Alcoholism and Phobias: Battling Fear and Addiction
Alcoholism can quickly take over your life. If you already suffer from anxiety or phobias, alcoholism can make your problems worse. While an alcoholic drink may temporarily ease your nerves, it is important to understand how alcohol changes the way your brain works and how it will only make your anxiety worse. If alcohol, anxiety and phobias keep you trapped, you can find help through integrated treatment for Dual Diagnosis. You can defeat both addiction and fear at the same time. Find out how.
How Do Phobias and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Relate to Alcoholism?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and other specific phobias can be caused by genetic influences and stressful lives. Specific phobias begin when a person has a fear about a certain place or experience. Specific phobias may include the following:
- Fear of open spaces or crowds
- Fear of heights
- Fear of social situations
- Fear of needles or blood
- Fear of insects
- Fear of snakes
- Fear of driving
During the early stages of anxiety and phobia alcohol use may provide a social outlet or a mild form of comfort or relaxation. Phobias are serious. If you have a phobia, your fear may have affected your life. Many people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder also have phobias. GAD is a generalized allover feeling of anxiety and worry that you cannot attribute to any specific thing. Alcohol consumption will provide momentary relief for GAD but will lead to heightened anxiety levels. GAD is a leading cause of alcoholism and drug abuse.
How Alcoholism Can Make Anxiety Worse
The following are just a few of the many ways alcoholism can make anxiety worse:
- Alcohol abuse can have serious long-term effects on brain function. Structural damage to the brain has been found in CT scans of those that are addicted to alcohol.
- Brain damage related to alcohol abuse is worst in the frontal lobe cortex which is associated with thinking and judgmental skills. This is the reason that alcoholics lose their power of rationalizing and logic.
- Alcohol can cause you to experience chemical brain changes that lead to greater anxiety over time.
- Anxiety and alcohol dependency are intertwined. Alcohol may become a means of coping with anxiety, even when it becomes dangerous.
How Integrated Treatment Can Help Both Phobias and Alcoholism
Integrated rehab treatment can help. Many mental illness recovery centers are not equipped or staffed to handle substance abuse, and many rehab facilities do nothing to help your phobias or anxiety. By integrating addiction and mental health treatment, you can get better faster and more effectively. You can achieve long-term recovery from both alcoholism and phobia.
Help for Phobias, Anxiety and Alcoholism
Our completely confidential helpline will put you in touch with one of our caring and understanding recovery assistants. When you call our toll-free number, your recovery assistant will help you learn more about your treatment options and will help you find an addiction solution that will work for you. We specialize in working with co-occurring addiction and mental health concerns, and we would love to give you more information about resources that can help you. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. Get your life back with integrated rehab treatment.
