The Link Between Alcohol Abuse and Anxiety

For many, social situations can bring on stress and anxiety. Unfamiliar interactions, pressure to maintain a certain image, or navigating challenging relationships can all lead individuals to seek ways to cope. One common method involves using alcohol as a self-medication tool.

While someone might initially turn to alcohol to soothe anxious feelings, the reality is that alcohol abuse and anxiety often create a vicious cycle that worsens both problems. This complex relationship can be difficult to untangle, as it’s not always clear whether anxiety or alcohol abuse comes first.

A person struggling with anxiety may find solace in alcohol’s numbing effect. But the relief is fleeting, leaving them with amplified anxiety. This fuels the urge to drink again, creating a vicious cycle of dependence and even worse anxiety.

Unraveling the tangled threads of anxiety and alcoholism is key to finding effective treatment. It’s important to take the time to understand the symptoms of anxiety, signs of alcoholism, and how both are linked in order to get comprehensive help for this complex struggle.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

In life, it is common for one to experience stress/anxiety from time to time. Maybe you are going through a major life transition and are uncertain about what the future has in store for you, or you’re nervous about an upcoming event, etc.

However, if you are struggling with anxiety on a more regular, daily occurrence, you must seek professional medical help to alleviate the often debilitating effects stress can cause on your mind and body. To understand if you struggle with anxiety and need medical help, it is important to know the symptoms of experiencing anxiety.
Some common symptoms of anxiety include:

• Nervousness, restlessness, or being tense
• Trembling or muscle twitching
• Insomnia
• Difficulty concentrating on anything other than the thing you are worried about
• Rapid heart rate
• Feelings of danger, panic, or dread
• Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
• Weakness and lethargy
• Increased or heavy sweating
• Obsessions about certain ideas (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
• Anxiety around things that happened in the past (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
• Avoidance of things that trigger stress/anxiety

It bears repeating: if you struggle with any of these symptoms regularly, you must seek medical guidance to alleviate these, often overwhelming, feelings brought on by anxiety.

Furthermore, suppose you are suffering from panic attacks, which are the sudden onset of overwhelming feelings of fear or distress that peak within minutes and include at least four symptoms from the list below. In that case, you must learn how best to manage your stress through guidance from your doctor.

Some signs of a panic attack include:

• Sweating
• Palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling hot or cold
• Sensation of choking
• Fear of losing control
• Chest pains or tightness
• Numbness or tingling sensations (paresthesia)
• Dizziness, light-headedness, feeling faint
• Nausea or gastrointestinal problems
• Shaking or trembling
• Feeling “detached” from oneself or reality

Signs of Alcoholism

There are many warning signs of alcohol abuse. However, while many may be easily discerned in oneself, other signs may be difficult to detect.

If symptoms are left untreated for a while, alcohol abuse can spiral out of control and cause devastating effects on yourself and your relationship with others. Therefore, it is essential to be extremely honest with any warning signs you may be experiencing to get the help needed.

Common signs of alcohol abuse may include:

• Feeling a strong urge to drink (craving alcohol)
• Choosing to drink over daily obligations/commitments
• Isolating from friends and family
• Making excuses or becoming defensive about your drinking
• Hiding your drinking from others
• Showing signs of abnormal irritability and mood swings
• Continuing to use alcohol despite being in physically hazardous situations (operating machinery, driving, etc.)
• Using alcohol despite having health complications

This list is in no way an all-inclusive list of signs of alcoholism. So if you feel you have issues around alcohol abuse, you must seek outside help, either through a medical professional or by attending a treatment facility.

Links Between Anxiety Disorders and Alcoholism

When someone struggles with anxiety as a daily occurrence, the effects can be debilitating. Anxiety disorders can cause one to seek comfort and relief from their symptoms through unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as drinking alcohol. However, despite trying to control anxiety through drinking, drinking can often worsen anxiety.

Research suggests that heavy drinking can interfere with neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for positive mental health. This can cause someone who struggles with overwhelming stress to spiral downward into further bouts of anxiety.

Because alcohol can temporarily put someone at ease, many people may attribute alcohol’s effects to alleviating stress. Since the effects are short-lived, many people may stay on the hamster wheel of drinking to avoid feeling unpleasant feelings of anxiety. It’s common to think that the momentary lapse of unpleasant uneasiness brought on by alcohol use will keep them at ease for the long term by continuing to drink.

The reality is that drinking more alcohol will only exacerbate the anxiety in the long run. Research confirms this by proving that people with an alcohol use disorder have higher levels of anxiety than people who do not have an alcohol use disorder.

Whether anxiety disorders drive someone to drink or drinking causes anxiety disorders is unclear. However, more studies are being conducted with results that signify a link between the two and that alcohol does not treat an anxiety disorder.

Reducing alcohol can bring on more feelings of happiness, self-confidence, social functioning, and overall emotional and mental well-being. Therefore, it is crucial that if you struggle with anxiety, you treat it before trying to turn to drugs or alcohol to cope.

How to Cope With Anxiety

There are many healthier ways of coping with anxiety by making some lifestyle changes, such as:

• Practicing meditation practices or yoga
• Getting enough rest
• Spending more time outdoors
• Exercising
• Eating healthy
• Reducing caffeine intake

It may also be beneficial to seek the guidance of a therapist/counselor who can help you pinpoint what provokes your anxiety. Working through what stirs up feelings of stress can help you learn to relax when such feelings arise again.

Furthermore, a trained medical professional may recommend taking recovery-safe medication (non-addictive medication) to help alleviate symptoms often experienced with anxiety.

What to Do if You Struggle with Anxiety and Alcoholism: Dual Diagnosis Alcohol Treatment

As mentioned previously, you must seek the guidance of a trained medical professional if you are struggling with anxiety disorders and alcohol abuse.

It could also benefit you if you seek help through an inpatient/intensive outpatient drug rehab specializing in dual-diagnosis treatment. This type of  treatment addresses both the anxiety and alcoholism, not just one or the other. That way, you can rest assured that regardless of anxiety-induced alcoholism or alcoholism-induced anxiety, you are being taken care of through a holistic, well-rounded plan.

In addition to the dual-diagnosis treatment through an alcohol treatment center, participating in counseling with a therapist specializing in addiction treatment can help ensure that you approach your care plan with a holistic approach.

It may feel overwhelming to figure out on your own.Thankfully, there are inpatient/intensive outpatient alcohol rehab centers that put together an individualized, all-inclusive treatment plan for you based on your own unique needs.

If you’re struggling with addiction to alcohol or opiates, Infinite Recovery can help. We offer personalized detox programs in Houston, Austin, and across Texas, designed to support your journey toward mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

Don’t wait any longer to invest in your future. Take the first step towards a life of lasting happiness and freedom today and reach out today. Your future self will thank you for it.

Sources:

Infinite Recovery has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations for our references. We avoid using tertiary references as our sources. You can learn more about how we source our references by reading our editorial guidelines and medical review policy.

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