Hangxiety

Previously known as “The Fear”, Hangxiety is a term coined to describe the overwhelming feelings of guilt, stress and worry a person experiences the day after drinking. Sufferers are tortured by thoughts of the ‘night before’, desperately trying to remember any regrettable actions or utterances. They are often woken up by feelings of guilt, though what is the cause of said guilt they cannot say. Their inability to recollect the night provokes them to obsessively seek out evidence of their behaviour. Whether it is questioning friends and family or checking their social media accounts, they are unable to relax until the doubt has been removed; and sometimes, not even then.  

Hangziety for someone with a mental illness is about all of the above combined with remnants of the large amount of alcohol they promised themselves they wouldn’t drink, coupled with all their anxiety, feelings of worthlessness and disappointment for their lack of control. This cumulates into one monstrosity of a physical and mental nightmare, that can easily send them spiralling back into that dark abyss that is mental illness.   It’s the beginning of the week and that means the pressures that escape you over the weekend are back. The perceived pressure to function, to deal with bills, to eat regularly, to hide that you don’t get out of bed till midday, all come rushing back in a wave of anxiety.   The copious amount of alcohol you consumed Saturday night is doing nothing to ease the physical or mental pain. While all your friends struggled out of bed Sunday, and begrudgingly forced down greasy food and mumbled about how hung-over they feel, you lay in bed unable to move. Unable to escape the extreme disappointment in your self as you promised yourself you wouldn’t do this.      

If you are struggling from a mental illness you may find yourself all too familiar with hangziety. So you are probably very aware from a medical and personal standpoint that drinking, especially on medication is a very detrimental decision on your emotional stability. Alcohol lowers one’s inhibitions and initially elicits a feeling of euphoria as the alcohol stimulates the release of serotonin. But alcohol is a depressant. A depressant reduces function or nervous activity. And the word by definition tells you that it is a very bad idea for anyone suffering from a mental illness to depress his or her CNS.    To totally cut alcohol is a very hard thing to do especially if you have been self medicating for a long period of time. You don’t have to be an alcoholic to have a dependency on alcohol. When a person who has a mental illness drinking can be psychologically linked to having a good time, or relaxation. All too often the person feels proud that they have managed their mood and deserve a drink. It’s not the drink that is the issue it’s the lack of control to stop. Mood swings and emotions are already unpredictable and introducing alcohol, or any illicit drug that increases unpredictability usually ends one way.   

It is not uncommon for hang-ziety to last most the week. Coupled with the week’s fair share of stressors it wont be an easy week. Plenty of water, healthy food and exercise do wonders but the shell shock your mind is now reeling from makes it hard to motivate yourself to do any of those things. Try get outside, even if it is sitting or taking your days nap in the sun. If you have a dog go for a walk. A swim at the beach can do wonders. If you have someone who you feel comfortable talking too, explain how you feel. Talking it over can allow you to reflect and focus on your recovery progress. Being able to recognise that it is a problem, and one you are trying to fix is already a huge step forward and this speed bump is just that. A speed bump.