How Alcohol Causes Anxiety
Self-medicating for anxiety by using alcohol can provide temporary relief or distraction from worrying thoughts or feelings of panic. However, chronic use of alcohol can also disrupt some of the systems and chemicals in the brain responsible for regulating mood and managing stress.
Although the onset of anxiety disorders usually comes before an alcohol misuse disorder, using alcohol can certainly contribute to anxiety symptoms. People often feel anxious when they stop drinking. They also may feel they need to continue to drink to relieve symptoms of anxiety and avoid alcohol withdrawal.
The reasons for why alcohol can cause anxiety are linked to certain brain chemicals. Reasons are also based on the fact that using alcohol can be a barrier to seeking treatment for anxiety.
Generalized Anxiety
People who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) experience regular and persistent symptoms of anxiety without any specific cause or reason. GAD can be very disruptive to functioning, and some people may use alcohol to help them manage feelings of anxiety.
However, repeated use of alcohol as a coping strategy can increase the risk of physical and psychological dependence. GAD can be treated using medication, therapy, or both. Formal treatment for GAD can offer healthy and adaptive coping strategies that are not based on substances.
Social Anxiety
Alcohol is very common in social situations and is frequently used to ‘take the edge off’ in busy social settings. Even though using alcohol to manage social anxiety can seem like a common practice, it can promote alcohol misuse and abuse.
Social anxiety disorder can prevent some people from seeing friends, family, or from living or working a normal schedule. Therapy for social anxiety can provide individuals with tools such as mindfulness or cognitive strategies to help people feel equipped to manage social anxiety without alcohol.
Panic Attacks
Panic attacks themselves can be extremely distressing, but many people also experience severe anxiety about getting or avoiding the occurrence of a panic attack. A panic attack can include a racing heart, feeling lightheaded, or feeling short of breath. As a depressant, alcohol can slow down some of these systems and temporarily reduce feelings of anxiety or panic.
However, alcohol does not address the underlying reasons for a panic attack. Without other coping strategies, people can come to rely on alcohol to avoid panic attacks. This reliance on alcohol as self-medication can cause dependence or alcohol addiction which may, in turn, increase the risk of panic attacks.
