People who experience mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, often use alcohol as a way to try and cope. Some people use alcohol to mask their symptoms or to help make them feel better, not realising it can leave them feeling worse.
One way that people may choose to cope with stress is by turning to alcohol. Drinking may lead to positive feelings and relaxation, at least in the short term. Problems arise, however, when stress is ongoing and people continue to try and deal with its effects by drinking alcohol.
Alcohol functions to slow down the central nervous system, creating feelings of relaxation. It also reduces inhibition, judgment, and memory. Because of these qualities, alcohol becomes a way to distance from stressors or challenges an individual may be facing.
You may feel like alcohol is your coping mechanism: a way to deal with depression, stress, anxiety or other difficult feelings. You might be nervous about what life would be like if you stopped drinking or cut back. But relying on alcohol to manage your mental well-being can become a problem in itself.
Many individuals use alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with trauma, especially if the trauma is unresolved. Symptoms of experiencing trauma that has not yet been healed can make life challenging.
As is the case with many dual-diagnosis conditions, addiction to alcohol and anxiety commonly exist together within the same person. Anxiety is both a reason that many individuals drink and a result of drinking.
PAUL (05/03/2023) — Published in the peer-reviewed journal Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers found people with an anxiety or major depression disorder experience greater alcohol use disorder symptoms and problems in comparison to people without those disorders ...
'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.
A short walk, stretching, or exercise to get your heart rate up can release endorphins and help beat cravings. You can also try grabbing your favorite non-alcoholic drink, or maybe a tea or seltzer water. These can hydrate your body and help you feel satiated.”
Nearly 60% of adults drink alcohol due to stress.
"Stress can also affect how quickly you get drunk as when you are more stressed you get an influx of different hormones in the body including the stress hormone cortisol. "This can increase the metabolism of alcohol in the liver. It can mean it is metabolised faster."
Alcohol's Effects on Stress
Studies have found that cortisol interacts with the brain's reward or pleasure systems, which can contribute to alcohol's reinforcing effects—forcing people to consume greater amounts to achieve the same effect over time.
If you've heard the term “emotional eating,” then you may be familiar with the idea of consuming comfort foods to cope and take the edge off. Emotional drinking is similar. People drink alcohol for various reasons. Some are for cultural reasons, but others drink to manage: anxiety.
One of the reasons so many people drink alcohol so much is the false belief that alcohol is the only way to relax. In reality, alcohol does not ease or relieve stress, but actually exacerbates it.
People with high levels of social anxiety typically report that alcohol helps them feel more comfortable in social situations. Thus, it is not surprising that individuals with clinically diagnosed social anxiety disorder have a higher incidence of alcohol–related problems than does the general population.
For men, binge drinking is 5 or more drinks consumed on one occasion. Underage drinking: Any alcohol use by those under age 21. Heavy drinking: For women, heavy drinking is 8 drinks or more per week. For men, heavy drinking is 15 drinks or more per week.
Alcohol use disorders may be more prevalent in people who also have depression than they are in the general population. The occurrence of alcohol use disorder and a depressive disorder are associated with greater severity and a worse prognosis for both disorders.
The urge to drink too much may be the result of a physical or emotional disease. Excessive thirst may be a symptom of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), which may be due to diabetes. Excessive thirst is a common symptom. It is often the reaction to fluid loss during exercise or to eating salty foods.
Chronic stress is a warning sign to watch, Dr. Santini cautions. When the stress is severe this could result in low blood pressure that can cause dizziness, depression and anxiety as well as extreme thirst.
Over time, the amygdala and the hypothalamus begin to actually recognize alcohol as a necessary means of survival, and crave alcohol to soothe difficult feelings that arise from traumatic stress. This can lead to alcohol dependency, and is an indicator of alcohol use disorder.
Heavy alcohol use directly affects brain function and alters various brain chemical (i.e., neurotransmitter) and hormonal systems known to be involved in the development of many common mental disorders (e.g., mood and anxiety disorders) (Koob 2000).
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.