We all know those warm fuzzy feelings we get after a drink or two. You’re more relaxed, talkative, and maybe your worries don’t seem as complicated as they did before. Of course, that feeling doesn’t last.
Either you stop drinking and the buzz wears off, or you have too much and wake up feeling worse than ever with a bad hangover. But that’s just the short term, what happens with heavy and prolonged alcohol use?
In this article, we’ll cover how your brain chemicals change with alcohol and how it can increase anxiety and depression, both in the short and long term.
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How Alcohol Alters Your Emotions
As soon as you start drinking, alcohol enters your bloodstream and begins to change how your neurochemicals and central nervous system function.
Alcohol is a depressant, which means it reduces your libido and stimulation by slowing down the messages between your brain and body. At first, you’ll feel calm and less inhibited, but with larger doses, it’ll slow your reaction time and impair your judgment so you make poor decisions.
The Effects of Light Drinking
When you first have a bit of alcohol, you feel more carefree thanks to the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, which slows certain neurons and acts like a sedative.
And if you were feeling tense and anxious beforehand, you’ll feel even better since it slows your breathing and heart rate, taking away those panicked anxiety symptoms, like shortness of breath and rapid heart rate.
You’ll also get a hit of dopamine, making you feel almost euphoric. It’s a neurotransmitter that affects how you perceive rewards and feel pleasure by achieving your goals. And since drinking creates a rewarding feeling, your brain can begin to associate alcohol with pleasure. But this can make you crave more alcohol whenever you feel down and don’t have other options that feel as rewarding. And since using alcohol to cope with stress is not only socially acceptable but often encouraged, it’s an easy habit to fall into.
On top of dopamine the other feel-good chemical, serotonin also gets an initial release when you begin to drink. You’ll get that balance mood and feel a more general sense of well-being.
Anxiety and Depression After Drinking Heavily
Your brain becomes less sensitive to GABA and dopamine with heavy drinking, which means you won’t feel as good as you used to after a drink or two. This can make you feel like you need more and more to get feel-good results, increasing tolerance and dependence.
GABA becomes depleted after a few drinks, so you’re still going to feel more depressed or anxious even if it’s just one night of heavy drinking. This means the initial relaxation from one or two drinks can now turn into a state of anxiety.
Your serotonin levels can also change, creating an imbalance that can lead to decreasing overall levels, even when you’re not drinking. That means you could feel more anxious and depressed in general with heavy drinking. It’s also part of what contributes to withdrawal symptoms and increasing alcohol dependence.
In the end, all these chemical changes mean drinking while depressed or anxious make symptoms worsen, and it can create symptoms in healthy people, too.
Side Effects of Heavy Drinking
On top of neurochemicals and hormones working differently, heavy drinking can lead to:
- Relationship or work issues
- Imbalanced gut bacteria
- B vitamin deficiencies
- Difficulty sleeping
- Inflammation
- Headaches
- Fatigue
Naturally, dealing with these issues is going to increase your levels of stress. It’s not just the neurochemical changes that affect depression and anxiety, but the 360 effects of drinking too much. For example, with long-term inflammation your risk of developing a chronic condition like diabetes or heart disease increases. And managing a health condition creates an increased risk of depression and anxiety, too.
Alcohol can also cause imbalanced gut bacteria, which can make stress harder to manage. Your mood depends on the health of your gut-brain axis, so any imbalance increases both the strength of current symptoms and the risk of developing a clinical mood disorder.
The same is true for a B vitamin deficiency, which commonly happens with heavy alcohol use. Many people with major depression have low levels of B vitamins since alcohol can decrease an enzyme needed to metabolize these vitamins. This can also worsen symptoms and increases the risk of developing a major depressive disorder. And in this case, a supplement is not the sole treatment option —decreasing the amount of alcohol consumed is also necessary.
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In Summary: Does Alcohol Cause Depression and Anxiety?
As research and brain chemical changes prove, it’s no secret that alcohol can make you feel depressed and anxious. And not just the day after drinking too much, where your head and stomach hurt and you’re feeling cranky and exhausted.
Many studies show that having an alcohol use disorder at least doubles the odds of developing depression and anxiety disorders. Luckily, it’s also clear that abstaining from alcohol substantially reduces depressive and anxious symptoms
Why Do I Feel Depressed After A Night of Drinking?
