The Truth About Hangxiety
Your eyes flutter open as snapshots of last night rush before you: the unrelenting hum of the speakers, the acid sweetness of a homemade cocktail, flash after flash of a disco ball. But there’s something else that follows the new memories of a night out, a tenseness as uncomfortable and inconvenient as the new layer of frat-fueled stickiness glued to the bottom of your shoes.
Only in recent years has this unsettling feeling found a name: Hangxiety. Hangxiety, a mixture of hangover and anxiety, is triggered by the withdrawal of alcohol. From its most mild case to severe instances, hangxiety prompts intense feelings of uneasiness and worry.
A night out drinking with friends can oftentimes feel like a rollercoaster. The science behind hangxiety actually has a very similar storyline.
When you drink, alcohol can release endorphins. These endorphins can make you feel a range of emotions, from cry-screaming “good 4 u” at karaoke to flirting with your cute next-door neighbor.
As the alcohol detoxifies out of your system throughout the night, your body reacts to the decline of the original high. The feeling of withdrawal from alcohol then triggers anxiety.
Physically, hangxiety feels like a regular hangover- the classic symptoms of nausea, headaches, and dizziness. Where hangxiety feels especially pressing is in the psychological symptoms. Intense feelings of embarrassment, nervousness, paranoia, and regret can have an effect on people long-term, especially those who already are diagnosed with social anxiety or other anxiety disorders. Hangxiety can make it daunting to just get out of bed.
“A recurring issue I notice the day after a night out is the intense fear that I have humiliated myself,” said Lilly Pope, a junior studying public health and public policy at William and Mary.
For Pope, the worst hangxiety hits as she wakes up, and she often feels so uneasy that she has a hard time just going back to sleep.
“I feel the need to survey all my friends and make sure I wasn’t too embarrassing or made anyone mad at me,” she said.
But while hangxiety may make you want to never drink again, there are a couple of things to remember. Hangxiety is actually common, and it is temporary.
Take care of the physical symptoms first. Drinking lots of water, taking hot showers, meditating, and doing deep breathing exercises will indicate to your brain that it’s time to wind down. Take the experience at face value, recognizing that overthinking is a common trait of anxiety and will let the hangxiety linger for longer.
Popular TikTok influencer Christina Najjar, better known as @itsmetinx, recently shared her wisdom for feeling down after a night out to a follower. Because so much anxiety can center around embarrassing actions or perceived arguments with friends, she recommended creating a mantra. Acknowledge that the anxiety stems from alcohol. By placing a neutral action as the catalyst, you’ll have an easier time knowing that the anxiety does not stem from something you did.
If you're feeling scared that your friends will leave you behind, remember that your true friends would not leave you because of one embarrassing night. It's all about putting the night into perspective. Everyone has drunk moments that make them feel queasy and uncomfortable.
What I found most helpful was talking to close, trustworthy friends about their own experiences. The more you sit with the fact that time will pass, the better you will feel after a while. Give yourself the time and space to process, and realize that as cheesy as it sounds, the mental spins soon will pass.
Photo from @itsmetinx on Instagram