Why Anxiety and Alcohol Misuse Are So Prevalent: Is Stress to Blame?
by Michael Walsh
Stress has become so much a part of life in modern times that most people don’t even remember what it feels like to not experience its frequent presence. [Updated March 2023]
As we become increasingly burdened by the demands of day-to-day life, mental health challenges are surging.
This begs the question – Is there a correlation between stress, mental health issues, and subsequent substance misuse?
It’s estimated that by the age of 40, 1 out of every 2 Canadians has, or will have had a mental illness. With anxiety and depression being the most prevalent, a mental health epidemic is hitting North America hard.
Some experts are shining a spotlight on the ways that stress causes negative outcomes population-wide.
In 2019, Sanjay Gupta, an American neurosurgeon and Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, filmed the documentary One Nation Under Stress. The film follows Gupta as he investigates the connection between stress and the fall in life expectancy in the U.S.
It highlights how stress affects your body and more importantly your brain. And explores the negative outcomes associated with the use of drugs or alcohol and stress.
How Stress Affects Your Body
Stress in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. It’s a biological mechanism that humans and animals experience in response to threats.
The stress response in the system, by way of a cascade of stress chemicals, is what prepares the body to fight or run. It causes your breathing and heart rate to increase and rushes blood to your muscles to prepare for action.
That’s great! If you find yourself face to face with a bear or an intruder.
The problem is that as our lives become more complicated and uncertain, we are faced with daily stressors that constantly trigger this physiological response.
With demanding careers, businesses to run, and families to care for, daily stress almost feels like it’s just part of the deal. When we add newsfeeds covering endless economic and geopolitical events, it starts to seem like threats are coming from every angle.
When your stress response becomes chronic, what was once a useful biological mechanism, can become a pandora’s box of health issues.
How stress affects your body, and most importantly your brain, is important for all of us to understand. But it’s additionally important if you find yourself struggling with drug or alcohol use.
Studies have shown the wide-ranging effects of stress chemicals on the brain. Over time, stress hormones can reduce the size of certain regions of the brain, impacting functions like memory, the ability to regulate emotion, and decision-making.
The prefrontal cortex, for instance, is the part of the brain responsible for our highest cognitive abilities. It is also the region most vulnerable to the negative effects of stress. Stress chemicals are shown to erode the connections between neurons which is the way that they communicate with one another. As these synapses atrophy, the ability to regulate thoughts, emotions, and actions declines.
Other parts of the brain, like the amygdala, are activated by stress chemicals. This primitive portion of the brain is responsible for fear conditioning and makes us more likely to form habitual responses.
The combination of diminished cognitive function in the part of the brain that helps us inhibit inappropriate thoughts and actions, with the increase in habit-forming behaviour, can set the stage for problematic drinking and drug use.
The Fallout of Alcohol and Stress
When you’re feeling stressed out, it’s easy to look for a quick fix. And the assumption may be that alcohol will do the trick.
Whether it’s a few drinks at the end of the day or a lunch meeting that ends with one more cocktail than intended – people often see alcohol as a great way to decompress.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, the research shows that it has the opposite effect.
We now know that alcohol activates what is known as the HPA axis. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis system is responsible for keeping our bodies regulated. It orchestrates the physiological response in the body in an attempt to mediate the impact of stressors in the external environment. In doing so, it secretes stress hormones like cortisol.
While you may feel a calming effect from those two or three drinks every night, the underlying processes of the body in response to alcohol are prolonging the stress response.
The ongoing reinforcement from alcohol misuse can ultimately alter the brain chemistry and change the way we perceive and respond to stress.
Excess amounts of cortisol for prolonged periods don’t only affect our stress response, it also can wreak havoc on other systems in the body. To prepare the body to respond effectively to a perceived threat, cortisol triggers the release of glucose which is how energy is pumped into the cells.
Increased glucose levels, in turn, can cause metabolic diseases, like diabetes, resulting in additional negative effects on the brain. Research shows that metabolic dysfunction is also related to psychiatric disorders like depression.
