Stress is one of the most common reasons why people drink alcohol. When you have a rough day at work, you may reach for a beer when you get home. If you go through a breakup, you might drown your sorrows in shots at the bar. While alcohol seems to alleviate the intensity of stress, the problems you tried to drink away will be waiting for you when you sober up. To make matters worse, stress drinking can also lead to alcohol use disorder (AUD), so it’s important to know when your vice has gotten out of control.
If you or a loved one is having difficulty coping with stress without turning to alcohol, it might be time to seek the support of professionals. Promises Brazos Valley offers men’s and women’s alcohol rehab with both inpatient and outpatient treatment options. Call (979) 731-9433 to learn more and schedule an intake assessment.
What Is Stress Drinking?
Stress drinking is basically what it sounds like—consuming alcohol to cope with stress. Rather than addressing the root of stress through safer, healthier means, many people reach for a drink. Alcohol interacts with receptors in the brain that induce feelings of euphoria and relaxation, providing relief within minutes.
Understandably, a glass of wine can numb feelings of tension and anxiety faster than other stress reduction methods and is easier to access than proper mental health care. Still, it comes with a greater cost: your health and well-being.
Here are a few potential downsides of stress drinking:
- Feeling worse about your situation after the effects wear off
- Experiencing a hangover the next day—and possibly “hangxiety,” which refers to hangover-related anxiety
- Triggering or exacerbating anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions
- Susceptibility to physical health issues related to excessive alcohol consumption
- Higher risk of accidents, injuries, or other consequences of lowered inhibitions and increased risk-taking behavior
Having the occasional cocktail to take the edge off stress can be relatively harmless. But if self-medication becomes a regular habit, you could be setting yourself up for the above problems by developing AUD.
Do You Need to Seek Help Because of Your Stress Drinking?
There’s sometimes a fine line between moderate drinking to ease stressful feelings and problematic drinking, so you need to know how to tell whether your drinking pattern is leading you down a dangerous path. Here are a few indicators that you should consider talking to a professional about stress drinking:
- You regularly consume more than moderate amounts of alcohol, or more than one drink per day for women and more than two per day for men.
- You have a strong craving for a drink any time you feel stressed.
- You notice you need more drinks than usual to achieve the same effects due to increased tolerance.
- Stress drinking has resulted in physical, mental, financial, or legal consequences.
Using alcohol to self-medicate stress can stop you from putting the time and effort into more effective ways to address your problems. If you can’t manage stress without drinking, you’ll benefit from the support of mental health and addiction treatment professionals.
Call Promises Brazos Valley Today to Enroll in Alcohol Rehab
Stress is impossible to remove from your life completely, but you can learn how to manage it better without substances. If you or someone you know is struggling with stress drinking, the team at Promises Brazos Valley can help. Through a personalized combination of therapies and medications, we can teach you healthier ways of coping with stress and help your body heal from the effects of chronic stress drinking. Call us today at (979) 731-9433 or complete our online form to learn more about our 12-step-based programs, mindfulness therapies, and gender-specific treatment options for overcoming AUD.