Why You Get “Hangxiety” After a Night of Drinking
By: Sophia Erickson
I am not your typical 21-year-old college student. I don’t like to drink. Shocking, I know, but hear me out. First of all, drinks are expensive, I mean $16-dollars-for-a-drink-expensive and, honestly, I simply would rather pay for a coffee (or three) the next morning or a good meal instead. Secondly, I don’t like feeling sick. Quite frankly, my desire to avoid waking up with a pounding headache, an urge to puke and an overall malaise for the rest of my day, outweighs any desire to drink the night before. Finally, I realized that the pit in my stomach and anxiety that I was experiencing the morning after every night out was directly linked to drinking alcohol. This, my friends, is called “hangxiety” and while it has become a trendy term in the past few months, it is caused by a real chemical imbalance in your brain.
What is Hangxiety
Hangxiety can be described as a psychological symptom of a hangover. For some people it presents itself in the same way as typical anxiety, with feelings of restlessness, a rapid heart rate and an impending sense of panic, among other things (Bandelow, 2017). Others may frantically replay the night before over and over again in their head, second guessing everything they said or did; while others, however, may just feel down, worried, or out of character.
Regardless of how the symptoms present themselves, hangxiety is a real feeling that leaves many people miserable after a night out. But I am here to answer your questions on why it even happens and whether or not there are tangible actions or precautions you can take to make it better or even prevent the debilitating phenomenon’s occurrence entirely.
Why does Anxiety happen
Inside your brain there are “excitatory” and “inhibitory” neurotransmitters. Glutamate is an example of an excitatory neurotransmitter because it increases brain activity and energy levels (Gonzales, 1997). GABA is an example of an inhibitory neurotransmitter because it decreases brain activity and, therefore, reduces mental and physical stress (Krystal, 2006).
When you consume alcohol, there are effects on both of these neurotransmitters. Alcohol suppresses the release of glutamate while simultaneously increasing GABA (Banerjee, 2014). When this occurs, the brain’s inhibitory system is working overtime and the stimulatory system is slowed down, so you end up with that blissfully relaxed feeling that begins to set in after a drink or two. Simply, the interaction between alcohol and neurotransmitters explains why intoxication makes you feel care-free, relaxed and more sociable all the while slowing down your movements, reaction time and inhibitions. While this feeling feels great in the moment, your brain’s job is to maintain homeostasis and, as a result, it continues to do so by downregulating the inhibitory system and upregulating the stimulatory system after you stop drinking. When this happens, you may feel jittery, irritable, and anxious;in other words, you are experiencing “hangxiety.”
How to overcome Hangxiety?
Much like other unwanted symptoms of a hangover, there is no magic cure, and symptoms of hangxiety often have to dissipate over time. This being said, there are steps you can take to prevent hangxiety altogether, as well as tips to manage it in the moment.
Drink less alcohol. I know, I know it seems really self explanatory but this is truly the only surefire way to steer clear of hangxiety. In fact, an article written by Haynes et al. describes how alcohol actually increases the risk for anxiety and depression. In their research they found that , “abstinence was associated with a lower risk” of both (Haynes et al., 2005). If you feel like your anxiety may be connected to drinking habits, maybe just try one night out without alcohol and see how your anxiety fairs in the morning.
Stay Active, despite your desire to stay in bed all day when hungover. Even the simplest kinds of exercise, such as walking, releases endorphins that will help combat negative feelings of anxiety due to alcohol. Studies show that as your body is trying to regain homeostasis following the consumption of alcohol, β-endorphins are lowered, which can lead to decreased mood and overall increased crankiness (Genazzani, 1982). Exercise, however, has been shown to elevate mood and reduce anxiety due to the release and binding of new β-endorphins to receptor sites in the brain (Anderson, 2013).
Try the 5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique. This is one of my favorite techniques to use if I am ever experiencing anxiety because it really unifies me with my body, thus grounding me in my external environment. To begin, try taking slow, long and deep breaths. Then acknowledge…
FIVE things you see;
FOUR things you can touch;
THREE things you hear;
TWO things you can smell;
ONE thing you can taste.
All in all, hangovers are the worst and hangxiety can be one of the most debilitating symptoms. If anxiety is something you deal with on a daily basis and it is only exacerbated by drinking, try using some of your usual coping habits during rough mornings after a big night out. That being said, if you only experience anxiety after you drink, much like myself, maybe try out a couple of the tips above to gauge what solutions work best for you and your body. Overall, if you are ever feeling alcohol induced anxiety, just remember that it too shall pass and it’s such a universal experience that you should never feel self conscious.
Reference List:
Anderson, E., & Shivakumar, G. (2013). Effects of exercise and physical activity on anxiety. Frontiers in psychiatry, 4, 27. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00027
Bandelow, B., Michaelis, S., & Wedekind, D. (2017). Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 19(2), 93–107. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow
Banerjee N. (2014). Neurotransmitters in alcoholism: A review of neurobiological and genetic studies. Indian journal of human genetics, 20(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-6866.132750
Genazzani, A. R., Nappi, G., Facchinetti, F., Mazzella, G. L., Parrini, D., Sinforiani, E., Petraglia, F., & Savoldi, F. (1982). Central deficiency of beta-endorphin in alcohol addicts. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 55(3), 583–586. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem-55-3-583
Gonzales, R. A., & Jaworski, J. N. (1997). Alcohol and glutamate. Alcohol health and research world, 21(2), 120–127.
Haynes, J. C., Farrell, M., Singleton, N., Meltzer, H., Araya, R., Lewis, G., & Wiles, N. J. (2005). Alcohol consumption as a risk factor for anxiety and depression: results from the longitudinal follow-up of the National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 187, 544–551. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.187.6.544
Krystal, J. H., Staley, J., Mason, G., Petrakis, I. L., Kaufman, J., Harris, R. A., Gelernter, J., & Lappalainen, J. (2006). Gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors and alcoholism: intoxication, dependence, vulnerability, and treatment. Archives of general psychiatry, 63(9), 957–968. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.9.957