Hangovers vs. ‘Hangxiety’: Bad and Badder
The next-day physical effects of drinking can be awful. The emotional impact may be far worse.
Before I found the magic recipe of meditation and medication that fixed my anxiety the right way, I found alcohol to be an effective antidote. Until the next day, that is, when the anxiety came raging back worse than ever.
It turns out there is a word for that: hangxiety. In my case, it was a symptom of a self-destructive pattern I needed to break, but it’s a phenomenon that can affect even the most casual of revelers after a big night out. Or even a not-so-big night out. But why does it happen and, if Alcoholics Anonymous is not your speed, what can you do about it?
What is it
Hangovers are characterized by fatigue, headache, nausea, and even vomiting that occurs after alcohol consumption, as blood alcohol levels drop back to zero. But in addition to those symptoms, some people also experience heightened anxiety or depression symptoms the morning after downing a few too many.
Or even less than a few too many. “Even among patients without an anxiety disorder, anxiety-like symptoms can occur after a single heavy drinking episode — some people experience hangxiety after just a single alcoholic beverage,”…
