Why Your Mental Wellbeing Improves When You Stop Drinking

"When you can’t change the direction of the wind — adjust your sails" –H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

For most of us, when initially embarking upon a period of alcohol-free living, there is an adjustment in the body and brain as things recalibrate internally. But many find that after a week or two (and certainly by the one-month mark) mental clarity, sharpness and overall mood begin showing signs of improvement.

While culturally we tend to associate drinking with fun, enjoyment, relaxation and a “good time”, the destabilizing effects alcohol inevitably delivers to the vitally important neurochemical symphony in your brain comprised of Dopamine, Serotonin, GABA, Glutamate and Epinephrine can result in a long-term detriment to your mental outlook.

A study conducted by the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded:

"Our findings, that lifetime alcohol abstainers report the highest level of mental well-being and quitting alcohol improves mental well-being. . . suggest caution in recommending that moderate drinking could improve health-related quality of life. . . Instead, quitting drinking may be associated with a more favourable change in mental well-being, approaching the level of lifetime abstainers. This may be analogous to smoking cessation, which results in the recovery of health outcomes to the level of lifetime nonsmokers." [emphasis mine]

https://www.cmaj.ca/content/191/27/E753

It’s worth noting that the study excluded what it considered “heavy drinkers”, so the benefits observed from eliminating alcohol were among a population of moderate drinkers.

If you’ve regularly imbibed for many years now, the impact to your mental outlook caused by your drinking habit may be so subtle and feel so “normal” by now that you are completely oblivious to the connection.

But when you cease drinking for an extended period of time, a benefit you will probably experience is an improved mental outlook…one that almost by definition is more positive and optimistic than it ever was when you were routinely under the influence of alcohol.

This doesn’t mean whatever problems you have magically disappear when you remove drinking from the equation. It simply means those problems seem to become less intimidating, and you have more motivation to begin taking the actions necessary to deal with the things you may have been neglecting (sometimes for years).

Perhaps your finances need more attention, or you’ve always wanted to start your own business, but just couldn’t muster the gumption to get off of the starting blocks. Or maybe a career change is long overdue, but you haven’t had the motivation to update that resume and begin the new job-hunt. It could be a relationship issue, or family matter you’ve been trying to escape from by drowning those complex emotions in alcohol.

Whatever the situation, there’s a good chance that removing the booze will permit you to maximize your mental capacity and emotional resilience, thus improving your ability to take on these life obstacles head-on better than you ever could have while continuing your drinking routine.

Certainly, mental wellbeing is somewhat subjective, and we are not all operating on the same playing field. You may struggle with anxiety or depression that merit medical treatment. And indeed you may have substantial levels of legitimate stress in your life for a variety of reasons. But one thing appears consistently throughout the medical literature on alcohol’s long-term effects on stress, anxiety and depression. In a nutshell, as counter-intuitive as it may seem, ultimately alcohol tends to worsen all three.

Stress

Those who drink regularly often do so with the intention of relieving stress. It is a commonly held belief that alcohol is effective at doing so. The phrase “I need a drink” is often uttered after encountering some difficult situation. How often have we seen this sort of scene portrayed in cinema or TV shows, where a strong drink is depicted as the perfect cure to a high-stress experience?

Whether caused by a difficult day at work, a conflict with a spouse, children or other run-of the-mill challenges in life, alcohol is seen as a way to temporarily escape. This behavior is certainly understandable, as alcohol is a neuro-depressant and slows down normal brain function, seemingly “taking the edge off” of the discomfort of the moment. Unfortunately, this doesn’t reflect the entire picture, as alcohol also ramps up production of stress hormones in the brain.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health puts it this way:

“Drinking alcohol produces physiological stress, that is, some of the body's responses to alcohol are similar to its responses to other stressors. Yet, individuals also drink to relieve stress. Why people should engage in an activity that produces effects similar to those they are trying to relieve is a paradox that we do not yet understand.”

https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa32.htm

As a drinking session progresses, we instinctively reach for additional drinks to help mitigate the rising feelings of unease, thus exacerbating the problem further and creating a snowball effect. Upon conclusion of the drinking session, the body may well have endured more stress than before the alcohol was consumed.

