Hangxiety and Beer Fear
Why drinking nice often backfires
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Inner restlessness, tremors, circulatory problems, nausea, stomach rumbling (and more) – small, nasty side effects if we had a little too much alcohol the night before. It gets even nastier when, in addition to the desolate physical condition, the psyche is also affected. Do you know? Then you may suffer from Hangxiety or Beer Fear.
Stress with your partner, at work or just in life in general? First, one, two, three beers, wine or Aperol Spritz? Then life feels less difficult – at least until the next morning. After waking up, completely different feelings spread: mood swings, worries, brooding, fears, often combined with shortness of breath, tachycardia and dizziness. What darkened our mood yesterday is now taking on new dimensions, also known under the name “Hangxiety” (combination of the words Hangover (in German: hangover) and Anxiety (in German. fear) or Beer Fear (in German). .beer scared.) But what is it and why does it feel so awful?
Always there, the little drink from next door
Alcohol is everywhere: on convivial evenings it sits at the table, when we want to relax, we treat ourselves to a glass of red wine and suddenly we have visitors on the mat, we like to have one or two sparkling wines, not to mention the well-deserved after-work beer or the comforting long drink with your best friend when you are heartbroken.
For many, alcohol is as normal as coffee in the morning. It is a natural part of every party. Unfortunately, he also likes to let the high from the previous evening fizzle out when his head is pounding the next day. While most people are aware of the physical side effects of too much alcohol, complaints such as depressive moods, confusion and anxiety are rarely discussed.
“Hangxiety” is not at all uncommon. As a Study by the University of Utrecht 2017 found out that around 22 percent of those surveyed suffer from psychological side effects such as anxiety when they have a hangover. The crux: We usually drink alcohol to relax and to eliminate fears and social insecurities. This works initially because alcohol weakens our central nervous system and causes a feeling of relaxation. But the feeling is usually short-lived and takes revenge the next morning.
The fear of the next morning
As soon as our eyes are open, the cat knocks against our skull from the inside with a loud headache. But as if that weren’t enough, nausea, restlessness, tight chests and depressive moods often accompany it. “After consuming alcohol, the body has to metabolize it through the liver to remove the toxins from the body. The detoxification process causes the body to experience mild withdrawal symptoms as it processes the alcohol out of the system. These withdrawal symptoms take the form of anxiety, worry and restlessness,” explains addiction therapist Phil Jackman of Private Rehab Clinic, Delamere. “If a person has an anxiety disorder, alcohol can make these symptoms worse, but it can also cause anxiety in people who have it not normally experienced on a daily basis.”
A vicious circle in which you do your rounds
This often results in a vicious circle: people who regularly suffer from anxiety and use alcohol as a coping mechanism fight their “hangxiety” by drinking alcohol, which leads to a new hangover. Alcoholism and mental illness are therefore often closely linked. In addition, alcohol also prevents the regenerative sleep that is so important. When alcohol is consumed, it depresses the body’s central nervous system, leading to feelings of relaxation.
At the same time, however, the suppression of the central nervous system disrupts the body’s sleep pattern, resulting in less time being spent in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Our sleep is therefore usually not very restful after alcohol consumption. At the same time, poor sleep promotes psychological dispositions, such as a study figured out. “Instead of being rested and fit, I start the day with a deficit and encourage mental illness,” says Dr. Andreas Hagemann, medical director of the Röher Parkklinik in Eschweiler near Aachen. In addition, under the influence of alcohol, the feel-good hormones serotonin and endorphins are increasingly released, which means that the store is in deficit the next day and has to be replenished first.
Conclusion: Drinking nice doesn’t work
It is what it is: Alcohol is and remains a neurotoxin with much more influence on our entire body than we often give it credit for. We usually shrug it all off. Very few people know how badly our psyche is affected. It is all the more important to keep an eye on it so as not to get caught in the vicious circle in the first place. Especially if we are already not doing well, it is advisable to have a cup of tea with loved ones instead of drowning our sorrows in alcohol. Doesn’t work anyway and even with tea you can let all your frustration off the leather.
Got worries you want to share? The telephone counseling service accepts calls anonymously around the clock, telephone 0800/1110111 or 0800/1110222, www.telefonseelsorge.de. Further information and help on how to deal with it is also available from the Deutsche Depressionshilfe, telephone 0800/3344533 or at www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de.
Source: aponet.de