Anxiety and depression after drinking are more common than you think. After all the initial increase in those feel-good chemicals, they become depleted as the alcohol wears off. And a reduction in these neurochemicals can lead to these symptoms:
- GABA — anxiety, restlessness, and irritability
- Serotonin —depression and fatigue
- Dopamine — sadness, lethargy, decreased motivation
Plus, there are all the other side effects one night of drinking can cause, making it clear why you wake up feeling worse than ever:
- Dehydration
- Upset stomach
- Slow reaction time
- Low quality of sleep
- Reduced cognitive capabilities
Of course, these effects will vary from person to person and depend on how much you drink. A few nights of drinking too much here and there might leave you with a hangover and cranky mood for a day or two, but long-term effects usually come with regular heavy drinking.
Mindful Practices to Reduce Alcohol Cravings
Luckily, your body is incredibly powerful and more than adept at restoring its health. As you begin to drink more mindfully and lead a healthier lifestyle, you can balance your neurochemical and hormone health and even reverse cognitive impairments.
Here are some ways to begin mindful drinking:
1) Observe Your Triggers and Patterns
Start with the basics — track your behavior with Sunnyside just to see what your current habits look like. There’s no pressure to change overnight, it’s merely a way to notice your reactions and patterns. You might notice stress drinking patterns, where you drink to relieve stress. From there, you’ll be able to understand what you need in order to drink less and make realistic goals.
2) Set Goals
Think about setting a plan for the week or month, whatever’s easier for you. You might want to aim for a certain amount of drinks, but it doesn’t have to be a big lofty goal. You can release that pressure and just plan to track your habits instead. Research shows checking your progress frequently, telling others about it, and recording it increases your chances of achieving your goal.
3) Make a Plan to Minimize Triggers
There are things you can do to help reduce temptation, such as:
- Tell friends about your plans to drink less and ask for support.
- Suggest new alcohol-free activities with friends (cooking or dance classes, park or nature walks, etc).
- Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or non-alcohol beer, mocktails, etc.
Also think about joining a supportive community, whether online or in person. Try to become more vocal in online community apps, like Sunnyside, where you can encourage other members and receive support yourself.
4) Focus On Your Victories
We often forget how wired we are to do well with positive reinforcement. Think of ways to reward yourself for every goal matter, no matter how small, since that’s how we learn. And most importantly, be compassionate with yourself along the way. No road to healthy habits is a smooth one, so don’t expect your progress to be linear. There will be hard moments where you don’t meet your goals, and that’s OK. Focus on getting back up again, and feeling proud of yourself for doing so.
5) See a Professional
These days, it’s finally becoming not just socially acceptable but even encouraged to see a mental health professional. We widely underestimate just how helpful someone from outside of our circle with professional training in habit formation and emotional regulation can be. You can learn new coping tools and gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts and reactions, helping you to become less stressed, anxious, and depressed overall.
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Science-Backed Ways to Boost Mental Health
On top of working towards mindful drinking, these are some areas you can start to focus on to improve your mental health:
1) Practice Stress-Reducing Activities
Even a few minutes of mindfulness a day can slow your heart rate and help you center yourself. It doesn’t have to mean you sit like a yogi and meditate, you can do whatever brings you some peace and calm. Some people find moving their bodies an easier way to regulate their breathing and reduce stress, like with yoga and calming music. But it could also be a light walk in nature or doing something with your hands, like coloring or cooking. Whatever puts you in the zone and brings you peace or creativity is worth making a regular part of your day.
2) Find a Fun Way to Move Your Body
Just the word exercise can make some people cringe. It might sound hard, boring, and just plain exhausting and totally unenjoyable. If that’s the case, it’s time to try new things that keep you active and sound exciting. What about an online dance class, evening walks in the park after dinner, or hiking with friends on the weekend? Nowadays, there are so many activities available, like indoor rock climbing, or kickboxing for tension relief. Sign up for a free first class and see where it takes you.
3) Eat More Nutrient-Dense Foods
One of the best ways to begin eating healthier is to choose just one thing you can do, every day, to increase your nutrition. Maybe that’s starting with adding a multivitamin or bringing a piece of fruit or raw nuts to work every day. It could even be setting up a weekly grocery delivery service with fresh or frozen vegetables and proteins. Think about what’s easiest to do that will help you long-term, and go from there.
4) Create a Sleep Routine
Start by setting an alarm on your phone every night to remind you to get off the screen and begin winding down for the night. You don’t need to do anything too drastic, it’s best to move up your bedtime and increase your screen-free time slowly. Think about what you can do before bed that will help calm your body. Maybe that’s reading a novel, playing with your pets, listening to classical music, or practicing some nighttime yoga or meditation videos.
5) Prioritize Friends and Meeting New People
Besides exercise, nutrition, and nature as some of the best anti-anxiety and anti-depressants out there, friends and loved one are also at the top of the list. Feeling a part of a community helps you to feel more secure, which naturally creates a greater sense of calm. If you don’t have people around you that you feel connected with, it’s time to put yourself out there. Sign up for a new hobby to meet like-minded people, like maybe an art, pottery, or photography class. If you want to get more active, research also shows surrounding yourself with active friends drastically increases your chances of getting fit.
