Did you know that about 1 in every 13 people worldwide struggle with anxiety? Symptoms can show up in various uncomfortable ways, like: uncontrollable worry, sweating, trembling hands, nausea, nervousness, extreme stress, physical tension, sense of impending danger, increased heart rate, tightness in your chest, feeling overly tired, headaches, trouble concentrating, gastrointestinal issues, and even the inability to sleep.
Are any of these resonating with you? If so, you might be experiencing anxiety.
You probably also know firsthand how hard it can be to work through and decrease these less-than-ideal feelings you get from it. While there are many techniques available to try to help us feel better, there’s one way people use to deal with anxiety and stress that is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Anxiety and Stress May Result in Increased Drinking
Feelings of excitement or relaxation you experience during and/or after drinking are a result of your blood alcohol content (BAC). Studies have shown that drinking alcohol can temporarily boost serotonin levels. Serotonin is directly responsible for stabilizing your mood, giving you a sense of well-being, and helping you to feel happy. It also helps our ability to sleep. As your BAC level rises, so does serotonin. However, as your BAC lowers, so do your serotonin levels. Studies have also shown that long-term heavy drinking stresses the body, causing it to therefore have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
See where we’re going with this?
How often have you heard “I’m so stressed, I could really use a drink” or “I’m feeling anxious about going there, let’s have a couple of drinks beforehand to calm the nerves.” Maybe you’ve even been the one to have this thinking?
If so, don’t worry!
It’s more than common to have this line of thinking and has existed longer than any of us can remember. And let’s be honest… there’s some truth to alcohol’s ability to make us feel a bit calmer. It’s technically a sedative, after all, a “sedative-hypnotic” to be more specific, and if you’re wondering what this means, sedative-hypnotics depress the central nervous system.
Trust me, science is not our strong suit but this is all coming together to make a point about anxiety and stress!
The central nervous system controls our body’s overall ability to function, including thought patterns. So, essentially: overthinking, thinking about stressful experiences or topics, and thoughts regarding current anxious symptoms are decreased or even made invisible when alcohol in larger amounts is consumed.
So now you might be wondering… how exactly is using alcohol to decrease your anxiety symptoms a bad thing?
To put it plainly… although alcohol can decrease your symptoms in the short term, it can also cause them to come back harder and stronger once it wears off. Think about any hangover you’ve ever had. Nausea, trembling hands, sweating, headaches, increased heart rate, feeling overly tired, trouble sleeping. Any of these sound familiar? Hangover symptoms often mirror symptoms of anxiety, which can trigger even more anxiousness. Alcohol withdrawal, for those who have been consuming large amounts of alcohol for a long period of time and suddenly stop, also creates these same symptoms.
Let’s quickly discuss sleep.
Trouble sleeping, a direct result of alcohol consumption, is also a big anxiety inducer. Sleep is essential to helping your body regulate emotions and stress, so having a bad night of rest can seriously impact reactivity to situations and a rise in anxiousness.
Over time, you will also need to drink more and more alcohol to achieve the same anxiety-reducing effects as your tolerance builds up.
This also goes for those who need or like to have a drink before going out to social settings. While you may find it helpful for a while, over time it will decrease your ability to naturally control your anxiousness in social situations and leave you with even more stress. While going out with a group of people you may not know well or going to a place you’ve never been can surely be stress-inducing, drinking beforehand can sometimes do more harm than good.
Again, it’s totally fair to say that alcohol can often help decrease anxiousness and improve our mood. But at what cost? The effects of drinking can ultimately show up as INCREASED anxiousness and poor mood. Knowing this, it’s important to remember that there are a multitude of ways to naturally battle anxiety and even avoid hangovers! And if you find yourself needing an ally, we’re here to help teach you new ways of dealing with stress and feelings of anxiousness.
Ready to Start Therapy To Help You Deal With Stress and Anxiety in St. Petersburg, FL?
Beginning the journey to your best self is easier than most of the things we’re all doing right now! Therapy does not have to wait. You can get the mental health support you need with a skilled therapist in St. Pete or with online therapy in Florida. To begin, just follow these simple steps:
- Meet with one of our experienced therapists.
- Get support & begin your journey toward mental wellness & connection today!
Other Mental Health and Wellness Services at ME-Therapy
At ME-Therapy, we believe in the importance of mental, emotional & physical wellbeing. Our therapists want to help your mind but also want to feed your soul. This means we take a holistic approach to mental health. In order to do this, we offer a wide range of mental health services in our St. Petersburg office and online including therapy for women, therapy for men, trauma therapy, and holistic, spiritual therapy. For couples and relationships, we want you to know that our relationship therapists are here for you ALL. In addition to marriage counseling, we provide sex therapy, affair recovery counseling, and poly-friendly kink-aware therapy.
