Panic attack and alcohol - interaction features and consequences

Information that alcohol is the strongest antidepressant is available only to doctors. It is rare that one of the people who do not have a professional psychiatric education is familiar with the real principle of the action of alcohol, not the nervous system. In modern society, the culture of alcohol consumption has exceeded all possible limits. More and more people begin to abuse alcohol, while they do not consider themselves alcoholics. This is a common problem. And only when a panic attack occurs after taking alcohol, the addicted person begins to worry about his condition.

What is a panic attack?

In psychiatry, the term "panic attack" means not just anxiety, but confusion, horror, panic. This condition rolls onto the patient, like a wave, all of a sudden. Moreover, most often there are no real reasons for the development of horror, anxiety and fear. The paradox of panic attacks is not only psychiatry, but also neurology.

In the treatment of panic attacks, "there is room to turn around" for both the psychiatrist and the neuropathologist. Treatment most often takes place with the participation of a psychotherapist: sometimes the sessions of this specialist are even more effective than a course of pharmacological treatment.

The interaction of alcohol and PA

People with alcohol dependence are characterized by a stable appearance of panic attacks from around the middle of the first stage. At first they are very weak - slight tremors, vague anxiety, palpitations, red spots on the neck and hands.

The patient is very rarely able to notice the relationship between the fact of alcohol abuse and panic attack. Around the beginning of the second stage, memory laps begin. At the same time, alcohol and panic attacks begin to "walk hand in hand." The patient already understands that in the first place, the fact of ethanol abuse must be eradicated. But it happens too late - addiction has deeply taken root in the psyche.

The main symptoms and signs of a panic attack

Often people do not even suspect that they survived a panic attack. As the number of damaged nerve cells and nervous tension increase, chronic fatigue and stress, this symptomatology will increase:

• lack of air;
• unreasonable sense of horror;
• the feeling that death is now due to lack of air;
• pounding heart;
• fainting, loss of consciousness;
• stars and dark spots in the eyes;
• dizziness;
• severe anxiety without obvious reason;
• hyperhidrosis: profuse sweat in the armpits, hands, forehead, feet;
• a sense of derealization and depersonalization - as if everything happening around is not happening here and not with this person.

The differences between a panic attack and excitement and anxiety

Every person has episodes of bad mood, implicit anxiety and spleen. Do not confuse this condition with panic attacks. With the latter, a person has not just fear, but horror. For many patients at such a moment it seems that they will die from second to second. Moreover, there are no objective reasons for such sensations. If there are complaints after alcohol: “I can’t fall asleep”, “panic attacks”, “feeling of near death” (according to the patient), then you should conduct a simple test to find out the causes of discomfort.

At the moment when such a state surges again, you should try to control your breathing. On the count of four - a slow deep breath, on the count of times - a sharp exhale. If it turned out to pass the test and the alarm subsided, then this is not a panic attack. If it were her, the patient would be so confused and depressed that she simply could not count in her mind.

The effect of alcohol on the body

Why is alcohol forbidden for VVD and panic attacks? After all, wine, good expensive cognac, flavored cocktails made of tequila and rum so relax, pacify, give harmony. So thinks half the inhabitants of our country. And such thoughts most often indicate the development of addiction.

Alcohol, especially if abused, is the most obvious reason for the development of VVD, psychosis, depression, anxiety, panic attacks. This list of problems takes into account only the effects of ethyl alcohol on nerve cells and the psyche. The effect on the liver and other internal organs is even worse.

Why is there a state of intoxication, loss of coordination of movement, mild euphoria, talkativeness? This is paralysis of the nervous system. Neurons die in monstrous amounts (about 50,000 for every 50 grams of vodka), and a person perceives this process as "antidepressant", "good rest" and "fun." At specialized drug treatment forums, this information is available in the public domain in reviews. Alcohol and panic attacks are constant companions of each other.

Which drink to choose so that there are no problems in terms of the psyche?

This insidious question is asked by every person with an addiction. The problem becomes so obvious that you can’t close your eyes to it anymore. Panic attacks are becoming more common, and a person continues to drink.

And an extraordinary decision comes to mind - to drink drinks with a lower strength - wines, beer, cocktails. This is mistake. You should abandon alcohol once and for all - and panic attacks will pass like a nightmare. Any alcohol contains ethyl alcohol, which destroys the cells of the brain and nervous system. it makes no difference what to drink - 200 grams of cognac or two liters of beer - the effect will be the same.

Can alcohol cure anxiety, depression, and panic attacks?

