To think this is caused by alcohol?

[lisapumpvander]

I drink every couple of weekends, usually only a couple of glasses on a Saturday night before dinner then stop drinking after I eat because I just seem to be sleepy after that.

However, on Saturday night I had a few friends over for dinner and drinks and I worked my way through 3 bottles of wine over about 10 hours (they arrived at 6 pm and didn't end up leaving until 4 am) this is very unlike me or my friends but we just got carried away and acted like we were in our early twenties again.

On Sunday I was understandably very hungover. Monday I felt physically okay, but really depressed, anxious, paranoid. I had things to do yesterday (luckily no work) and did nothing but lay about feeling really really sad and hopeless. This morning I woke up feeling exactly the same and ended up sleeping half the day. I have this horrible pit in my stomach, it's like I feel homesick but am at home. I just feel so hopeless and overwhelmingly sad and once again spent today lying around with that horrid sick feeling in my stomach.

I am praying tomorrow I will feel better but is it really possible to still be feeling the effects of alcohol 3 full days later? My friends all seem to be up and getting on with their life. Whereas I'm here irritable and on the verge of tears.

AIBU to think it's the alcohol making me feel like this all these days later? If it is I honestly cannot drink that way ever again. It's horrendous.

Yes it's the booze. This is one major reason I had to drastically cut back because I found my tolerance had reduced and days spent at the edge of anxiety were longer. It will pass - I try to listen to podcasts to dull the exhaustion of it.

Yes alcohol is a depressant, it's commonly known

Wow! Very similarly depressed yesterday & today after our first house party for about 3 years. We used to have loads. This time I've been crying so much didn't want people to leave, started thinking "what if I never see x, y & z again" and "oh god I'm so lonely" blah titty blah. Have come to the conclusion it was the booze & it just makes me very sad now. Awful.

Round here it's called 'the beer fear' or 'hanxiety' (hangover anxiety).
It's horrible!

Agree with everyone else, it's the alcohol. Keep drinking water and try to go for a walk / get out of the house and eventually it will pass. Good luck!

I think this may be your body/ subconscious telling you to give up the alcohol before it’s too late. You will feel immensely better for it.

I drink quite a lot by MN standards, but 3 bottles of wine is a lot. Can easily imagine it'll take a few days to recover from that

If you want to cut down or stop, check out Naked Mind. It was recommended on here. I found it really helpful

Just reading this has given me “the fear”

it’s why I don’t drink at all anymore, haven’t for about 2 years. Those hangovers could literally have killed me, I have never felt so depressed and low in my entire life, never had suicidal thoughts either but after a heavy night of drinking it felt like a possibility. I have never been a heavy drinker to start with so I think my tolerance has always been rubbish. But after a night of two bottles of wine I’d honestly feel like death and the anxiety was crippling.

Hangxiety is a thing! I get it quite badly when I drink excessively. It could take 3 days to leave your system so just try to ride the wave, it will pass! Drink as much water as you can and have something nice to eat x

Oh geez wow, I thought you meant 3 bottles between you and your friends…but 3 bottles to yourself eek wow, I’ve never known anyone to drink that much within 6 hours…ever 😳 I cant even imagine how horrendous you must be feeling.

Yep. Take a vit b supplement- helps a bit

Yep, I’m mid thirties and I have noticed the hanxiety is a million times worse. I’m a fairly anxious type anyway but After a big night out on the booze a few weeks ago ( wine, Gin, cocktail or 2 and shots) I had the physical hangover symptoms the next day, and I had severe anxiety for a Week afterwards, tailing off but still present for another week still.
it seriously made me consider giving myself a 4 drink rule. To have anxiety for 2 weeks afterwards really was a wake up call.

It's a cns depressant

I am an alcoholic (that doesn’t drink now). In my drinking days I could put away three bottles of wine, but even with my tolerance I would feel pretty bad after that and it would be excessive even for me. I am amazed you were not hospitalised if you usually drink only a couple of glasses every other weekend!

This will pass. Try not to do it again. 🙂

Happens to me too OP.

I had a chat about this with my GP recently. I like a few wines a few nights a week, and he said "Look, you're 47 which isn't old really, but your ability to process it and get a decent night's sleep absolutely declines. In your 20's you can have 6 drinks and fall asleep- no problem. In your 40's, you'll have broken sleep and be exhausted and feel anxious and depressed for days".

Rang bells with me!

Yes alcohol triggers anxiety for me. I don't have underlying anxiety but I get like it the couple of days after drinking especially heavily.

One of the reasons I tried to cut down.

It took me years to figure out this was happening though.

Alcohol is a depressant and some people are a lot more sensitive to it than others, so I'd say it's pretty likely that binge-drinking for a night when you don't usually do that has probably caused you to feel utterly wretched, yes. I've experienced this myself on more than one occasion! I'm actually not a big drinker at all but on some occasions when I've had far too much - situations like the one you describe - I've had an awful, awful drop in mood afterwards. Really bleak.

It's good that you've recognised it, to be honest. Some people drink heavily, feel depressed and then have another drink to cheer themselves up and start the whole cycle again, without understanding what the issue is.

Yes, I get like this too. It can take up to 72 hours for alcohol to ;eave your system so hopefully you should be feeling better today?

I have a friend in his 50s who is basically a functioning alcoholic. His anxiety when he's not drinking during work hours is through the roof so he starts drinking again to ease it. And on and on it goes. Trying to get him to see the drink might be the cause has so far proved impossible.
It's one of the reasons I don't drink much anymore.

Defo the booze. I’ve been pregnant for 8 months and obviously abstained, so no hangovers which has meant no anxiety. I’ve recognised that my weekend love of red wine was making me anxious in the working week. I didn’t drink a lot but enough to take the edge off a pressurised week at work on. Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Turns out I’m not actually an anxious person. It was the 🍷

Beer fear, hangxiety, definitely alcohol. It'll pass!x