Alcohol worries me. Is this normal?

Q: Sometimes I feel a really restless day after drinking. Can alcohol cause a panic attack?

The brief answer is like this.

Panic attacks – sudden waves of overwhelming fear and anxiety, along with physical symptoms, such as chest pain and pressure, sweating, heartbeat, nausea, difficulty breathing, delicacy, delicacy or numbness of the arms and hands – they are Intensive episodes of anxiety.

And alcohol and anxiety are considered “two sides of the same coin”, said Dr. Alën Balasanova, a professor of psychiatry and director of addiction psychiatry education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

While drinking is often used as a social grease or a way to relax and relax, Scientists found This alcohol can boost anxiety. These feelings may result from the metabolization of alcohol by the body, a process that may take day or longer. Regular, drinking weighty can experience a higher level of anxiety, especially after the alcohol disappears.

“AND I don’t want to scare people to think that if you leave and you have a few glasses of wine, that you will have a panic attack, “said Dr. Balasanova. “But certainly the risk always exists.”

And this risk is higher if you already have an anxiety disorder.

Ideally, “people who are susceptible to anxiety should avoid weighty drinking or drinking, even if alcohol seems to mitigate fear in a brief period,” said Jennifer E. Merrill, a professor of behavioral and social sciences at the University of Brown.

A wrong cycle of alcohol and anxiety

Scientists do not quite understand how alcohol and fear are related, but they know that people with Alcohol consumption disorderThe pattern of regular drinking, which is hard to control and persists despite anxiety or problems, has a greater risk of developing anxiety disorders and vice versa.

When you drink alcohol, the brain increases the release of a chemical called Gamma-Aminobuteric Coas or Gaba, which helps us feel serene. Alcohol also inhibits the release of a neurotransmitter called glutamate, which is associated with anxiety. These disturbances can make people feel more relaxed.

But if you become physically dependent on alcohol – for example, after years of drinking – the constant acceleration of GABA may cause the brain to produce less Glutamate becomes more dominant. The brain then becomes “hyperexited”, which can lead to symptoms such as panic attacks, said Dr. Kathleen Brady, an addiction expert and a psychiatry professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Federal health officials Define weighty drinking as eating five or more drinks a day (or 15 or more a week) for men and four or more a day (or eight or more a week) for women.

But Dr. Brady added, even those who drink moderately-two or less drinks a day for men and no more than one drink a day for women-to experience alcohol-induced panic attacks, especially if they have anxiety disorder or anxiety disorders or anxiety disorders or in the past He had a panic attack.

Alcohol may also cause you to dehydrated Or to sleep poorly, which can make someone feel more restless than usual, said Dr. Balasanova. She added that the operate of alcohol to self -cillay and dealing with anxiety can only cause more anxiety, consolidating the vicious circle.

How to deal with an alcohol panic attack

There are ways to deal with a panic attack, regardless of whether it is caused by alcohol or something else. David Carbonell, a psychologist from Chicago who helps patients with anxiety disorders, which helps patients with anxiety disorders that helps patients with anxiety disorders.

However, you can take steps to better understand what is happening in your body and assist yourself feel more comfortable. Dr. Carbonell advises his patients to try AWARE method.

Conscious is an acronym covering recognition and acceptance That you have a panic attack: recognize that you are afraid, but is not threatened. Then, Wait And watch how you feel. You can try actions like Belly breathingBut it is significant to confirm that your duty is to end a panic attack. To repeat Steps if necessary. Regardless of how you react, the panic attack will be generally end In less than 15 minutes.

Dr. Carbonell said it releases it when you realize that you don’t have to work to stop panic. “In fact, the more I try to end, the more it gets worse,” he added.

If you are worried about drinking alcohol or anxiety, said Dr. Balasanova, talking to these worries with a primary care physician or other healthcare employee, such as a therapist, is a good place to start.