Hangover Anxiety, also known as Hangxiety, is a new term coined for the feelings a person feels after taking wine or alcohol. It is a state where a person feels anxious, along with a hangover. A person suffering from anxiety often feels worried, guilty, and shameful after drinking or taking in alcohol. Similarly, a hangover can be described as a physiological or psychological condition in which a person feels unpleasant after consuming wine, beer, or alcohol.
Whenever a person drinks alcohol, he feels unpleasant, sad, shameful, and guilty and it leads to a situation which is known as a hangover. The condition also varies from person to person. Some people won’t feel unpleasant after drinking, while some would feel the worst. This is because the alcoholic reaction of hangovers only attacks those who are already shy and timid and feel anxious while talking to people. An introvert would be more prone to hangovers than an extrovert.
Causes of Hangover Anxiety
The hangovers that a person suffers after drinking or ingesting wine or alcohol can be due to the following reasons;
1. Acetaldehyde
Soon after drinking alcohol, the liver starts metabolizing the alcohol to get rid of it. Due to the metabolizing, the chemical called Acetaldehyde is formed, and it causes inflammation in several body organs like the liver, pancreas, digestive tracts, and brain.
2. Dehydration
People who drink a lot with insufficient intake of water can get dehydration because alcohol is diuretic, and it can cause severe dehydration.
3. Intolerance of Alcohol
When people get allergic to alcohol or develop intolerance to alcohol, they would feel the following symptoms;
- Rapidness of Heartbeat
- Nausea
- Severe Headaches
- Recurrent Fatigues
4. Regrets and Worries
In the start, the first two-three drinks of wine would make someone feel more blessed and happier, and the person would feel, above all, calm and relaxed. But this journey would soon end with the third or fourth glass of alcohol consumption. This would lead to severe impairments as follows;
- Impairment of Thinking: One would forget what he was thinking of.
- Impairment of Speech: One won’t be able to speak properly or utter words correctly.
- Impairment of Judgment: One won’t be able to judge or witness the scenarios around.
- Impairment of Reasoning: One would forget the reasons for the questions being asked. The mind won’t help at all.
As a result, the person would feel hangovers due to the shame and guilt he would face because of all the impairments.
Hangover Anxiety’s Symptoms
The following are the most common symptoms observed in patients with Hangover Anxiety;
- Fatigue: A person would feel tired and weary all the time.
- Slackness: A person would be seen as less active and slow most of the time.
- Thirst: Due to hangover anxiety, the patient is dehydrated and feels thirstier.
- Nausea: Due to the reaction of the liver metabolizing the alcohol, the patient would feel more nauseous.
- Aches in Body: Several cramps and pain in the body will occur.
- Headaches: The most common symptom is a headache. It would not leave the person.
- Guilt: A shy person would always feel guilty due to not being able to remember what he did when he was drinking.
- Shame: A shy and timid person would feel shameful for no reason.
- Racing of the Heart: The heart would start beating fast and rapidly, increasing the chances of a heart attack.
- Stomach Knots: The drinker would feel pain in the stomach like, as if someone has knotted his intestines, and would feel the severity of the pain.
- Jitters: The person would often feel restless and won’t be able to find comfort and relaxation.
- Sleep Deprivation: A common symptom includes sleeping deprivation. A person won’t be able to sleep properly and have enough sleep required for a person.
- Impairment or Loss in Concentration: People who drink alcohol and feel hangovers are mostly not able to concentrate properly on the stuff and have impairment of concentration. They tend to lose focus easily.
- Difficulty in Relaxing: A person would not find it easy to relax and would always feel restless.
How Does Hangover Anxiety Work?
The anxiousness of the body begins after a while of drinking alcohol. The consumption orders the brain of the drinker for the production of dopamine. The drinker might feel good in the start due to the flooding of the chemical, but the calmness he’d feel would soon get finished. The rise in the level of dopamine can change your anxiety into euphoria as well.
Sometimes the hangover starts due to the person or drinker himself. For example, if a person feels hungover and tries to get away with it by taking a coffee, he would feel more triggers because the caffeine in the coffee would trigger anxiety. The person would also feel guiltier if he has done anything he can’t remember after consuming alcohol or has done something wrong when drunk.
Prevention of Hangover Anxiety
If someone is a patient of Hangover Anxiety, then you can assist him/her or advise the followings ways to prevent severe outcomes of anxiety;
Hydration
It is obligatory for a patient with Hangover Anxiety to stay hydrated. It would help him to overcome the hangovers. The hangover will run away quickly.
Adequate Sleep
A person, either a drinker or not needs full-time sleep for at least 7 hours a day. Without it, even healthy people also feel drowsy and tired. So, in order to lessen the effects of hangover anxiety, it is advised to have an adequate sleep.
Intake of Counter Pain Reliefs
For the pain and cramps or aches of the body during hangovers, it is advised by doctors to take ibuprofen medicine and get rid of the pain easily.
Clearance of Mind
One should stay clear and should not worry about what he cannot remember. The guilt and the worries should be cleared.
Meditation or Exercise
To get more relief and prevention, one should start meditating and exercising. Even a little walk of 100 steps in nature is enough for relief from hangovers.
Get Busy in your own Business
Stay busy and make a routine where you don’t get proper time to think about what happened and what could happen, and what your actions were. You should have no time to focus on your past or remember the past.
I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing. With years of experience tasting and evaluating various beers, I love to share my opinions and insights with others and I am always eager to engage in lively discussions about my favorite beverage.
