Why do I feel anxious after drinking alcohol?
Nov. 30, 2021 Dr Raj Arora
Why do I feel more anxious after drinking alcohol?
So this is quite a common one. Alcohol has the ability to change levels of serotonin, which is known more casually as the happy hormone in the brain, and it can also interfere with neurotransmitters. These are signals in the brain which give us our emotions and our feelings.
So when you first drink alcohol and you start to drink it, your blood alcohol content levels will rise. This will give you feelings of positivity, ease, excitement. Now, as the alcohol starts to wear off and the alcohol content levels start to drop, you start to lose those feelings of excitement and happiness and ease.
And you may start to feel more anxious, more fearful and more worried. And this is where the alcohol anxiety comes in. Now, this alcohol anxiety can last several hours after drinking and sometimes for an entire day after drinking as well. So if you've noticed that drinking actually gives you anxiety and makes you feel negative feelings or emotions, it's really important to take a step back and think about how much you're drinking why you're drinking so much and maybe check in with your GP to get some help and some advice on how to manage anxiety and how to manage the emotions that may be leading you to drinking so much in the first place.
So this is quite a common one. Alcohol has the ability to change levels of serotonin, which is known more casually as the happy hormone in the brain, and it can also interfere with neurotransmitters. These are signals in the brain which give us our emotions and our feelings.
So when you first drink alcohol and you start to drink it, your blood alcohol content levels will rise. This will give you feelings of positivity, ease, excitement. Now, as the alcohol starts to wear off and the alcohol content levels start to drop, you start to lose those feelings of excitement and happiness and ease.
And you may start to feel more anxious, more fearful and more worried. And this is where the alcohol anxiety comes in. Now, this alcohol anxiety can last several hours after drinking and sometimes for an entire day after drinking as well. So if you've noticed that drinking actually gives you anxiety and makes you feel negative feelings or emotions, it's really important to take a step back and think about how much you're drinking why you're drinking so much and maybe check in with your GP to get some help and some advice on how to manage anxiety and how to manage the emotions that may be leading you to drinking so much in the first place.