That means that the combination of alcohol and stress leaves us vulnerable to depression and anxiety. And when you’re used to coping by way of drinking, an unhealthy cycle can easily develop.
Anxiety and Alcohol – An Unhealthy Pair
Dr. Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist and Professor of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, recently released a podcast episode devoted entirely to this topic.
Huberman’s effortless way of explaining complicated biological processes sheds light on What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain, and Health. It’s well worth the listen.
He explains the multitude of ways that alcohol affects health and wellbeing, and stresses that “even low to moderate alcohol consumption negatively impacts the brain and body in direct ways.” Stress responses, thinking, and behaviour are all altered by alcohol consumption, and it’s important to understand that if you or someone you love is using alcohol to manage stress and anxiety.
You might think that stress and anxiety are one and the same since they produce similar states of discomfort. But they aren’t the same thing. Stress is a response to some sort of threat, be it physical, financial, or emotional. In its healthy function, it comes and goes as threats present themselves and then are resolved.
Anxiety generates a lot of the same symptoms in the body and mind but doesn’t necessarily come as a result of a triggering event. An anxiety disorder can develop as the result of stress and as so many of us know, can cause a constant or episodic sense of unease and impending doom.
Anxiety and alcohol use disorders have a high frequency of co-occurrence. Reaching for a drink to calm the many uncomfortable feelings caused by anxiety is an understandable reaction. But in doing so, you reinforce a habit loop that then makes you less likely to develop, or rely on, healthier coping mechanisms.
There are many ways to manage stress and decrease the chances of developing a mental health disorder like anxiety.
Meditation, mindfulness practices, physical exercise, breathing techniques, and strong social connections are among the most effective ways to mitigate the impact of stress.
These skills require you to remain present in your experience, even when it feels unpleasant. Chronic alcohol consumption makes that nearly impossible. Alcohol is such a common way to mitigate uncomfortable feelings because it removes you from your experience. It numbs the pain and uncertainty which robs you of the opportunity to learn to work with your internal environment in a way that you can down-regulate your system.
If you are having trouble with anxiety and alcohol, or find yourself drinking away the stress of the day, it might be time to re-evaluate your relationship with alcohol. In recovery coaching, I help people develop healthy tools to deal with all of the demands of our busy world.
Reliance upon alcohol and the long-term consequences associated with it doesn’t have to be your reality. There is a better way and I’m here to help you claim it.
Get Help Creating Your Personal Roadmap
It can be really scary to arrive at the realization that you have a drinking problem, no matter how big or small.
But it’s a lot less scary when you have an experienced guide to help you sort things out.
I’m an accredited Addiction Recovery Coach offering worldwide virtual support, and in-person support across Canada. If you’re interested in exploring 1:1 recovery coaching to help you cut back your drinking or stop drinking entirely, I’m happy to answer your questions.
I offer a no-charge consult call to anyone who has questions about their own substance use, or the substance use of a family member. These calls are completely confidential with no pressure to make a decision before you feel entirely ready.
If you’re ready to explore the potential of working together, I’d love to chat. Michael is based in Victoria British Columbia Canada. The other Recovery Coaches on the team are based in Nanaimo, Vancouver British Columbia Calgary, Edmonton Alberta, Toronto Ontario, Montreal Quebec, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Because we all work virtually — we can work with anyone no matter what city, province or country around the world. We have clients all across Canada and the USA, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, New York City, Denver, Nashville, Berlin, Tel Aviv, London, Singapore and Australia.
I’d also like to invite you to read more about my personal story here.
Michael Walsh
Phone or Text: 250.896.8494
Email: Coach@MichaelWalsh.com
Chat: Start a WhatsApp chat
About the Author
Michael Walsh
When I say I’ve been there, I mean it. I am a different person now, and I am fired up about helping other people get to the place where they, too, are living better, healthier, and bigger lives.
