Alcohol and Mental Health (Anxiety, Depression, Trauma): How Drinking for Stress Relief Worsens Baseline Anxiety and Depression

Alcohol misuse is often a symptom of deeper emotional pain—grief, anxiety, depression, or trauma—rather than the root cause. Scientifically, alcohol alters brain chemistry by suppressing inhibitory and stress-regulating systems. It temporarily boosts GABA (a calming neurotransmitter) while suppressing glutamate (an excitatory one). This makes people feel relaxed and relieved—briefly.

However, as the brain adapts, it compensates by increasing cortisol and excitatory signaling. This leads to a higher baseline anxiety level and worsened mood when sober. Over time, the individual drinks just to return to “normal.” This physiological loop is paired with an emotional one: alcohol becomes a form of avoidance coping for trauma, grief, and unresolved pain—creating a self-defeating cycle.

The community’s biggest concern is self-medicating legitimate pain with a substance that makes healing impossible. Many feel hopeless during withdrawal when anxiety, mood swings, and low motivation persist for weeks or months—known as Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS). This leads them to believe they’re “broken” or “beyond help.”

What they need most is validation: their distress is real, not weakness. Alcohol dependency is often the body’s misguided attempt to soothe unprocessed trauma. Effective recovery requires addressing both the biochemical dysregulation and the emotional root cause.

Healing anxiety and depression after alcohol use requires both biochemical and emotional repair. Abstinence allows the brain to reset its stress response (HPA axis) while therapy, EMDR, and mindfulness address trauma’s emotional residue. Within weeks of quitting, many report their anxiety and insomnia disappearing—proof that recovery begins when the nervous system stops being chemically hijacked.

• Andrew Huberman (AH): Explains how alcohol disrupts the HPA axis and neurotransmitter balance, causing long-term elevation in stress hormones and lowered mood. Even moderate intake can damage neural circuits regulating motivation and reward.
• Mel Robbins / Dr. Sarah Wakeman (MR/SW): Stress that pain is the driver of substance abuse. They advocate treating grief, trauma, and depression directly through therapy and self-care rather than focusing solely on abstinence. Dr. Wakeman highlights that detox heals the body—but emotional healing rebuilds the self.
• Steven Bartlett / The Diary of a CEO: Covers how alcohol fuels impulsivity, poor emotional regulation, and shame cycles. Viewers report that real progress began only after recognizing alcohol as a toxic escape mechanism rather than a comfort.

Begin replacing chemical coping with non-chemical stress reducers: take a walk, read, draw, or expose yourself to morning sunlight to help reset your circadian rhythm and normalize cortisol and mood. This rebalances your stress axis while giving your brain natural calm signals.

• Mistake: Assuming quitting alcohol alone will make you “happy and whole.”
  Fix: Abstinence is the foundation, not the cure. True healing requires working through emotional pain.
• Mistake: Replacing alcohol with sugar or caffeine.
  Fix: Both trigger short dopamine spikes followed by crashes. Choose stabilizing activities like walking or journaling instead.
• Mistake: Believing relapse means failure.
  Fix: Relapse signals that deeper emotional wounds still need attention. It’s feedback, not defeat.

• “Alcohol disrupts the GABA/glutamate balance, leaving the nervous system on fire once it wears off.”
• “This helped me understand the difference between life stress and stress caused by drinking.”
• “I lost my child 14 years ago and have drunk every day since. This inspired me to try again.”
• “Sober for 41 days—processing childhood trauma with EMDR made my desire to drink disappear.”
• “After chronic alcohol use, PAWS brings depression and irritability, but it’s the brain healing itself.”

Alcohol is a self-defeating solution to emotional pain. It offers temporary relief but deepens long-term anxiety and depression by damaging the brain’s stress-regulating systems. Sobriety opens the path to true mental stability—but full recovery requires addressing the emotional roots through therapy, self-care, and trauma-informed healing. Over time, calm, clarity, and joy naturally re-emerge once the brain and body are freed from the chemical trap.