You might get a feeling of impending doom, an overall feeling of existential dread or something very bad yet completely irrational will happen to you. That hung over anxiety feeling has been called everything from “the fear” to “hang-xiety”. Whatever you might call it, it is most definitely real for others too.
Here’s what happens with alcohol: benzodiazepines are used to treat clinical symptoms such as anxiety, convulsions, muscle tension and insomnia. They work by having an impact on GABA receptors. Alcohol, like these anxiety medications, also have an impact on GABA receptors. So the anxiety you feel after drinking can be a direct result of the after effects of your choice of drinks. Chest tightness, hot and sweaty and shaky are all caused by the withdrawal from alcohol the day after. It essentially mimics general anxiety, as you don’t have any other clear reason for your anxiety. There is no clear reason because it’s being caused by your brain being temporarily out of order as it withdraws from alcohol. Yes, even from only a glass or two.
Keep caffeine, added sugar and alcohol (all are stimulants) to special occasions and only if you knowingly choose the unwanted consequences. Quite simply, these foods and drinks activate and can mimic the fight or flight response. Our aim is to calm, soothe and relax. Not agitate and stimulate. Your life involves more than enough fight or flight as it is (constant notifications, being pulled in many directions for work and family life, and even just leaving your front door whilst putting a mask on). As we have identified, that is the whole problem. Too much sympathetic, not enough parasympathetic or parachute pulling. Adding caffeine, added sugar and alcohol is just fueling an already blazing and out of control fire.
