The halls are decked, the meals are set, and the holiday break is on full-swing. Which also means it’s time for a little bit of overindulging, and why not? You’ve earned it after pulling through a tough year.
The morning after, however, won’t be pretty. For most people, nasty hangovers cause nausea, a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and fatigue. But for some people, there’s also hangover anxiety or the so-called “hangxiety.” Hangxiety is the non-medical term used to describe feeling restless, anxious, nervous, or jittery during a hangover. If you’ve ever had this, data says you are not alone – hangxiety affects around 12% of people, and the severity varies from person to person.
So if you’ve ever Googled, “Why do I feel anxious after drinking alcohol?” or you’re looking for an excuse to limit the number of holiday parties to pop into, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about hangxiety.
What causes hangxiety?
Well, there are many theories, and each one of them makes sense.
One of them is that people who have social anxiety use alcohol as a social lubricant to shed shyness. When drinking, their anxiety decreases or seemingly disappears. But once the alcohol leaves their system, and they wake up hung-over, the anxiety returns in full force. From this theory, researchers posit that highly shy people have an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), and as an off-shoot of that, hangover anxiety.
Still, the social anxiety theory fails to explain the chemical changes in the brain that are at work here. To understand, let’s take a look at what The Guardian published in 2019, featuring an interview with David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology in London. He says hangxiety is caused by the fluctuations of the neurotransmitters GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and glutamate or glutamine.
Alcohol causes the GABA to decrease activity in the nervous system, producing a calming effect. Meanwhile, it represses glutamate, the neurotransmitter for memory, cognition, and learning.
“Drinking alcohol simultaneously increases the amount of chill GABA we have, whilst decreasing the amount of wired glutamate,” explains Tiktok user @soph.notes, a self-proclaimed science nerd. “This means your brain is acting in super slow-mo, giving you slower reactions and lower inhibitions.”
The next morning, your brain tries to balance out these amino acids, and the hangover kicks in. Your body then experiences physiological stress, as the hangover causes changes to the immune system, increased cortisol or stress hormone levels, blood pressure and heart rate – the very same symptoms of anxiety.
Knowing that hangxiety is a real thing, and that hangxiety can strike anyone, regardless of age, sex, and color, the next question to ask is: what can do you about it? Stay with us here to find out.
How to prevent hangxiety
Obviously, you can prevent it by not drinking a drop of alcohol. But the upcoming holidays would make this impossible. When unable to stick to mocktails, here are some practical things you do to avoid hangxiety.
Avoid binge drinking
It’s cocktail hour and everyone’s having a good time. You’re merrily mingling with a cocktail drink of your own, but you’re feeling fine. And isn’t that a good thing? You feel calm, you have a light buzz, you’re having fun, and you’re going to remember this great night.
You can do this by silently strategizing the number of drinks you’ll consume: no more than four drinks if you’re female, no more than five if you’re male. Set a slow steady pace by alternating a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks. Lastly, concentrate on taking slow sips, not chugs.
Treat the physical symptoms of hangover first
If, however, things escalated quickly, and you wake up the next day groaning with regret and anxious feelings, start by taking care of the physical symptoms of a hangover first.
Drink plenty of water, restore your electrolytes, and eat a meal rich with complex carbs. And don’t forget, it helps to go back to bed and sleep it off. According to Mayo Clinic, if you sleep long enough, your hangover may be gone by the time you wake up.
You can also use over-the-counter medications like Ibuprofen or Tylenol to relieve symptoms like headache, nausea, or muscle aches.
Try calming strategies
While addressing those icky hangover symptoms, the next step is to zero in on the nervous, anxious feelings. Once you acknowledge you’re having anxiety, take deep breaths and think of what you do to manage it and calm down. Things like breath work, meditation, listening to music that you like, and calling a friend will help settle you down.
Depending on level of severity, the unpleasant hanxious feelings can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a full day, so it’s important to take it easy during this time. Consider canceling your work day or any important appointment that can worsen your anxiety. The goal here is to feel relaxed, and wait for the unpleasant effects of alcohol to wear off before resuming your normal life.
Examine your relationship with alcohol
Hangxiety becoming the norm than the exception? Experts advice reflecting on your drinking habit. Ask yourself why you are drinking frequently.
Is it to avoid problems? Are those problems solved when you drink? Probably not.
Is it to cope with stress and anxiety itself? The downside is that your hangxiety can worsen and lead to alcohol dependency.
Lastly, if alcohol use is getting in the way of your day-to-day functioning, and the symptoms are getting worse, seek the help of a health professional immediately.
The bottom line
With the holidays just a few days away, it would be wise to come up with a strategy for your holiday parties. We all love to have fun, but there are ways we can enjoy ourselves going overboard. As with anything, balance and moderation are key. Savor each moment, and keep things merry, bright, and healthy!
Tags
0 Comments