Get Added Support with Sunnyside
Improving your mental health takes patience, self-compassion, trial and error, and most importantly — support. That’s why Sunnyside built an app that includes not only science-backed ways to help you track habits and set goals but a community of like-minded people and trained coaches to help you on your way.
So check out Sunnyside’s free 3-minute quiz to get a personalized plan and free trial to start tracking your habits and gain the encouragement you need to get going.
Jennifer Olejarz
Jennifer is a Nutritionist and Health Counselor specializing in emotional and mindful eating, weight loss, and stress management. She has degrees in both Psychology and Nutrition from Western University, Canada. You can learn more about Jennifer at her website.
FAQs
How does alcohol affect anxiety and depression? ›
Alcohol is a depressant which affects your brain's natural level of happiness chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. This means that although you'll feel an initial 'boost' the night before, the next day you will be deficient in these same chemicals, which may lead to feeling anxious, down or depressed.
What does alcohol do to a depressed person? ›Alcohol can lower serotonin and norepinephrine levels, which help regulate mood. Lower levels of these chemicals can make a depressed person more depressed. Alcohol temporarily cuts off the effects of stress hormones. This can exaggerate your depression symptoms because it depresses the brain and nervous system.
How long does alcohol depressive effects last? ›The duration of alcohol-induced depression can vary widely. Generally speaking, depressive symptoms associated with alcohol-induced depression have been shown to improve significantly after you've abstained from alcohol for a certain amount of time, typically 3-4 weeks in many cases.
Why does alcohol worsen anxiety? ›Alcohol has an effect on brain chemistry - it can induce panic because of its effects on GABA, a chemical in the brain that normally has a relaxing effect. Small amounts of alcohol can stimulate GABA and cause feelings of relaxation, but heavy drinking can deplete GABA, causing increased tension and feelings of panic.
Can quitting alcohol cure anxiety? ›It's true. Quitting alcohol, over time, can alleviate intense episodes of anxiety. It can also reduce the possibility of long-term anxiety disorders.
How long after quitting alcohol does anxiety go away? ›If you are physically dependent on alcohol, you can experience anxiety symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal that last approximately 3-7 days, with the first 48 hours being the most difficult. Some people can experience anxiety symptoms that last longer than 7 days.
What happens when you drink alcohol everyday? ›Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
Does alcohol really treat depression? ›Drinking can counteract the benefits of your antidepressant medication, making your symptoms more difficult to treat. Alcohol may seem to improve your mood in the short term, but its overall effect increases symptoms of depression and anxiety.
What percent of alcoholics are depressed? ›At least 30%-40% of alcoholics also experience a depressive disorder. People are often seduced by the sedating effects of alcohol and use it as a kind of medication to help distract them from persistent feelings of sadness.
How do you reverse depression from alcohol? ›- First, try not to get down on yourself. If you already feel a little low, giving yourself a hard time for overdoing the alcohol probably won't improve matters. ...
- Drink plenty of water. ...
- Take a walk. ...
- Do something you enjoy.
What is the best alcohol for anxiety? ›
Drinking beer or wine sometimes seems like a helpful way to ease anxiety. This is because alcohol is both a stimulant and a sedative, meaning it can make you feel more energetic and engaged, as well as calm and relaxed.
How does mental health improve after quitting alcohol? ›As you achieve your sobriety goals (small and big) and work toward a healthier you, you will begin to notice an improvement in your mental health. This can include increased self-confidence and self-respect, along with decreased anxiety and depression.
What can I drink to calm my nerves? ›- Ginger.
- Maca.
- Matcha.
- Reishi.
- Apple cider vinegar.
- Turmeric.
- Ashwagandha.
Alcohol is a depressant. This means that it slows down your nerve activity in the central nervous system and that can bring on a low mood. Your feelings of shame are part of the cluster of negative feelings that result from using a depressant.
Should you avoid alcohol if you have anxiety? ›A: People who suffer from depression and anxiety are more likely to experience anxious feelings after drinking. Though alcohol can suppress anxious feelings while a person is imbibing, the rebound effect can be far worse than their baseline level of anxiety.
Will quitting alcohol make me happier? ›When you quit alcohol, your body a chance to increase serotonin without depletion, so you may actually feel happier over time. Still, improved mental health doesn't always happen immediately or seamlessly once we remove alcohol (and that's okay). Sobriety can be the starting point for confronting mental health issues.
