Most college students know what a hangover is and just how painful it can be. If you’ve ever experienced a night of heavy drinking (alcohol, that is), you know that awful feeling that sweeps over your entire body the next morning. Technically, an alcoholic hangover is a temporary physical state that brings with it impaired cognitive functioning. Hangovers lead to inefficiency in the workplace (e.g. the Bertrand library) and even driving impairments, which is why everyone should use extra caution when driving to Panera or Dunkin’ on Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday morning. Most people complain about the physiological discomforts that characterize a hangover (feeling exhausted, dehydrated, nauseous, you name it!) but more attention has recently been paid to mental symptoms, in particular what people are calling “hangover anxiety.” While the physical symptoms of a hangover are no fun at all, the mental consequences can be just as crippling. Experiencing general anxiety is normal for any college student, seeing as we have a lot on our plates, between juggling classes, tests, clubs, and social lives. Most college students, however, do not realize that we often inadvertently exacerbate this anxiety every time we binge drink. It is important to understand where exactly “hangover anxiety” stems from and how we can effectively deal with it.
Why Does Alcohol Mess With Our Brain?Alcohol, while it can have a temporary positive impact on our mood, is ultimately a depressant. This means that it disrupts the delicate balance of chemicals in our brains, and as a result affects our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and even our long-term health if we over-do it. After one or two drinks we may feel more confident or less anxious because the alcohol is depressing the part of the brain that we associate with inhibition, but as we drink more and more (as we frequently do in college, where handles of hard alcohol are pretty darn easy to come across), the pleasurable effects are not maximized. Rather, it is likely that a negative emotional response will take over. We may become angry, dramatic, or overly sensitive or emotional. Furthermore, regular or frequent drinking has been linked to depression, as it lowers the level of serotonin.
So Why Do We Experience Anxiety?Alcohol, since it lowers (or sometimes completely eliminates) our inhibitions and makes us behave impulsively, can cause us to do things we might otherwise not do. Moreover, alcohol causes our brain processes to slow down, sometimes impairing our memory. If you “blacked out” the night before, you wake up blanking about what happened between the hours of approximately 10 p.m. and whenever you fell asleep – what you said, who you were with, or even how you ended up in a given situation. Memory loss is one of the most anxiety-provoking aspects of “hangover anxiety.” Furthermore, even if we do remember what we did the night before, when we are intoxicated our actions can be slightly uncharacteristic and sometimes regrettable. Whether you said something you didn’t mean to a friend, told someone a secret you didn’t mean to slip, or perhaps ended up sleeping in a bed that wasn’t yours, alcohol can no doubt influence us in a harmful way. Often times, the most dreadful aspect of a hangover can be the recognition that you behaved in an uncharacteristic manner that somehow created drama or conflict as a result.
How To Prevent ItThe most obvious way to avoid “hangover anxiety” is simply to cut back on your binge drinking and limit your intake to two to three drinks a night. When your thinking isn’t impaired and your inhibitions haven’t been eliminated, you likely won’t make regrettable choices. However, even if you slip and find yourself taking that extra shot one night, there are a number of ways to effectively deal with your resulting anxiety the next morning.
How To CopeIn addition to rehydrating your body, there are a number of ways to deal with the “Sunday scaries.”
- If Last Night Is A Blank, Find Out What HappenedOne of the good things about college is that when we go out at night, we are very rarely alone. If you wake up in an intense panic not remembering what happened, ask a trusted friend or someone you were with the night before to clue you in. Memory loss is scary, and it is important to have people you love and trust around you whenever you drink, not only to keep an eye on you, but to serve as a reference the next morning.
- If Necessary, Apologize. If you did something regrettable the night before, you need to acknowledge it and offer apologies if necessary. Whether you stole someone’s fracket, kissed someone that was off-limits, or maybe even got sick in someone else’s bathroom, you need to step-up, sincerely apologize to whomever necessary, and reflect and recognize just how excessive drinking impacts your best judgment.
- Sweat It OutEven if you feel pretty darn awful, a light form of cardio such as a walk will help ease your hangover anxiety. A long walk outside will allow your body to take in the natural sights, increase endorphin levels, and give yourself a chance to heal.
- Don’t Dwell on the NegativeReflection is a vicious cycle. Try to keep your mind off last night’s events and distract yourself with a movie or music. Call your mom or your best friend from high school. Clean your room or do laundry.
- Surround Yourself With People That Ease Your MindAs many collegiettes know, one of the best parts about a Sunday (assuming you don’t have a pile of homework to attend to) is simply lounging around with your best friends. As Mary-Kate, a senior at Bucknell notes, “When I get ‘hangover anxiety’ on Sundays all I really need is the comfort of one of my friends next to me. Sometimes my favorite way to get over ‘hangover anxiety’ is laying with my friends in one of our beds just relaxing and trying to ease the nerves away.”
Regardless of how much you choose to drink on a given night, always know how important it is to surround yourself with true friends that will keep an eye out for you in the event that you drink to excess. College is supposed to be fun, but as many of you know; “it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.” Furthermore, while it can be hard to accept when there are often so many social events going on any given weekend, there is nothing wrong with taking a night off. The best way to avoid “hangover anxiety” is to spend a relaxing night in. Whether you choose to go out, stay in, or do something in between, it is important to always look out for not only yourself but also those around you.
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