Alcohol & Anxiety – Short Term Fix and Long Term Effects
Is alcohol really a safe way to deal with anxiety?
We all know that alcohol can calm our nerves. For those of us who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, a couple of drinks can be a fast way to stop an anxiety episode.
But do we really know what is going on inside our bodies, and where this can lead?
Let me explain the path to alcohol hell… and some insights about what is really happening in your body.
Imagines Patrick, an anxiety and panic attack sufferer since his early teens. Patrick soon discovers that having a few drinks stops his anxiety attacks in their tracks. He feels better equipped to deal with the stresses of everyday life, and starts to use alcohol as a “quick fix”.
Everything seems to be much better, but Patrick has developed a dependency and has started to drink every day. Soon, he can’t deal with even the slightest stress without a drink, let alone his panic attacks. As Patrick’s drinking becomes heavier, it starts to affect other areas of his life.
His boss doesn’t appreciate his mood-swings and bad behavior, and Patrick loses his job. His wife can’t handle the strain any more, and she leaves him. This piles more stress on our poor friend, and he suffers more panic attacks as a result. So of course he hits the bottle even more, and the spiral continues.
What Patrick didn’t realize was what was happening inside his body.
With each drink, the alcohol quickly depressed his central nervous system, increasing the chemical inhibitory neurotransmitter “GABA”, which has the effect of stopping the anxious feelings being produced. The alcohol is a fast-acting “anxiolytic”, or anxiety-reducer.
Unfortunately, the long-term alcohol use reduced the levels of the “GBzR” receptor in Patrick’s central nervous system. This actually reduced the anxiolytic function in Patrick’s brain over time. So while in the short-term the alcohol helped him relax, in the long run it actually made everything worse.
Break the cycle of drinking to relieve your anxiety.
If you’d like to know more, check out http://endanxietydisorder.com/PanicAway.html
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