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How Quitting Alcohol Can Reduce Anxiety

How Quitting Alcohol Can Reduce Anxiety

Fight Alcohol Addiction with Help from Our Luxury Rehab Team in Orange County

It is common knowledge that for most drinkers, alcohol provides a relaxing effect and allows drinkers to lower their guard, experience less inhibitions, and “let loose.” But these effects are not always positive. For sufferers of anxiety, drinking to relax and release anxiety creates a vicious cycle, often leading to dependency and addiction.

At Oceans Luxury Rehab, we help patients stop the cycle and recover from alcohol abuse and addiction. With help from our top-tier Orange County alcohol addiction professionals, patients receive the tools they need to face anxiety without alcohol and move through life better equipped to battle anxiety symptoms.

Call our Orange County luxury alcohol rehab today to learn more about how the team at Oceans Luxury Rehab can help.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is the feeling of fear or worry about what is going to happen, feeling out of control, or fear about doing something you are uncomfortable with. Anxiety can be mild to severe and can have physical symptoms including increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, and digestive issues. Common anxiety may include speaking in public or the anxiety we feel before a plane ride, but many suffer from debilitating anxiety about typical daily activities.

Turning to Alcohol as Stress Relief

It is not uncommon for people who suffer from anxiety to turn to alcohol for relief. It brings on temporary relaxation and dampens the thought process, giving perceived relief for paralyzing anxiety. However, drinking alcohol to fight anxiety can quickly result in dependence and extended self-medication. Easy access, affordability, and social acceptance make alcohol a common choice to combat anxiety symptoms. The act of self-medicating can be a slippery slope.

How Alcohol Interacts with Anxiety

Alcohol is a depressant, so it slows anxious thinking and reduces the physical symptoms of anxiety. Essentially, it works in the brain to trick us into thinking we are having fun even in situations we would usually feel anxious.

Alcohol creates a vicious cycle that can also trigger depression and a variety of physical issues. The intake of alcohol results in lowered serotonin in the brain, which eventually brings back the anxiety, but stronger. As dependency on alcohol progresses, more is needed to achieve the same effect and same anxiety relief.

It interacts with neurotransmitters in the nervous system by activating GABA, which creates a temporary relaxing effect, while at the same time, alcohol depletes this neurotransmitter and increases anxiety as it wears off. This feeling is often referred to as “Hangxiety” which is the increased anxiety felt during the inevitable hangover and withdrawal.

Orange County Dual Diagnosis Rehab: Beat Alcohol Addiction and Reduce Anxiety

Quitting drinking allows your body to restore the natural balance of neurotransmitters, the body’s natural emotional regulators. The absence of alcohol in the brain allows it to heal and gives it a chance to manage emotions without reliance upon a substance. Combining the natural rebalancing of the brain’s essential chemicals with treatment and therapy can help you feel less anxious and be better equipped when anxiety hits.

Let the alcohol abuse experts at Oceans Luxury Rehab help you find relief from the cycle of drinking and the inevitable anxiety. We can give you the tools you need to feel less anxious and the understanding of what makes you feel that way. With dual-diagnosis rehab options, we can get to the root of anxiety while helping you quit drinking.

Find the freedom that comes with sobriety at Oceans Luxury Rehab. Call our Orange County alcohol addiction professionals today!