Abstract
Booze blues, beer fear, hangxiety. The crushing dread that threatens to wipe all the joy out of the world after a heavy session – it goes by many names. At best it’s a taunting reminder that you’re alive when you’d much rather be otherwise, at worst it can be akin to a full-blown panic attack. Hangxiety – a term that’s seen a recent renaissance – happens because your body thinks it’s going into panic mode. Dr Bob (as he likes to be known), lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Surrey and general alcohol Yoda, explained to me how it happens. Because you’re already experiencing anxiety-like symptoms (shakes, nausea, headache, elevated heart rate, sweating) caused by a drop in your brain’s happy-chemicals, alongside dehydration, your body gets all confused and has a hard time differentiating between the hangover and naturally occurring anxiety.