What if the anxiety you think alcohol is helping is actually being made worse by the booze?
Following Mondayβs conversation with Millie Gooch about hangxiety, Vic digs into one of the biggest reasons she eventually stopped drinking: panic.
For years, Vic thought alcohol was helping her cope with an anxious brain. It switched everything off for a few hours, gave her confidence and offered a bit of relief from all the noise. Unfortunately, the next day her brain would come back online with the volume turned up to eleven.
In this episode, Vic looks at the science behind alcohol and anxiety, why that lovely relaxed feeling can be followed by dread, racing thoughts and three oβclock in the morning panic, and why stopping drinking doesnβt always make everything feel better straight away. She also reads something she wrote when her own anxiety was at its worst, back when she genuinely believed she might never feel normal again.
But she did.
Eight and a half years later, Vic can look back at that frightened version of herself and tell her something she desperately needed to hear: the way you feel right now is not the way you will feel forever.
So, If anxiety is one of the reasons you drink, the good news is - it could also become one of the biggest reasons you never go back.
Is it time to tune in?
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Email vicandulrika@soberawkward.com Your message could inspire a future episode.
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