Another common mistake made by patients of a narcologist and psychiatrist. Sick people are trying to treat panic attacks and mental problems with the very substance that provoked them.

Alcohol in problems with the psyche is not advised by any doctor, ever. “Alcohol helps in panic attacks” is a fallacy. In the life of some patients, difficult circumstances happen: problems at work, severe stress or grief in the family. These reasons can also trigger the appearance of PA. A person is embarrassed to turn to his profile doctor with his problem, trying to drown out his problems in the usual way - drinking.

The patient has a completely logical question - is it possible to drink alcohol in panic attacks? Indeed, at first glance, relief comes for a couple of hours. But then hangover and the loss of cognitive function will invariably come. Do not let it go right away - tolerance to ethyl alcohol develops slowly, and alcoholism is quietly stealing behind a "relaxing" patient, forcing him to run in a vicious circle. Alcohol against panic attacks is powerless.

Three stages of alcoholism and their connection with panic attacks

Modern medicine distinguishes three stages of dependence, and on each of them the therapy of psychosomatic health problems will be different.

1. The first stage is characterized by high tolerance and an organism that has not yet been soaked. The patient has almost no hangover, he feels great the next morning after a stormy party. Dangerous calls - he does not imagine a holiday and fun without alcohol, loses control over the amount drunk. At the end of the first stage of alcoholism, panic attacks, sleep problems, and a psychotic state develop.
2. The second stage is characterized by a decrease in tolerance, slightly lower doses of alcohol are needed to achieve euphoria. The side effects of abuse are increasing. A person begins memory lapses, attacks of aggression, horror, fear. For those patients who are still capable of mental activity, the question arises - why did panic attacks become so frequent after alcohol? Unwinding a tangle of reasons, the patient understands that he is an alcoholic and his condition is a consequence of alcoholism. He takes steps to recover. In such cases, the prognosis is favorable - the person is recovering, forgetting about mental problems and living on a happy sober life.
3. The third stage is no longer accompanied simply by panic attacks. For such patients, a full-fledged alcoholic psychosis is characteristic. In medicine, it is called delirium, and popularly called "squirrel." The patient is no longer able to help herself, the relatives are also powerless. A psychiatric emergency team should be called in.

What drugs to choose for the treatment of panic attacks after alcohol

What to do if on the eve of a person went through alcohol, and in the morning you need to work? And as inappropriately as possible, panic attacks begin, tremors, baseless fear and a feeling of near death. This condition is a completely logical result of developing alcoholism.

1. The benzodiazepine tranquilizers will make a person calm and will forget about PA during therapy. These tablets are not sold without a prescription from a doctor. This is Atarax, Diazepam, Phenazepam. Incompatible with concomitant use with alcohol. They have an inhibitory effect on the nervous system.
2. Antidepressants can fundamentally change the patient's life: they will help get rid of alcohol dependence, PA, anxiety, spleen and depression. It is impossible to choose such a medicine for yourself. An antidepressant is selected based on the individual characteristics of the patient.
3. If a panic attack occurs after alcohol the next day, you should try to ask the doctor to write a prescription for normotics or nootropics. Depending on individual characteristics, these drugs will improve cognitive functions, memory, allow you to quickly focus on current affairs, reduce anxiety and baseless fear, and establish a sound and healthy sleep.

Alternative methods of treating PA caused by alcohol abuse

Alas, in our country a visit to a psychiatrist is still fraught with bias around. Do not worry: every person now has certain mental problems. And the sooner you start treating them, the better. Tens of thousands of patients postpone a visit to a psychiatrist, trying to find folk remedies that will help against panic attacks.

If the nature of the panic attack is true, no folk remedies can help. Only medication effects on neurotransmitters. You can try the course to drink infusion of St. John's wort, this plant is famous for its sedative properties. You should not expect much - against the background of St. John's wort it will become easier to fall asleep, the PA intensity may slightly decrease, but they will not completely disappear.

Advice from a narcologist: is it worth it to people with VSD and PA

Simple tips on how to improve your psychological state, tidy your nerves and forget about PA:

• completely abandon the use of alcoholic beverages and not try to take them even a little;
• minimize smoking;
• avoid hunger: for the first time after refusing doping, carbohydrates are vital for the brain;
• you should change your reaction to stress and adversity: after all, this is not a reason to drink and be nervous;
• should do pacifying gymnastics: yoga, Pilates, kundalini, callanetics, stretching are ideal;
• the basics of pranayama - proper deep breathing - will help prevent the acute moment of the development of a panic attack and minimize its manifestations;
• if none of the above methods help, you should try dependency coding.