The Anxiety-Alcohol Cycle: Why Drinking in the Evenings Might Be Fuelling Your Stress, Not Fixing It
It’s that moment at the end of the working day when you just want your mind to stop. It feels like having a drink is the only way to switch off. “Just one drink” to take the edge off, then another, to relax, but not only do you wake up feeling exhausted, you’re also more stressed and anxious the next day so you drink again that evening, then repeat. This is a familiar story I hear from many professionals who end up drinking more than they intended to as a way to feel calm, but it only helps for a short while. The office of national statistics data shows that about a third of people in professional occupations (36% in 2017) report heavy drinking. In 2023, the Mental Health Foundation reported that while many people drink alcohol to manage anxiety, it often worsens anxiety over time.
The Anxiety-Alcohol Loop
The problem is that alcohol initially makes you feel relaxed because it is a depressant that slows down your brain activity and can make you become disinhibited. However, overtime alcohol disrupts quality of sleep, alters the balance of chemicals in your brain, and increases stress hormone levels which leads to more anxiety. So, the very thing that calms you down also makes you feel anxious, and you end up trapped in a never-ending cycle. You may start to believe that drinking is the only way you can cope with your feelings. However, you can break the cycle by learning that there are alternative, healthier ways to soothe anxiety.
4 Alternative Ways to Cope with Anxiety
Here are my top tips to help you to break this pattern so you can take back your evenings, wake up feeling rested, calm, and focused the next day.
These strategies are intended for people who are curious about changing their relationship with alcohol. Especially those who find themselves drinking more than they would like just to manage anxiety or stress. If you feel you might be physically dependent on alcohol, it’s important to know that the safest way to cut down is by speaking to a qualified professional who can support you to reduce your drinking gradually.
- Delay having a drink to allow the initial urge or craving to subside. Although the craving for a drink can often feel like it will last forever, it will subside with time. Much like a wave, it rises, reaches a peak and then fades away. When drinking has become an automatic response to stress and anxiety, you can break out of autopilot by pausing to delay the urge and making intentional decisions rather than automatically pouring a glass.
- Present moment awareness: Once you’ve delayed having a drink, the next step is to soothe your anxiety by mindfully engaging your five senses to stay grounded and relax. If you focus your attention on what you’re experiencing in the present moment, your attention is pulled away from anxious thoughts. For example, you can listen to relaxing sounds or music, go for a walk and notice the colours and shapes and details you can see around you, savour the smell and taste of what you’re eating, light a scented candle or have a bath and take in the scent of the bubble bath, notice how the water and the bubbles feel.
- Anxiety isn’t the Enemy. It’s a Messenger: The way we view anxiety is important. If anxiety is perceived as something negative, we’ll keep trying to escape it by reaching for a drink. Alternatively, try to think of anxiety as your internal alarm system which tries its best to keep you safe. Much like a smoke alarm that can be triggered by burnt toast, our internal alarm can be oversensitive too, but we wouldn’t want to get rid of it because it’s essential for real danger.
- Plan ahead so you have activities lined up for you to help you unwind after work. This saves you having to think about what to do when you are already stressed, and drinking seems like the easiest and most accessible option.
In summary, when day-to-day pressures mount up and your mind won’t stop racing, alcohol appears to provide a quick and convenient solution to relieve stress and anxiety. It’s easy to get caught in an unhelpful cycle because unfortunately drinking is only a temporary solution and worsens anxiety in the long term. To break the loop, plan alternative after work activities to soothe your anxiety, practice delaying the decision to drink whilst you do something that engages your five senses. Lastly, remember that anxiety is a signal trying to keep you safe, not something to escape from.
Written by Dr. Fiona Dowman
Dr. Fiona Dowman is a highly experienced HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist based in London. She helps professionals to manage anxiety without reaching for a drink, so they can take back their evenings and stay calm, focussed and sharp the next day. She hosts the podcast Drink Less Booze. Live How You Choose and offers a free 2-page guide titled Am I Drinking More Because of My Anxiety? available at https://www.purplebridgepsychology.co.uk/anxiety-alcohol-loop-free-guide