Can alcohol cause permanent anxiety? ›However, when the effects of alcohol wear off and your brain is trying to reduce these chemicals back to their normal levels, this can cause withdrawal symptoms, including hangxiety. This is how alcohol causes anxiety in the short term. However, alcohol abuse can also make any existing anxiety worse in the long term.
What happens when you don't drink alcohol for 2 weeks? ›After two weeks off alcohol, you will continue to reap the benefits of better sleep and hydration. As alcohol is an irritant to the stomach lining, after a fortnight you will also see a reduction in symptoms such as reflux where the stomach acid burns your throat.
What happens after 1 year of no alcohol? ›After One Year: Congrats on making it to 12 months! At this point, your risk of developing all types of disease will be reduced and your bone density will start to increase. 5 Keep in mind that everyone is different and will experience different things when they stop drinking.
How long does it take to stop thinking about alcohol? ›However, the brilliant news is that after three to four months the truth is that you won't be thinking like this any longer either, those thoughts about drinking subside and fade away.
What happens after 3 weeks of no alcohol? ›
At 3 weeks of not drinking, most drinkers have successfully reduced their risk of heart disease, including stroke, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Their kidney health and even their vision may improve. For dependent drinkers, blood pressure may reduce to normal levels by the 3rd or 4th week.
What are the 4 types of drinker? ›- Social drinking. To date, nearly all the research on drinking motives has been done on teens and young adults. ...
- Drinking to conform. ...
- Drinking for enhancement. ...
- Drinking to cope.
"Our new data provide important evidence for the daily counseling of our patients and show that it is never too late to strive for complete abstinence from alcohol," said study leader Dr. Thomas Reiberger, an associate professor of hepatology at the university.
Can you drink every day and not be an alcoholic? ›Nine in 10 adults who drink too much alcohol are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Should I avoid alcohol if I have depression? ›Relieving depression linked to drinking
The good news is that reducing or stopping drinking can improve your mood and mental health. In fact, people who are depressed often find that cutting out alcohol entirely for just four weeks makes a clear difference in how they feel.
For many people, depression occurs before alcoholism. Symptoms of depression may set in during childhood or adolescence. If you are feeling depressed, picking up alcohol or other substances at least temporarily relieves feelings of despair.
Why do I want to drink when I'm sad? ›Some people say they drink alcohol to "drown their sorrows" after a bad breakup, job loss, or other major life stress. And yes, because alcohol makes you sleepy, a few beers or glasses of wine can seem to relax you and relieve anxiety. A drink once in a while when you're stressed out or blue is one thing.
What is the most depressive alcoholic drink? ›Your choice of alcoholic drink might shape your mood with spirits likely to make you tearful compared to other beverages, new research suggests. According to research by Public Health Wales, spirits such as vodka, gin, whisky or rum are more likely to draw out negative feelings than all the other types of booze.
Do alcoholics feel sad? ›Alcoholics frequently experience episodes of intense depression and/or severe anxiety. Depressed or anxious alcohol-dependent people often believe that they drink to relieve symptoms of sadness or nervousness.
How do I stop using alcohol to cope? ›- Remind yourself of your reasons for making a change. ...
- Talk it through with someone you trust. ...
- Distract yourself with a healthy, alternative activity. ...
- Challenge the thought that drives the urge. ...
- Ride it out without giving in. ...
- Leave tempting situations quickly and gracefully.
What is self medicating for depression with alcohol? ›
Alcohol tends to be the most common method of self-medication—as well as the most commonly abused substance—since it's so widely available. It may be used to self-medicate stress as well as depression and anxiety, even though beer, wine, and liquor are all depressants and will therefore only make symptoms worse.
What can I replace alcohol with? ›- Soda and fresh lime. Proof that simple is still the best.
- Berries in iced water. This summery drink will keep you refreshed and revitalised.
- Kombucha. ...
- Virgin bloody Mary. ...
- Virgin Mojito. ...
- Half soda/half cranberry juice and muddled lime. ...
- Soda and fresh fruit. ...
- Mocktails.
Tea is likely to be the most relaxing alcohol alternative. But if you don't like it, flavoured sparkling water is another good choice. Bubbly and fizzy, it can feel just like a sip of alcohol! You can add extra flavourings to this too, such as berries, citrus fruits, and herbs.
What foods aggravate anxiety? ›- Alcohol.
- Caffeine.
- Sugary drinks and foods.
- Processed foods, such as chips, cookies, frozen foods and ready-made meals.
- Foods high in trans fats and excessive saturated fats, such as fried foods, red meat, full-fat dairy, butter and baked goods.
Sober Living: What It's Really Like to Live without Alcohol.
