“It is recommended if you continue to experience feelings of anxiety or other symptoms, even if you have had a few drinks, it could be a sign of a serious or bigger problem. Unlike regular anxiety, hangover anxiety, or hangxiety, isn’t found in the DSM-5, meaning it’s not an actual medical condition. But if you’ve ever experienced it, you know it’s absolutely a real thing—more so for some people than others. While anyone can feel anxious after a night of overindulging, folks who deal with anxiety on a day-to-day basis are at an even higher risk. According to a 2019 study in Personality and Individual Differences, hangxiety is most prevalent in highly shy people and those who deal with social anxiety. While “hangxiety” is not an official medical term, there is a biological reason we might have feelings of anxiety, dread, fear, regret and guilt in our hangover state.
Get Anxious After Drinking? Blame Hangxiety
Some medications also carry a risk of other side effects, including memory impairment or serious physical health concerns like ulcers or organ damage. People are also more likely to indulge in foods that might also trigger anxious feelings. She explains that when endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers and feel-good hormones, are released in response to traumatic events, their levels naturally decrease over a period of several days. “The brain always wants to stay in balance and whatever feelings you manufacture with alcohol, the brain will cause the exact opposite feeling to maintain homeostasis,” Tietz says.
Limit your alcohol intake.
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Treatment for Anxiety, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Co-Occurring Issues
However, for some people, especially those who drink heavily, symptoms might linger for up to 48 hours. The duration of hangxiety can vary depending on factors like the amount of alcohol consumed, individual metabolism, and overall health. A 2011 study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that even mild dehydration in men can lead to impaired working memory and increased anxiety levels. Similarly, women suffered from lower mood when they became dehydrated by as little as 1.36%, according to a 2012 study, published in the Journal of Nutrition. Feeling extremely thirsty is a common hangover symptom, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Alcohol is a diuretic substance, which means it makes your body lose fluids more rapidly than normal.
After a night of heavy drinking, this fluid loss can leave you feeling groggy and tired when you wake up. According to a 2019 article published in the journal Alcohol maverick sober living and Alcoholism, the mild euphoria we experience after drinking alcohol is caused by temporary changes to our chemical messengers in the brain, called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters play a major role in regulating our mood, and after they initially generate euphoria, sudden changes to their levels may be a major trigger for later symptoms of hangxiety. Many aspects of hangovers, including dehydration and lack of sleep, have the ability to trigger or intensify feelings of anxiousness. Why do some people wake up after drinking feeling relaxed and ready for brunch, while others stay wrapped in a blanket, feeling the weight of the world?
- Dehydration, another common consequence of excessive alcohol consumption, can further worsen these symptoms, leaving you feeling parched and depleted.
- In addition to being high in protein and fiber to keep you full, quinoa contains the essential micronutrients magnesium and potassium, which may help minimize electrolyte imbalances from a night of drinking (14).
- Hangxiety is not a clinical diagnosis, but rather a hangover symptom that many experience.
- Foods high in protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates can be particularly effective.
While we often think of a run-of-the-mill hangover as purely physical – a headache, nausea, maybe some sensitivity to bright light and loud noise – psychological ramifications are actually quite common. In fact, Baskin-Sommers lists anxiety, low mood and jitteriness as frequent symptoms. Essentially, hangxiety is just a catchall term for the psychological effects endemic to a hangover. For one, dopamine, which helps the body to manage anxiety, is hindered as you recover from ingesting alcohol, clinical psychologist Dr. Kendra Kubala shares in an email to USA TODAY.
Following this idea, a 2019 study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences measured levels of anxiety among social drinkers before, during and after drinking. It found that participants who scored as “highly shy” experienced the highest levels of anxiety the following day. Those who struggle with social interactions when sober may also be more prone to hangxiety, added Nutt. This is because people who experience social anxiety tend to have lower GABA and/or higher glutamate function, which makes them more prone to anxiety after drinking.
In addition, some specific changes in the body may increase the risk. “The more alcohol consumed, the higher chance of experiencing hangxiety,” he says. As alcohol starts to rapidly disappear from your system Feifel explains a pendulum effect occurs.