|
|
|
Anxiety (Panic Attacks and Phobias) Although some people drink to cope with anxiety and worries it is also common to see that regular and heavy drinkers do also tend to have increased anxiety and will often exhibit signs of nervousness and agitation, especially on withdrawal. Many people who are seeking help for their alcohol problems will have admitted to having a panic attack, more commonly if they are in crowds, on buses or in unfamiliar surroundings. Having a drink will calm anxious feelings through alcohols sedative / depressive effect on areas of the Central Nervous System involved in regulating our anxious responses.
Although it is known that alcohol does effect many of the neurotransmitter systems it is still unclear which it is that plays a role in alcohol related anxiety. Drugs which target the Serotonin system help with anxiety as do Beta blockers which work on the Noradrenalin system. It has also been hypothesised that a reduction in the chemical Neuropeptide Y may play a role. It is plausible that because alcohol is reducing or repressing the activity of the chemicals in the brain that are responsible for anxiety-related behaviour (which we need in moderation) that the body compensates by upping the levels of these chemicals (or their receptors) and therefore, when the alcohol is taken away the result is a massively exaggerated anxious response which would explain the heightened anxiety and panic attacks.
Paranoia Paranoid behaviour is likely to be related to the increased anxiety that heavy drinking seems to stimulate or exacerbate and therefore probably works through similar mechanisms. It is more common in withdrawal (as is anxiety) when the sedative and depressive effects of alcohol are removed, probably due to the bodies response to balance out the effects of the alcohol as explained above.
Visual and Auditory Hallucinations / Delusions These side effects of drinking often tend to be more common in heavy drinkers when they are withdrawing from alcohol. Although the majority of such incidences tend to be visual (seeing things) or auditory (hearing things) some people have reported tasting or smelling unusual things when they have been coming off alcohol. The visual hallucinations can sometimes be manifested as vivid and often frightening or disturbing nightmares when in a semi-conscious / sleeping state, this may happen when the blood alcohol level drops during the night in regular, heavy drinkers who are not detoxifying.
It has been reported that alcohol has an effect on the dopaminergic system in the brain, when levels of dopamine are high in the brain such as when stimulants are present (e.g. cocaine) people experience feelings of euphoria. Increased Dopamine levels have also been identified as playing a role in schizophrenia and schizotypal personalities, conditions where hallucination and delusions are commonly seen. Furthermore drugs used to treat schizophrenia (reducing or stopping hallucinations and delusions) act by reducing dopamine action. It has been shown through brain imaging techniques (such as Positron Emission Tomography or PET) that there is a chronic dysregulation of dopamine function in the brains of heavy drinkers who have undergone detoxification.
However it is serotonin that is the target of hallucinogenic compounds such as LSD and alcohol is known to also effect this neurotransmitter, studies have also shown that the glutamergic system is stimulated in response to LSD. Alcohol acts to inhibit the excitatory action of glutamate by promoting the inhibitory action of GABA and by blocking glutamate receptors. The brain may increase glutamate levels in response to alcohol to maintain a status quo and therefore it could be that once the inhibitory effects of alcohol are removed during detoxification there is an exaggerated effect of the "excitable" state through an excess of glutamate leading to symptoms similar to those seen with hallucinogenic compounds such as LSD.
|