This can change our mood in the short term: having a few drinks can make us feel more relaxed at first, but usually makes us feel worse within a few hours. It can also have long-term consequences for how we feel. This is especially problematic for people who suffer from depression or an anxiety disorder.
Some people with depression drink alcohol because in the short term it makes them feel better. In the longer term, this can create a damaging cycle. People may drink alcohol because they feel depressed, but heavy use depresses their mood further, which leads to more drinking, and so on.
Alcohol can make depression worse and increase the side effects of some antidepressants. If you're trying to cut down or stop drinking, research shows some antidepressants can increase your risk of relapsing. The NHS website has more information on alcohol and antidepressants.
When we start drinking alcohol, our bodies produce extra dopamine, which travels to the parts of the brain known as 'reward centres' – the bits that make us feel good and make us want to do more of whatever we're doing [1]. So, our first couple of drinks are likely to make us feel good.
Popular wisdom holds that our true desires and feelings tend to come to light while we're drunk. Although drinking alcohol can definitely lower your inhibitions, there's no evidence to suggest that alcohol necessarily unlocks any deep-seated feelings or desires. Still, alcohol can change who we are, in some ways.
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.
'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.
In sobriety, the fallout from alcoholism comes into sharp focus, which can be pretty depressing. Boredom and loneliness. When just starting out in recovery you may struggle with feelings of loneliness and boredom. Drinking took up such a huge chunk of real estate in your life, so without it life looks quite different.
Summary of Using Alcohol as a Crutch
Whether you're using a drink as liquid confidence, to beat social anxiety, or ward off sadness, there is always a downside. The short-term boost can lead to long-term problems like tolerance, health concerns, and worsened depression, stress, or anxiety.
Unfortunately, alcohol is a coping mechanism the temporary benefits of which are often outweighed by the long-term negative effects on health and relationships, poor decision-making under the influence, as well as increased dependency.
People who drink a little bit of alcohol have fewer symptoms and lower risk of depression than people who drink a lot – and that holds true even when compared to people who don't drink at all.
For example, the liver will be overworking to process alcohol, you'll be tired from little and/or poor quality sleep, you're likely to be urinating more as alcohol is a diuretic, leaving you dehydrated and headache-y – and any post-night out vomiting can irritate the stomach for several days.
Alcohol is a depressant. It slows down processes in your brain and central nervous system, and can initially make you feel less inhibited. In the short-term, you might feel more relaxed - but these effects wear off quickly. In fact, if you're experiencing anxiety, drinking alcohol could be making things worse.
“Alcohol floods the brain with dopamine, creating feelings of euphoria. It also inhibits judgment and memory. Together, these effects can temporarily relieve feelings like sadness and stress,” he explains.
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.
It's pretty normal to feel bored in early sobriety, but it's kind of related to not being used to feeling calm or peace. The feeling of things being too quiet or empty does pass. Don't be scared. I promise you will have so much fun in life without alcohol.
Drinker's remorse is a psychological phenomenon experienced by those who drink alcohol to excess. It is characterized by feelings of regret and guilt as the individual reflects on their behavior while under the influence, often feeling embarrassed and ashamed for their actions.
Similar to an alcohol hangover, an emotional hangover refers to when you wake up the next morning feeling physically and emotionally drained. However, an emotional hangover occurs after a stressful or overwhelming experience, such as a breakup or social event.
Chamomile tea has been shown to ease anxiety and irritability, while milk from grass-fed cows contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fat that increases blood flow to the brain and counteracts the effects of the stress hormone cortisol. Combine these two power beverages for max stress-fighting potential.
The people we polled said that certain forms of alcohol were more likely to give them different feelings. Men told us that wine, cocktails, and India pale ales (IPAs) made them happiest when they drank, while women said that cocktails, wine, and vodka left them with the most positive emotions.
The best stress-relieving drinks include ginger, chamomile tea, valerian, black tea, coconut water, milk, green tea, coffee, lemon balm tea, water, and vegetable and fruit juice. Aromatherapy is another self-soothing practice shown to have benefits for mental health.