Again from the NIH:

“Much research demonstrates that alcohol actually induces the stress response by stimulating hormone release by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands. . . In addition to stimulating the hormonal stress response, chronic exposure to alcohol also results in an increase in adrenaline.” https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa32.htm

Ah yes, that wonderful spike of adrenaline your body releases in order to fight off the dangerous depressant effects of alcohol in your brain. If you’ve ever snapped straight out of your sleep at 3am with your heart pounding through your chest after a robust evening of drinking, you can thank your body’s built-in stress response.

Anxiety

Another reason we are often compelled to drink is for alcohol’s perceived alleviation of anxiety. Very often social anxiety is the motivating factor, hence alcohol’s age-old reputation as being a “social lubricant” permitting you to “loosen up” in social settings, particularly those among strangers.

While at first glance it may appear this is a harmless approach, in fact there are numerous downsides. Researchers have posited that a large contingent of those with AUD (alcohol use disorder) are self-medicating pre-existing anxiety disorders, while also demonstrating that alcohol consumption itself can increase a person’s anxiety levels.

Medical News Today points out:

"Research suggests that there is a link between alcohol consumption and anxiety. Anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorder (AUD) often occur together. This relationship is because regular, heavy drinking can interfere with neurotransmitters in the brain that are responsible for positive mental health.

According to a 2017 review that looked at 63 studies, reducing alcohol intake resulted in improvements in both depression and anxiety. [emphasis mine]

The review authors reported that reducing alcohol intake could improve people’s self-confidence, physical and mental quality of life, and social functioning."

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326597

Again, contrary to the conventional wisdom of our drinking culture, the research indicates that chronic alcohol intake worsens the very conditions it is often being consumed to alleviate. How messed up is that!?

Let me post this last part of the quote a second time for emphasis:

“reducing alcohol intake could improve people’s self-confidence, physical and mental quality of life, and social functioning.”

Speaking for myself and on behalf of the clients I’ve helped eliminate alcohol from their lives…this statement is 100% true. These central aspects of your well being are HIGHLY LIKELY to improve when you embrace a Sober Vacation lifestyle…

Depression

As seen with alcohol’s relationship to both stress and anxiety, depression is more of the same. Those suffering from clinical depression are often more likely to develop alcohol use problems (perhaps a form a self-medication) but similarly, those who drink regularly can actually create symptoms of depression by virtue of their alcohol habit.

Again, the cascade of brain chemical disruption, diminished sleep quality and often regretful things said or done while drinking can all contribute to depression in an otherwise mentally healthy individual.

Mental health is a vast topic with many unique factors at play for each of us. However, suffice it to say that whatever YOUR starting point is, if you are indulging in above-average drinking on a regular basis…taking an extended period of time off may very well result in a pleasantly surprising improvement in your mental wellbeing.

This was certainly the case for me. I never suffered from any particular mental health problems (that I am aware of), and lived a life of what I would call medium-stress levels associated with a busy life: marriage, children, career etc.  Most who know me would probably say I have a fairly even keel personality. But I can say without hesitation that after stepping away from drinking, my mental energy levels, ability to focus, creativity, sense of optimism about life…they’ve all increased, across the board!

With some time away from drinking, I suspect you’ll enjoy a new sense of vitality, and freed up mental capacity. Quite simply, when you remove alcohol from your life, a burden is lifted (with both chemical and behavioral elements) permitting you to function at a higher level. That’s not to say your state of mind will instantly shift to pure bliss, but it will certainly create an environment much more conducive to an optimistic outlook on life.

If you're drinking more than you'd like to, today is the best day to begin taking control...

https://www.sobermentum.com/