How to get a buzz without alcohol? ›- Caffeinated Energy Drinks: Caffeinated energy drinks are some of the most popular functional drinks on the market. They are packed with caffeine and other stimulants, which can give you a quick buzz.
What is the best breakfast for anxiety? ›Carbohydrates are thought to increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, which has a calming effect. Eat foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains — for example, oatmeal, quinoa, whole-grain breads and whole-grain cereals.
What foods help anxiety and depression? ›Foods naturally rich in magnesium may, therefore, help a person to feel calmer. Examples include leafy greens, such as spinach and Swiss chard. Other sources include legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Foods rich in zinc such as oysters, cashews, liver, beef, and egg yolks have been linked to lowered anxiety.
What is the dread after drinking? ›'Hangxiety' - or 'hangover anxiety' - is that horrible, anxious feeling of dread sometimes experienced the morning after a night of drinking. It directly impacts your mood alongside physical hangover symptoms and, for some people, can be so debilitating that it's enough reason to want to cut out booze entirely.
Why do I get anxiety and shame after drinking? ›Hangxiety isn't a formal term or diagnosis, but many of us know the feeling. It's waking up after a big night of drinking and experiencing a hangover with heightened feelings of shame and anxiety.
What does your drunk personality say about you? ›
People in the drunk groups were observed to be more extroverted than those in the sober groups, with observers using a system that measures five factors of personality. They also found—though less conclusively—that drunk people seemed less neurotic.
Why alcohol is bad for depression and anxiety? ›Why is this? Alcohol is a depressant which affects your brain's natural level of happiness chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. This means that although you'll feel an initial 'boost' the night before, the next day you will be deficient in these same chemicals, which may lead to feeling anxious, down or depressed.
What makes anxiety worse? ›A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
Why is my anxiety getting worse? ›Various factors can cause anxiety to worsen. The triggers vary between individuals but include ongoing stress, a bereavement, financial problems, and key events, such as a job interview. Anxiety can lead to feelings of nervousness, apprehension, and worry.
What does alcohol do to stress and anxiety? ›Alcohol disrupts the delicate balance of chemicals and processes in your brain, affecting your thoughts, feelings and actions – and sometimes your long-term mental health. Drinking alcohol can also interfere with your sleep, making stress harder to deal with.
Why alcohol is bad for mental health? ›The chemical changes in your brain can soon lead to more negative feelings, such as anger, depression or anxiety, regardless of your mood. Alcohol also slows down how your brain processes information, making it harder to work out what you're really feeling and the possible consequences of your actions.
What mental problems can alcohol cause? ›Alcohol abuse can cause signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and antisocial behavior, both during intoxication and during withdrawal. At times, these symptoms and signs cluster, last for weeks, and mimic frank psychiatric disorders (i.e., are alcohol–induced syndromes).
How do I get rid of anxiety after drinking? ›- Limit your alcohol intake. The most obvious answer to avoid hangxiety — and hangovers in general, for that matter — is to avoid drinking altogether. ...
- Hydrate and eat. ...
- Take some medicine. ...
- Exercise and meditate. ...
- Seek professional help.
Paroxetine was found to be effective in social anxiety patients with alcohol dependence. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), especially sertraline, showed effective results in posttraumatic stress disorder and in comorbid AnxD–AUD.
How can I replace alcohol? ›- Soda and fresh lime. Proof that simple is still the best.
- Berries in iced water. This summery drink will keep you refreshed and revitalised.
- Kombucha. ...
- Virgin bloody Mary. ...
- Virgin Mojito. ...
- Half soda/half cranberry juice and muddled lime. ...
- Soda and fresh fruit. ...
- Mocktails.
How do you increase serotonin after drinking? ›
- Adjust your diet. ...
- Get more exercise. ...
- Bring in the bright light. ...
- Take certain supplements. ...
- Try massage therapy. ...
- Try mood induction. ...
- Manage emotions and stress levels. ...
- Think about sleep deprivation.
The symptoms of this include memory loss, apathy, and confusion about where they are and about the passage of time. A swift diagnosis and early treatment can often reverse these symptoms.
Can alcohol cause personality disorders? ›Numerous clinical and epidemiological studies indicate that alcohol-related disorders are associated in particular with mood, anxiety, other substance abuse and personality disorders (1, 3-4).
Can alcohol cause anxiety for days? ›Anxiety from alcohol can last for hours, days, or months, depending on the scenario. Alcohol and anxiety affect people differently, but generally: Anxiety that accompanies a hangover may last up to a day. If you already struggle with anxiety symptoms, anxiety from alcohol may take longer than a day to subside.