# Hangovers and DP/DR



## JumpJump (Jun 24, 2009)

A question: do others get an increase in the intensity of DP/DR the day after drinking? It happens regularly to me, I'll go out and drink, escape as much as I can for the night, and next morning fall under a heavy spell of dissociation. As if the DP/DR I tried to escape is catching up five times worse. It's predictable at this stage so I don't become as panic stricken as I once did, but it's frustrating. Is this common, and is there any physiological reason behind this?


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## Realiity (Apr 26, 2009)

I go through this regularly too.
I guess it happens because alcohol is a depressor.
I'm not sure, though.
All I know is that it sucks.


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## lfbenz (May 23, 2009)

You know, you hit the hammer on the nail there my friend. I got drunk last night, and I escaped quite well. Its weird alcohol doesnt really help me. It makes dp worse but I deal with way way better, as if it doesnt even affect me. But in my personal opinion. The further and further I get away from dp. Its like it grabs me back one moment during the day bring back to the pits of hell way worse than it has been in weeks. But.. I wont drink anymore, I've been fucked up all day and its horrible.Simply put, I'd rather deal with it using sobriety than escape for a couple of hours and deal with it at a worse stage for a day.


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## Tommygunz (Sep 7, 2009)

the reason alcohol works as an escape from DP/DR is that is stimulates dopamine activity in the brain, causing you to be more outgoing and confident, and to some extent alleviating the dissociation. the reason for the increase in DP/DR the next day is because of the dopamine crash. with DP/DR we are already low on dopamine so going out and stimulating it with alcohol is only going to leave you more depleted afterward. it could take a few days just to get back up to your regular miserable state of DP/DR. to attain recovery you really got to commit to increasing brain dopamine levels and stay away from things that will tear it down. i.e. alcohol, stressful situations and any kind of stimulant, just to name a few.


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## JumpJump (Jun 24, 2009)

> the reason alcohol works as an escape from DP/DR is that is stimulates dopamine activity in the brain, causing you to be more outgoing and confident, and to some extent alleviating the dissociation.


That's what I thought. I'm not sure if I escape the DP as much as I might think, more that I don't care as much when I'm drunk and distracted, pouring myself into social situations. And the dopamine thing makes sense, that my mind is being starved of resources it's already pretty low on.

Might have to cut down/cut out. Jesus, this disorder is sure pushing me into a healthy kind of life I never even considered before. Like it's telling me what to do, the bastard.


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## Tommygunz (Sep 7, 2009)

tell me about it. if i could only practice what i preach. i've had a hangover for two days, thanks to the blast i had on friday night.


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## JumpJump (Jun 24, 2009)

> You know, you hit the hammer on the nail there my friend. I got drunk last night, and I escaped quite well. Its weird alcohol doesnt really help me. It makes dp worse but I deal with way way better, as if it doesnt even affect me. But in my personal opinion. The further and further I get away from dp. Its like it grabs me back one moment during the day bring back to the pits of hell way worse than it has been in weeks. But.. I wont drink anymore, I've been flower* up all day and its horrible.Simply put, I'd rather deal with it using sobriety than escape for a couple of hours and deal with it at a worse stage for a day.


I was trying to pinpoint triggers that really hammer home the deep-end DP I get every now and then and, sure enough, this seems to be a glaring one. Like clockwork, the day after the night before comes crashing down with serious-business dissociation. I can drink pretty heavily when I want to (I'm from/living in Dublin, Ireland here - to throw a quaint stereotype into the mix) so I can trace some of my more edge-of-reality spells back to edge-of-reality drinking the night/s before.

So alcohol is now officially bad for my health (in a way that I actually give a s hit about and may want to consider changing)?

F u c k.


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## skyvsfirefly (Nov 25, 2009)

YES! that is a biiiig trigger for me. it seemed to have started with just feeling "out of it" for a few days after drinking. the time of dissociation has gotten longer and longer each time i've drank. i've decided not to drink anymore. -_-


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## real50tyson (Feb 20, 2012)

Yeah fuck that don't fucking drink alcohol its the worst yeah....its an escape while your drunk but if you got a hangover like i do right now it just intensifies dp/Dr to the Max its makes you feel depressed unmotivated and extreme anxiety and the thoughts get way worse....never going to drink again...never


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## real50tyson (Feb 20, 2012)

Yeah fuck that don't fucking drink alcohol its the worst yeah....its an escape while your drunk but if you got a hangover like i do right now it just intensifies dp/Dr to the Max its makes you feel depressed unmotivated and extreme anxiety and the thoughts get way worse....never going to drink again...never


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## real50tyson (Feb 20, 2012)

Yeah fuck that don't fucking drink alcohol its the worst yeah....its an escape while your drunk but if you got a hangover like i do right now it just intensifies dp/Dr to the Max its makes you feel depressed unmotivated and extreme anxiety and the thoughts get way worse....never going to drink again...never


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2012)

I have this routine: drink 6-9 pints of beer. Feeling OK. Next day, I feel like crap and know I should`nt drink anymore. Then one hour after waking uo I feel ready again and go drinking. It`s the only solace from DP I`ve found so I don`t know when I will stop. No medicine have ever helped me and I`ve tried quite a few! It`s fucked up!


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## nakata (Feb 12, 2012)

Now that I have constant DP, I can look back and see that what I felt in the mornings after drinking (when I was "normal") in fact was DP-like feelings. One time the hungover lasted for three days (I remember that I felt weird and as if my head was working to slow - exactly like dp!) and after that I promised myself to never drink that much again. But of course I did, and one day the unreality feelings from the hungover never got away. I curse myself every day for not being able to stop drinking when I should. I hate alcohol. I hate it. It has destroyed my life. I really would like to examine if it atually could be that night (with too much alcohol) that caused my DP, but I'am too ashamed to tell my psychiatrist.


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