It can feel as if wine is the only thing that will fix your anxiety…
Especially when you’re overwhelmed, frustrated and stressed out.
You know a glass of wine (or three) will take the edge off.
You want to drink less… but alcohol helps you fix your anxiety and get a break from your own brain.
If this sounds like you, then you’re not alone.
Let’s talk about what’s really going on… and introduce a new way of thinking about this.
Key points
Alcohol makes anxiety worse
Studies have shown that long-term drinking can increase our susceptibility to anxiety problems. So the big picture isn’t good, but even in the short term, most of us have experienced hangxiety – i.e. increased anxiety the morning after drinking.
Get the 24 hour picture
Don’t judge alcohol on how you feel when you’re drinking. You’ve got to consider your mood for 24 hours following a drink. When you wake up, sleep-deprived and feeling bad, you start the day with high anxiety, making you more likely to crave a drink later.
Smiley stickers
Would you ever put a sticker on your car dashboard to cover up a warning light? Doing this might give you some temporary relief but eventually, your car would break down. Wine is that sticker. It’s not fixing anything – it’s just helping you ignore the warning lights.
How to really fix your anxiety
Sobriety is not about learning how to just resist wine whilst keeping everything else exactly the same. Successful sobriety requires you to address the real issues behind your drinking.
Perhaps you have too much on your plate and not enough support. Maybe you’re not great at asking for help or you’re worried what people think. Focus on finding real solutions. This work takes a little time, but it’s worth it.
If you’d like some help and support to quit drinking – and create an alcohol-free life you love – click here for details of my online course.
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The post Why Wine Doesn’t Really Fix Your Anxiety appeared first on The Sober School.
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