Can Alcohol Consumption Cause Morning Anxiety?
What is your take on drinking and morning anxiety? Do you think one fuels the other, or do you feel they are not connected at all?
Alcohol effects on morning anxiety are increasingly being pointed out by many people suffering from morning anxiety. That’s why I thought my following answers to two of the recent questions on alcohol and morning anxiety asked by one of my subscribers may be useful to you.
[headline style=”1″ align=”center”]Concerning your first question: “I have stopped drinking alcohol as I found this in the morning was a major trigger for morning anxiety. Why is this please?”
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Yes, you are right alcohol has been identified through extensive researches over the years as a major trigger for morning anxiety.
Studies actually show that most people drink in the first place to escape or relieve anxiety, frustration and tension. So its like using alcohol to bottle-in their negative emotions. But, unfortunately, these negative emotions will have to be expressed sooner or later, And they tend to do that through aggravated morning anxiety.
Although alcohol can reduce anxiety and tension temporarily, according to the tension-reduction theory, it is also been proven that the fact that it provides temporary relief from anxiety and tension makes people drink more and more – moving them from being a moderate social drinker to becoming an alcoholic. So this is something to also watch out for.
But here is the main reason why you noticed that alcohol-intake kind of fuels your morning anxiety: Regular drinking of alcohol lowers the levels of serotonin in your brain – a chemical that helps to regulate your mood. And when your serotonin level is lowered too much, then you have no enough chemical to lift and regulate your mood accordingly, leaving you with an anxious and depressive episode, especially early in the morning when your blood sugar level is usually low anyway.
The brain uses a lot of sugar over the night to keep you on a right mind, and too low blood sugar level automatically triggers your body’s stress response, flooding into your bloodstream more stress hormones, such as cortisol, than healthily required – and morning anxiety is just one of the ways your body reacts to these activities.
[headline style=”1″ align=”center”]The alcohol effects on your system, among other things, can include:[/headline]
- Very low mood
- Feeling tired and demotivated
- Aggravated anxiety.
- Wanting to escape reality
- High tendency to overly depend on alcohol, making becoming alcoholic a strong possibility.
[headline style=”1″ align=”center”]Tips To Reduce Morning Anxiety Triggered By Alcohol Consumption:
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1. Of course the first step is obvious. Reduce your alcohol intake (very well-done that you have been able to stop drinking, as many people still struggle with this.) Try different ways of dealing with your stress issues or situations. Instead of reaching for a beer or glass of wine after a difficult day, do something different such as – go for a run, swim or do relaxation exercises, or a talk to a someone caring about what’s disturbing you.
2. Consider having an alcohol-free break for yourself and see what positive results you generate. Challenge yourself – try and go for 2 days or a week or even a month without drinking at all. Some people have found this decision a big help in their journey to full anxiety recovery.
3. Develop your self-awareness for the reason you feel like drinking. Be aware of why you’re drinking. If it is to make a bad feeling go away, try to challenge those thoughts – because, in reality, it will increase your morning anxiety. It’s like running away from an unpleasant feeling, only to get it back in full in the morning.
4. Try this breathing technique and visualisation in bed when you feel anxious in the morning. Close your eyes and breathe in and out deeply and slowly up to twenty times – And each time you exhale, visualise your anxiety being flushed out from your entire mind and body. This action can literally for control back to you. You activate the para-sympathetic nervous system duty, which is to force calm, rest and relaxation back into your system.
5. Choose to talk to someone who cares or someone experienced about your worries and concerns, instead of masking them with alcohol.
[headline style=”1″ align=”center”]Concerning your second question: “ I still get morning anxiety even on medication and still struggle!”
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Yes, most anxiety and depression medications act like tranquillizers, meaning that they kind of create a psychic screen between yourself and your problems. As a result, your responses to your anxiety, depression or difficult circumstances you are going through will be considerably lowered. And in return, you’ll not feel on edge as you would have felt if you weren’t taking any medications. So they don’t really cure your anxiety, they just mask them. But having said that, medications do their job very well – but they shouldn’t have been a long-term coping mechanisms as they are widely being used for in our societies today.
There are many reasons why you can still be struggling with morning anxiety even though you are on medications. And I will highlight ten of them in my next post to you. In the mean time, try to use the above suggestions to see if you can reduce the effects of your morning anxiety.
More often than not the main source of morning anxiety is rooted in your emotions. This is a powerful recovery secret that few understand. So if you would love to get not only your mornings back, but also your entire life and break free from anxiety disorders, why don’t you try my Anxiety Panic recovery Programme. Many lives have already been changed and it comes with 100% satisfaction or your money back. Check it out HERE.
Warmest regards
Wale Oladipo
P.S.: Would you please take a moment to submit your questions or share your experience with morning anxiety or any other anxiety-related issues? I would be delighted to personally answer any question you may have regarding anxiety disorders.This can help a lot of people in their journey to recovery. You can do this by using the contact form or comment form below. Thank you.
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