Anxious or gloomy? For this Reason, You Should Stop Drinking | Right away
A beer or wine in time will not have much impact on our condition. But regularly consuming a lot of alcohol is a significant attack on our immune system. And this leads not only to physical but also to mental health problems. “People with mental health problems should stop drinking.”
Until 15 months ago, Charlotte van Remmen (30) drank a lot of alcohol at least one night a week. “I wasn’t very good at keeping size,” she says. And she was a hangover not only physically, but also mentally. “Then the next day I felt very gloomy and anxious.”
That Van Remmen felt like that the day after a good drink is not crazy at all. Regularly consumed a lot of alcohol can lead to all kinds of mental ailments such as irritability, gloom and forgetfulness, according to research by the Trimbos Institute (Pdf). Alcohol consumption can also worsen existing mental illnesses.
“Consuming a lot of alcohol on a regular basis can lead to all sorts of mental ailments such as irritability, gloom and forgetfulness.”
“Alcohol puts your system out of balance,” explains GZ psychologist gijs Coppens on the care platform OpenUp.care. “You can see that physically, but also mentally.” Because although we seem to relax from a glass of wine at first, consuming alcohol is actually quite strenuous for your system.
After three or four beers, the balance turns
“Alcohol is what we call a stressor,” Coppens said. “It reduces your brain activity. This makes you feel very relaxed in the short term. You’re going to worry less and get into the here and now more.” But after three or four beers, this effect disappears and the balance turns. “You lose control and your productivity decreases.”
And these effects are still noticeable until the day after drinking alcohol, according to a study by Dutch Craig Gunn University of Bath“People react more slowly, are less able to focus their attention on a task and have poorer short- and long-term memory,” he concludes. It is also quicker for people to forget what they were doing at the time.
“My psychologist suggested that alcohol should be left for a while.”
Charlotte van Remmen, drank a lot of alcohol at least once a week
“If you’re relaxed, you can have it,” Coppens says. “But if you have a busy job and are under stress, then not really.” In addition, your mental resilience decreases structurally with regular alcohol consumption. Coppens: “You notice that when you drink three beers every day.”
Psychologists often advise patients with mental health problems to stop drinking immediately. This was also the case with Van Remmen. “My psychologist suggested leaving alcohol,” she says. That was 15 months ago, and she hasn’t had a drop since. And I like that. “When I drank, I felt bad by default one day a week. I feel like I’ve been given this day.”
According to Coppens, it is not necessarily necessary to stop drinking completely. However, he advises against drinking during the week. “People used to think it wouldn’t hurt to have two wines a day,” says the psychologist. “We’re coming back from that now.” His advice is to keep these beers and wines for special occasions. “For example, on Friday afternoon, if you want to start the weekend.”