleasant. That was 3 days ago…and i still feel anxious and edgy…when will this feeling ever go away!!??

I have been depressed/down lately so perhaps this caused the sudden onset of anxiety after a big bender.

I really need this feeling to go away…i start a new job soon (perhaps half the reason why i’m anxious) ..and i cant be feeling like this or i completely flunk it.

Hi Ell, Sorry to hear about the panic attack. Panic attacks can be awful, but when they happen in public they tend to be worse. I would say that the first thing you have to do is relax off the benders.

You have to give your body a break. Otherwise you run the risk of increasing anxiety and depression symptoms.

Second, you really should ask yourself if you have a drinking problem. Drinking heavily five days in a row is not healthy, no matter who you are.

I’m not passing judgment here either, just saying that you should really look into why you feel the need to drink so much in the first place.

To answer your last question, yes the anxiety will subside. But again that’s if you refrain from drinking for awhile.

Also, depression and stress are very much linked to anxiety. So if you were feeling down before this happened the alcohol may have triggered your anxiety, anxiety you may have built up about a number of things could have just “spilled over”.

But its done now. So as long as you put that bottle down, take a look around and make sure you don’t have a problem with alcoholism, and have a bit of patience I’m certain you’ll be just fine.

Great Ideas Eli… I just wish it was that easy. Finding the cause of the drinking for me personally seems impossible. I have NO complaints about my life – in fact Im very happy. The beers are part of my daily routine, like I dont have a choice not to drink them. Most people around me would never believe that I down a 12 pack everyday. After years of drinking and many mornings of anxiety that I can barely control without drinking more beers … I agree with Ell that if your able to quit drinking all together, your mind, body, and soul will function much better. Good luck with that.

Excessive alcohol and people with anxiety and or depression is a really bad mix. I know to well myself. About 2 years ago i over did it one night and blacked out, the next day i felt so depressed and anxious – it was horrible and lasted a few months until i felt my normal self again. After that experience i did’nt drink and felt great, with a really clear head. But recently, i overdid it again and i feel like s***. If anybody is reading this and suffers from anxiety or depression, dont drink to much, it will definetly make you feel worse.

Ionly drink a glass a 2 of wine now and then but it makes me jittery and anxious upto a week after.its taken me along time to connect alcohol with this as im such a light drinker but now i know im not having any.looking back it really had a bad effect on my life

It seemed like all of my anxiety problems started right when I quit drinking, is this possible?. I woke up one day after a week or so of binge drinking and started getting the jitters, anxiety, etc. Deciding it was a sign of likely alcoholism I stopped cold turkey, that was 2+ months ago and since I’ve been suffering from nearly every symptom of GAD. I went to the hospital got blood work, etc done and they diagnosed me with anxiety and possible depression. I’ve been seeing a shrink for around a month now and for some reason I can’t shake the feeling that I’m getting some form of psychosis.

Hi Dillon, Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Just waned to let you know that if you’ve been diagnosed with anxiety/depression then you shouldn’t worry about psychosis.

There is no evidence to suggest that anxiety/depression turn into psychosis.

Although I do understand why you think that.

If you’re having racing thoughts, constant “mental chatter” it can make you feel out of control and make your thoughts seem dangerous, but they’re not.

Follow through with the therapy and overtime you’ll see improvement.

The most important thing you can do is try your best to avoid projection and assumption about what might happen.

Deal with what is happening and you’ll make positive changes. Good luck.

Paul

I have a longstanding history with depression and anxiety, although I have to say anxiety is the major player. I’ve been taking anti-depressants off and on for 17 years and constantly for over ten years.

Over Christmas and New Year I went through hell after a couple of bouts of binge drinking, which to be honest, I was reluctant to partake in as I knew what was around the corner. On both Boxing Day (26th December in UK) and New Years day I had panic attacks, anxiety, remorse, self loathing and unpleasant thoughts. Asides from the hangover, I had to deal with the aftermath of the anxiety which is nothing short of exhausting. I took a conscious decision to knock drinking on the head, although this lasted only 8 days, I haven’t really binged since. On Saturday night though I had five bottles of beer, and got really short tempered with my wife on Sunday morning which led to a huge argument and me becoming very upset, which the booze no doubt fuelled. I’ve got a couple of big things going on in life at the moment, have been prescribed sleeping pills and am signed off sick. If I’m going to keep it together I am really going to have to keep booze at arms length, as it seems to bring a relapse at every turn.

I have been a big weekend drinker for nearly 10years now and only started suffering from a night of drinking about a year ago. Over the past year, the following day from drinking has been mostly crap. Its normally not until the late afternoon i get all flustered, and all i can do is listen to my heart pounding away whilst thinking im about to have a heart attack any minute and generally panicing about anything and everything. Im glad i’ve been able to see that im not the only one as i personally don’t know anybody who has these bouts of anxiety and friends just dont really get it. Ive made the decission to have some time off from drinking alcohol and think the idea of a 3-4 drink rule could be the answer when i decide to have a drink again.
Great to have read about some of your experiences.

