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Quitting alcohol can significantly improve anxiety, allowing individuals to pursue peace and healing through healthier methods. Using alcohol for anxiety relief may seem like an easy solution, but its temporary relaxing effects quickly lead to more anxiety.
Alcohol affects the brain’s neurotransmitters, causing them to gradually deplete and requiring people to consume more alcohol to find relief. This cycle can lead to addiction and impact a person’s relationships, career and overall well-being. The brain has the incredible ability to heal and restore emotion-regulating chemicals, so recovering from anxiety and alcohol use is possible.
If you use alcohol to alleviate anxiety symptoms, seeking dual-diagnosis treatment can help you heal and live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Holistic treatment nurtures the mind, body, soul and spirit to address the root causes of addiction and mental health conditions.
Anxiety is a persistent fear or worry that interferes with daily life. Individuals with anxiety may experience symptoms that affect their relationships, academic performance or work. Everyone experiences occasional fear or worry, but anxiety can heighten and prolong these feelings. Individuals with conditions such as social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorders can experience the following symptoms:
Anxiety’s symptoms stem from the body and brain’s fight-or-flight response. Anxious thoughts, emotions and physiological effects can occur when the brain notices perceived or real imminent danger.
Alcohol can cause or increase anxiety, and anxiety and alcohol use are common co-occurring conditions. Common causes of anxiety are substance use, childhood experiences and trauma. Some individuals use alcohol to help alleviate anxiety, but this only brings temporary relief and can lead to a self-perpetuating cycle.
Alcohol heightens anxiety due to how it interacts with the central nervous system. The nervous system uses neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) to mediate anxiety, and the amygdala helps temper worry and fear. Alcohol affects GABA, temporarily stimulating its relaxing effect on the brain. While a person may feel momentary relief while drinking, heavy or frequent alcohol use gradually depletes neurotransmitters and increases anxiety.
Relying on alcohol to ease anxiety becomes harder as your body works up a tolerance to its effects. You will slowly need more and more alcohol to achieve the same effects, which leads to dependence and addiction.
Using alcohol as a coping mechanism slows down the identification and treatment of anxiety disorders as well. In many cases, once treatment has begun for anxiety disorders, the use and dependence on alcohol starts to dry up.
Experiencing anxiety after drinking alcohol is known as “hangxiety.” This term refers to the heightened anxious feelings people can feel following alcohol use, and it can occur during withdrawal or a hangover. Feelings of regret after drinking alcohol can contribute to anxious thoughts or feelings. Some may even experience anxiety about quitting drinking itself. Other factors may also contribute to hangxiety, such as:
Biochemically speaking, hangxiety is primarily caused by your brain returning to a proper chemical balance in the aftermath of consuming alcohol. When you drink, your body increases the production of GABA and decreases the production of glutamate. The former makes your body feel more relaxed, while the latter makes you feel calm and uninhibited by worry. As these effects fade, you become more open to feelings of anxiety. Because you've been uninhibited due to drinking previously, this anxiety can feel overwhelming.
Feeling anxiety after quitting drinking is a common symptom and worsens based on how severe the addiction or dependence on alcohol was before you quit the habit. In some cases, this can manifest as a long-lasting anxiety attack. This anxiety is a result of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).
AWS is a result of how alcohol affects your body. The brain’s main inhibitory chemical, known as GABA, and the brain’s main excitatory chemical, known as glutamate, are both affected by alcohol. When you stop drinking or reduce your intake, it disrupts brain activity caused by the changes in the production of these chemicals.
These changes cause a state of hyperarousal, which results in several AWS symptoms, one of which is anxiety. As your brain and body normalize, these symptoms begin to fade. The recovery process will be harsher and take longer based on the severity of your addiction.
Alcohol increases the chemicals the brain uses to manage anxiety, which reduces these chemicals after the alcohol wears off. As these chemicals decrease, a person may use more alcohol to restore relaxation and begin an alcohol dependence cycle. In this cycle, an individual may drink to ease anxiety, feel more anxiety after drinking and repeat the process to continue alleviating the discomfort. Alcohol tolerance causes a person to need more alcohol to experience the same effects each time they drink, which can lead to dependence and addiction.
Seeking treatment for anxiety and alcohol use disorder is important because the right approach can restore health, mental clarity and emotional balance. Since alcohol use and anxiety can amplify each other, addressing both conditions is essential.
Quitting alcohol and anxiety simultaneously is possible. Sobriety restores your brain’s natural emotional mediators, which can significantly help your anxiety. When you avoid alcohol, your brain can produce more of the neurotransmitters the alcohol previously depleted. Ending alcohol use allows your brain to heal, helping you develop healthy habits and coping mechanisms.
