Managing and preventing hangxiety involves practical strategies that can help you enjoy social occasions without the unwanted after-effects of anxiety. Many people find relief with the right combination of therapy, support groups, and lifestyle changes. In addition, some specific changes in the body may increase the risk. If the factors involved in a classic hangover can also contribute to anxiety, treating your physical hangover may help you mentally. As alcohol starts to rapidly disappear from your system Feifel explains a pendulum effect occurs.
Hangxiety prevention: How to stave off the stress
Sign up for InsideHook to get our best content delivered to your inbox every weekday. Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Here are three tips that can help you manage hangxiety — and hopefully make you feel better too. You may need to add a hydration boost like Liquid IV or other electrolyte drink in many cases.
Seek support from others
The best way to stop hangxiety is to not drink heavily or at all. One of the great benefits of getting sober is that you no longer have to play Russian roulette with your mood. The brain responds ecstasy withdrawal and detox symptoms and timelines to an influx of alcohol by blocking GABA and increasing glutamate. When this process happens, you go from a happy-go-lucky drunk person to an anxiety-stricken, rage maniac (or something related).
Hangxiety 101: Why Drinking Causes Hangover Anxiety
“People who have preexisting anxiety or other mental health conditions are at higher risk for experiencing the psychological effects after having alcohol,” Baskin-Sommers says. Adnand adds that in his experience, women, and those who experience social anxiety, are also more likely to be affected. A 2011 study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that even mild dehydration in men can lead to impaired working memory and increased anxiety levels. Similarly, women suffered from lower mood when they became dehydrated by as little as 1.36%, according to a 2012 study, published in the Journal of Nutrition. “There is an increase in proinflammatory cytokines [a class of inflammatory molecules] and cortisol [stress hormone] levels,” he said.
What is Hangxiety? How to Combat Anxiety After Drinking
Focus on what you need to feel calm, whether that’s curling up in a blanket or texting a friend, and remember that you’ll feel better soon. The symptoms of hangxiety are likely to happen along with the physical symptoms of a hangover. While not everyone experiences hangxiety when they have a hangover, it’s believed that about 12% of people do.
It could be alcohol intolerance
Head to our Just Curious section to see what else we can answer for you. Here’s what they had to say about what causes “hangxiety” and how you can blunt its effects. Dr. David Nutt, head of the neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College London in England, told Live Science how hangovers can impact our mood. Some adults can safely tolerate two or three alcoholic beverages when consumed with food, but many cannot tolerate more than one drink. Alcohol use disorder can be hard to manage with moderation alone.
People with anxiety disorders may use alcohol to cope with the symptoms. As a result, they will typically feel more anxious when they are not drinking. This hangover-related anxiety, or “hangxiety,” can last for several hours after a person’s blood alcohol levels return to normal. If hangover anxiety is getting in the way of your day-to-day function or doesn’t go away along with other hangover symptoms, a mental health professional can help. Feeling extremely thirsty is a common hangover symptom, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Alcohol is a diuretic substance, which means it makes your body lose fluids more rapidly than normal.
- One of the most effective ways to avoid hangxiety is to control how much alcohol you consume.
- Research from 2014 suggests this can contribute to anxiety and other changes in mood.
- People with anxiety disorders may use alcohol to cope with the symptoms.
- If you drink before you drive or start work, you might also feel anxious about someone noticing your alcohol use.
Not everyone experiences this psychological symptom of a hangover. Research suggests that folks with a social phobia or shyness are more likely to experience hangxiety. It might also be linked to dehydration, sleep deprivation, medication interactions, or alcohol intolerance. Talking to someone you trust about your feelings can be incredibly comforting.
Other factors found in classic hangovers may also make you more likely to experience anxiety. Dehydration, for example, has been linked to increased feelings of anxiety. Increased heart rate, sweating, increased anxiety, worry, and general distress for no known reason can all be symptoms of hangxiety, Kubala says. Because alcohol consumption also disrupts healthy sleep patterns, it may become more difficult to make decisions, complete simple tasks and concentrate your attention on any one thing. A 2021 review published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review suggested that this imbalance in gut microbes may be linked to symptoms of anxiety disorders. However, more research is needed to fully understand the mechanism behind this, and it’s unclear how these gut bug disruptions might contribute to short-term feelings of anxiousness after drinking.
If you’ve ever woken up after a big night and felt a sense of dread, you could be suffering from ‘hangxiety’, a hangover with anxiety. The good news is there are things you can do to stop it happening again. With all the opportunities to consume alcohol in everyday life, it can be easy to slip into a destructive pattern of drinking. Here are some of the things that may cause hangxiety after drinking alcohol. The weird times we’re living in have caused some of us to lean on the bottle a little more than we normally would.
The word ‘Hangxiety’ might not be in the dictionary, but you’ve likely heard it and very well may have experienced it. For many, hangover-induced anxiety, or drinking-related anxiety, is very real. Many of my patients pursuing online alcohol treatment at Monument ask me why they feel anxious after drinking alcohol.
Even if you don’t have an alcohol use disorder, you can still experience hangxiety after a night of heavy drinking. If you wake up feeling gripped by anxiety, keep in mind that it might be because of the way your body common medications used for drug and alcohol detox and brain are processing the alcohol. If you can, rest and allow your brain to recover, advises Dr. Bogenschutz. Some people claim that drinking more alcohol helps cure hangovers, but that can only make things worse.
Alcohol increases GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) activity, slowing everything down and calming the brain. Talk to friends or family members who may understand what you’re going through. If hangxiety is a recurring problem, consult a mental health professional for coping strategies and support.
Alcohol disrupts your sleep cycles and prevents you from getting good quality sleep. You may experience hangxiety if you are sleep-deprived after a night of drinking. While drinking, you may experience pleasurable effects, like relaxation and increased social confidence. Drinking excessively could lead to nausea, loss of coordination, and dizziness.
Alcohol can affect your brain chemistry by temporarily boosting feelings of happiness and relaxation. However, as your body processes the alcohol, these positive effects begin to fade. Alcohol is actually a sedative so your body releases adrenalin, a natural energy booster, to counter its sedating effects. In cases where anxiety lingers much longer, it may be a sign of a different issue, such as alcohol withdrawal or an anxiety disorder. A 2019 study highlights a potential link between shyness, alcohol consumption, alcohol use disorder, and anxiety. For example, a person with a hangover may drink coffee to relieve the symptoms.
“Remind yourself that most of the time, other people were also drinking and thus not as aware of your actions as you think they may have been. Everyone’s inhibitions were crack addiction lowered, and they may share your spotty memory. What you think you said or did that was so awful may not actually be how they perceived it or remember it,” she adds.