Wow, I thought I was the only person who becomes deeply anxious after a night of drinking. I am glad that I ran into this page. I think we can all help one another in the form of support.

Alcohol related anxiety can be horrible. I know that for me, at its worst, alcohol related anxiety can make me feel as if something is horribly wrong, and as if I can’t show my face anywhere – e.g. be present in public, check e-mail, etc… My stomach caves in and the whole nine yards.
This is especially tough as I need to check my e-mail constantly for school work. (I’m in college).

When I quit drinking, life suddenly becomes fantastic. However, when I feel great I become more sociable and begin to think that one drink couldn’t hurt. One drink turns into two and by the time I know it, I’ve had 15. The cycle repeats itself.

I’m going to make a really tough effort to quit drinking… at least binge drinking. I wish everyone here the best in terms of their problem with alcohol. =)

Best,
Anthony

Yeah, I limit my consumption as well. I don’t drink caffiene either as this can be just as bad….but 15 beers Anthony! Wow! I don’t think I;d even be conscious!

Wow, While trying to find answers as to why sometimes i’m anxious when i drink i came about this site. I have been suffering from Panic attacks and anxiety since i was 14 years old. Seventh Grade. Now im 27, and i’m still not use to it. There was a point during high school when i did not have it anymore, and it again returned in 2002. My thing is i love to drink a few cold ones while i relax, socialize, listen to music, dance..etc. I let my fear dictate alot of asspects of my life. Everytime i travel i feel out of my confort zone which makes me anxious, i can;t fly anymore because i feel like i might have a panic attack, i cant even exercise like i use to because when my heart rate elevates it bothers me in the back of my head and i don;t even know why. ANyways i hope everyone here finds a way to cope, as i know i will since i’ve done it before, just gotta find out how this time.

Nice article. I agree that alcohol increases anxiety. I cannot drink anymore at the age of 28. I was never an alcoholic but everytime I had a drink my anxiety disorder worsened. I have GAD and Obessive thinking. I have an experience I would like to share that scared me out of drinking all together. This past Valentines Day I had 7 or 8 drinks, during the night I had so much fun and I fell asleep easily. I woke up in the middle of the night sweating thinking that my mother was going to kill me and my daughter if I went to visit her. I had to call her and tell her the trip was off. I knew she wasnt going to kill us but the thought was so scary. It took me hours to fall back asleep and when I did I slept until late morning. I awoke with a bad headache and upset with myself that I actually thought my mother would kill me or my daughter. Its real life people. I dont even drink that much in fact the last time I had 7 or 8 drinks was over 9 months ago! If I do drink its usually one or two every month. I am on 0.5mg of Klonopin to help with my anxiety and irrational fears and obsessive thinking, I also go to therapy once a week. I feel much better when I dont drink and now I cannot on the medicine. Its too bad but I’d rather have my sanity. Im not willing to trade my brain for a bottle.

Let me first say, I have read everyone of your posts and you guys are not alone. I am a male, 26 years of age and have been suffering from anxiety disorder for the past 5 years. Lately, the frequency of my panic attacks have increased. I am only a weekend drinker (Friday/Saturday Nights), but the alcohol soothes every ounce of my anxiety that these nights turn into full on binges.
I know that I have a 4 beer ceiling, which is the point at which I will be able to function the next day, but once I cross that line, the consumption of 12-18 beers and 6 am bedtimes are the norm.
My anxiety attacks used to accompany my hangovers 50% of the time…now they are at 100%. I will feel completely fine for the first hour after I awake, then the attack will slowly creep up, peaking in the late afternoon/evening. During this time, my heart is racing, I cannot get a deep breath and my vision is blurred (having visited the ER twice before accepting that it was anxiety). It has come to the point where I cannot leave my home when hungover, as the attack is exponentially intensified by driving or even riding in a car.
This “double edged sword” has made me vastly popular in social scenes, and a prisoner in my own skin. My friends don’t understand as they bounce right back after a big night of drinking, so any explanation of the problem to them sounds crazy. Luckily these symptoms are shared with my Mom, who has had AD her entire life as well.
I am glad to find this post and understand what everyone one of you is going through, I hope you can all find a solution. God Bless.

GPK

So can people with anxiety still drink alcohol? I don’t really drink alot and ever since my first panic attack in Januaray 2010 I’ve been nervous to drink. I want to and I’ve been doing well in tackling this anxiety thanks to the Panic Away program.. but I’m wondering if it IS possible to drink a little. Or should I just give it up altogether? Someone please answer.

Hi, Ell your problem sounds similar to mine, I used to partake in big drinking benders, and when in my late teens/early 20’s i could get over it and not suffer bad hangovers.

But in the last few years I developed a real anxiety problem due to all the excessive drinking, and like you would often crack open a beer first thing in the morning to carry on and not get the hangover, its a bad way to be because you eating pattern stops, i found i missed meals and ate very little when on a binge because it doesn’t go together.

ANyway i went to the doctor who told me that anxiety is brought on by drinking, he told me to cut down or stop drinking and i have to say it has greatly improved my well being.

I had fun when i was younger but now i just dont want to feel anxious and all the other bad stuff that comes with binge drinking.