When you stop drinking, you can help restore your brain’s ability to manage emotions without alcohol. Behavioral health interventions such as treatment and therapy can help rehabilitate the brain’s stress and reward circuit activity, helping it produce more neurotransmitters naturally.
Naturally restoring neurotransmitters in the brain can help you experience peace, tranquility, happiness, serenity and mental clarity. Drinking may relieve anxiety temporarily, but avoiding alcohol can help you manage anxiety long-term and achieve regular emotional balance.
Many people use alcohol as a method of dealing with anxiety in the first place but end up suffering from alcohol-induced anxiety instead. There are healthier ways to deal with anxiety. These are some suggestions to cope with anxiety after quitting alcohol:
When you stop drinking, the anxiety you experience won't immediately follow suit. Your body will need time to adjust to the new status quo. The amount of time this process takes will vary from person to person, but at the outset, you should know that it does get better. Being aware of the general recovery timeline can make things easier, too.
Many experience acute anxiety symptoms in the first three days. These may include sweating, heavy breathing and an intensified heart rate. Panic attacks are possible but less common. They are characterized by intense and temporary feelings of panic, which can feel akin to a heart attack. Anxiety typically happens in response to triggers or, in this case, your brain returning to a neurochemical balance. Panic attacks manifest suddenly and unexpectedly. Generalized anxiety and panic attacks can disrupt sleep, which can exacerbate both conditions.
Your anxiety when quitting drinking tends to peak during this period, as the body is reaching the heights of withdrawal. Symptoms may be more intense and last longer. As such, it is very important to lean on your support system and use effective coping strategies during this period. Practicing mindfulness and avoiding potential triggers are two of the best. If these prove ineffective and the anxiety impedes your ability to live your life, it may be time to contact a medical professional for support.
Your symptoms will likely start to decrease in the second week after quitting. Exposure to triggers may still result in an increased heart rate or a temporary fixation on alcohol, but the feelings will likely be weaker and more fleeting. Coping mechanisms may even become more effective. Should setbacks occur, don't be discouraged. You can always implement newer, better coping strategies and keep making progress.
During this period, some may not experience the same progress. If anxiety has not lessened or has intensified, you may be dealing with an anxiety disorder that alcohol consumption has been masking. Contacting a medical professional can help you understand the issue and find a healthy way forward.
Once you are months out from quitting, your body will likely be close to completing its neurochemical rebalancing. Neurotransmitters will be produced at more stable rates. Cravings will be reduced. Anxiety symptoms will also reach lows you likely haven't experienced before. Triggers may still cause the occasional resurgence, but the symptoms should be far less potent by this stage. Soon, they may be gone altogether.
Some people in recovery may begin to experience post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) during this period, however. Symptoms include anxiety, depression, insomnia and fatigue. If you have begun to experience these symptoms months or even years after you've stopped drinking, contact a medical professional as soon as possible to assess the problem and begin treatment.
Numerous factors can impact the timeline laid out above. Some of the most common include:
Each of these factors can increase or decrease your rate of neurochemical rebalancing, so all you can do is be patient, trust the process and seek additional support when necessary. Quitting drinking and anxiety is possible with time and effort.
Holistic treatment helps individuals heal from co-occurring conditions, such as alcohol use disorder and anxiety. Holistic treatment addresses physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs to help heal the whole person. Traditional recovery programs and anxiety therapies may introduce a few holistic methods, but true holistic treatment is a comprehensive approach that heals the mind, body, spirit and soul. It’s an evidence-based alternative to 12-step methods, and it can help you find the healing you seek.
Your brain is capable of remarkable healing. Holistic treatment uncovers the root causes of addiction and mental health conditions so you can pursue peace and freedom in all areas of your life. The Sanctuary at Sedona offers holistic treatment with methods that leverage the following therapies:
Alcohol and anxiety can create a harmful cycle, but incredible healing is possible. You can embark on a holistic healing journey to find peace and freedom at The Sanctuary at Sedona. The Sanctuary provides an integrative, holistic recovery program in a secluded area outside Sedona, Arizona. You can grow spiritually surrounded by Sedona’s natural beauty when you seek treatment at The Sanctuary.
As a dual-diagnosis treatment center and pioneer in the holistic treatment field, we base our multi-model integrative approach on the newest peer-reviewed science and indigenous wisdom traditions. This comprehensive therapeutic process is a transformational method that helps resolve the roots of emotional health conditions and addiction.
The Sanctuary can help you reach sobriety and heal from anxiety with an entirely new approach. Contact us to learn more and begin your path to healing.
