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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if alcohol makes you feel low for days after

88 replies

littleblackdress04 · 14/04/2020 11:09

I had a few drinks over Easter weekend after a period of not drinking & feel so low today. Nothing feels ‘right’ & everything feels out of sync. I know it’s a strange time at time at the moment with everyone in isolation but since my couple of days of boozing, I find myself questioning my life & the people in it.

Anyone else get this from booze? I was actually ok before & coping with the current situation- aibu to think it would have such an immediate effect on me? I feel really low today & just not ‘right’

OP posts:
jaimebravo · 15/04/2020 07:36

Its a horrible feeling like an overwhelming sadness and the reason I cannot drink anymore, it goes on for days.
Its known as the fear!

To ask if alcohol makes you feel low for days after
ponchek · 15/04/2020 07:37

Yes yes yes. I get a feeling of dread and that I've done something wrong. For at least a day.

Maybe because when you read those stats about alcohol being a slow killer etc it's right.

I'm putting it in the same category as smoking. Which is a slow version of drinking Domestos. So yes it's bad and yes makes me feel bad.

TwilightPeace · 15/04/2020 07:38

Yes it makes me anxious and low. A sense of impending doom. That’s why I only drink once every few months, and even then I don’t drink much. It just doesn’t agree with me.

VaggieMight · 15/04/2020 07:46

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at poster's request.

yearinyearout · 15/04/2020 07:47

It doesn't have that effect on me (I'm not a huge drinker anyway and only tend to have a couple) but it's very noticeable with my DH. The more he's drunk the night before the more grumpy he is, especially if he's mixed his drinks.

Thisisworsethananticpated · 15/04/2020 07:49

Me !
I wake tired and with a headache anyway as
It’s so stressful
So adding in a mild or even heavy hangover ...

It’s a very mentally challenging time

Cat0115 · 15/04/2020 07:50

Yes. Felt terrible for days and what I now realise was crippling anxiety was unbearable. I have been tee total for about five years and I don't miss it at all. (I'm 49).

StrangerDays · 15/04/2020 07:51

If I have one or two drinks with a meal, in the evening, once or twice a week it doesn't affect my mental health at all and I very much enjoy it.

But if I got drunk then yes, it causes depression like symptoms afterwards. I know my limits now, so I don't get sloshed.

I am very active and my diet is healthy so I wonder if this offsets the couple of drinks I have, mental health wise.

OddBoots · 15/04/2020 07:56

Yeah, I am not someone who drinks a lot anyway but I stopped completely when my Dad was in his final months with Cancer as I wanted to feel able to get to him at any time then when he died I had a drink a few days after the funeral and the days after were so much harder to cope.

This virus has come quickly on the tail of that so I have decided not to drink for the duration.

Shockers · 15/04/2020 08:00

@BurgerOnTheOrientExpress- which country are you in?

Insideimsprinting · 15/04/2020 08:17

My dry January extended to mid March, the few times I have had a drink since I haven't slept well, woke with a shit taste in my mouth, had indigestion and felt down. I'm fit and healthy and perimenopausal. I'm now going tee total.
I like the having a dring but feel like this even just 2 or 3 small bottles of beer twice a week. It seems pointless drinking if I'm feeling this roppy after.

Bigbird32 · 15/04/2020 08:18

If I binge drink then yes I'll be very anxious and emotional the following day. A glass or two at home in the evening has the opposite effect however Grin

canyouseethesea · 15/04/2020 08:20

Yes, I don't drink a lot and I never get hangovers no matter how much I drink but if I have a particularly heavy night with the girls I feel my depression takes a turn for the worst for about a week after x

EveryDayIsADuvetDay · 15/04/2020 08:25

I find that I drink less these days - my tolerance is reduced from a few years ago, although I've never been a heavy drinker.
More than a couple of glasses, and it screws up my sleep pattern - don't get enough sleep > I am in a low mood.

barnabybenny · 15/04/2020 08:28

This is why I don’t drink, the low feeling for days afterwards leaves me barely able to function.

Thinkinghappythoughts · 15/04/2020 08:29

Yes. Although I do find that the fitter I am the much less the effect is. Such a shame as I love a summer drink with friends (thinking to days after this has finished....)

DottyDotAgain · 15/04/2020 08:32

Yep - I've been drinking way too much alcohol for the best part of a year - combination of work/home/change of job stress and am perimenopausal.

I work in the NHS (not front line) and my job is so crazy at the moment, I decided I needed a clear head and to be on the best form I could be on, so I stopped 2 x weeks ago and am now just having a drink on a Friday and Saturday night. After an initial low I feel so much better already. I've got more energy in the evenings, but then am sleeping tons better at night. I'm clear headed and generally much calmer.

Working in a hospital, with amazing doctors, hasn't helped in terms of feeling anxious about the virus (I have autoimmune conditions and am generally not in the best of health), but giving up alcohol - and I was drinking a lot - really has been the best thing I could have done.

I'm not not even looking forward to a drink on Friday, because I know how it'll make me feel on Saturday Shock. Not sure I won't have anything - but the fact that I'm even thinking about it is a huge step forward for me!

PersonaNonGarter · 15/04/2020 08:34

Yes, and I’ve started to recognise it in others. If my boss tells me about his boozy weekend plans then I know Monday and Tuesday are going to be crap for the team while he deals with his dark mood.

NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite · 15/04/2020 08:48

Alcohol is a known depressant and you probably don't notice that if it is part of your daily life. You only notice when you have a break from it and then have it in one occasion.

My BIL, a heavy daily drinker, had to give up alcohol due to a health issue and the depressant effects were more or less instant. The continual drinking meant he felt fine and when he stopped....bumph.

BeenHereForAges · 15/04/2020 08:53

Anyone I've ever asked about this has looked at me like I'm crazy! Yes I used to get this too, not anymore as I gave up drinking but when I look back at my teenage years I mostly remember lying on my bed feeling so so down and depressed after drinking, questioning everything I'd ever said or done and feeling the weight if the world on my shoulders. Horrible time. Never had it once since giving up.

limpbizkit · 15/04/2020 08:56

Yup. That's why I'm abstinent. Couldn't be happier. Don't miss it one bit Smile

Daftodil · 15/04/2020 08:59

Yep, I feel horrible for ages. I used to love a drink (or two) but now the journey is not worth the destination. Christmas, birthdays and weddings only now.

BurgerOnTheOrientExpress · 16/04/2020 05:31

@Yerroblemom1923 : now 'prohibition' extended to the end of April.

BurgerOnTheOrientExpress · 16/04/2020 05:34

@Shockers : Thailand. Covid-19 is least of our problems , we're all going to die of thirst!

ItMustBeBedtimeSurely · 16/04/2020 06:14

I genuinely thought I suffered from anxiety. Gave up booze two months ago and guess what? No anxiety, just normal levels of worry. And I am a nurse working on a covid ward!

Feel like an idiot now...