You may be wondering how alcohol has anything to do with your hypochondria. Well, alcohol, as we all know, doesn’t come without effects on your body. While most times drinking alcohol makes you feel good, there are some things that happen when you reduce it or cut it out. As it comes to hypochondria, alcohol actually has a few hidden effects. Here are ten reasons why reducing or cutting alcohol out completely is a good idea for hypochondriacs:
You Will Sleep Better By Cutting Out Alcohol.
Removing alcohol from your daily routine will not only help you fall asleep better, but it will help you stay asleep and wake up feeling refreshed. No-brainer, right?
Many people use alcohol to help them go to sleep; while it may help in initially getting you to go to bed, it’s proven that alcohol can disrupt both REM sleep and slow-wave sleep.
Slow-wave sleep, also known as deep sleep, is the most physically important part of sleep.
REM sleep, which is the component of sleep that promotes learning and memory.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to give up your occasional glass of red wine…studies show that those individuals who even reduce their alcohol intake will be able to see this benefit of better sleep.
How does improving sleep help hypochondriacs? First of all, your thoughts are less likely to run rampant when you get better sleep. Second of all, when you get better sleep, your brain can focus on forming the important neural pathways that you need to work through your hypochondriac thoughts.
Plus, there’s the added benefit that more sleep will give you a clearer mind when you wake up. With a clearer mind, you’ll be more likely to look at your symptoms and thoughts logically instead of emotionally.
You Will Have an Improved Diet.
When you drink, you’re much more likely to crave unhealthy foods. We’ve all been there: 2AM fast food runs, leftover pizza, trashy homemade nachos. When you don’t drink, you will be much more likely to crave healthy foods.
Healthy foods lower anxiety and lower inflammation, which will have an overall effect on your mental health. It’s all a cycle! By cutting out alcohol, you are putting your body in the best possible place to live a strong and healthy life.
You Will Bypass Alcohol-Related Health Problems.
It’s no secret that alcohol creates health problems…and as a hypochondriac, shouldn’t you be trying to avoid health problems as much as possible? Some of the health problems that alcohol can cause include cancer, heart disease, alcoholism, liver failure, and pancreas failure. Yuck! Cutting out alcohol will let you avoid all this.
You Will Have More Energy.
Did you know that alcohol depletes you of B vitamins? B vitamins are what humans need to sustain energy. When you don’t have energy, all you can focus on is the basics: eating, sleeping, and showering. If you don’t have energy, you can’t think about exercising, seeing friends, making healthy recipes, or other crucial steps that are important for maintaining good mental health.
Therefore, if you’re in the middle of a hypochondriac crisis, you may find that you don’t have enough energy to focus on anything other than worrying. Cutting out alcohol will ensure that you have more energy (to defeat those pesky hypochondriac thoughts!)
You Will Get Sick Less Often By Cutting Out Alcohol.
Did you know that people who drink alcohol have a reduced immune system? *GASP* that’s right! Alcohol actually impairs the immune cells in key organs, which means that your body will have to fight harder to protect you from any diseases that try to get in.
As a hypochondriac, you should want to reduce the possibility of you developing diseases whenever possible…right?
You Will Have Enhanced Mental Awareness.
It’s no secret that drinking alcohol decreases your mental awareness. Therefore, if you reduce or cut out alcohol completely, it makes sense that you will have enhanced mental awareness, right?
Now, your hypochondria may sometimes make you feel like you want to have lesser mental awareness so you can finally have a break from your thoughts. However, this is a slippery slope as it could lead to addiction or other worsening problems that are associated with regular alcohol consumption.
When you have enhanced mental awareness, you will be more receptive to treatment and being able to put your treatment homework into practice. Though it will be hard at first, the enhanced mental awareness associated with cutting out alcohol will help you be able to accomplish this.
You Will Reduce Anxiety.
If you struggle with hypochondria, chances are that you are looking for some immediate relief from your thoughts and symptoms. Many people turn to alcohol to relieve their anxiety in the short term; however, in the long term, using alcohol can actually increase your anxiety.
How?
Well, alcohol increases your blood alcohol content, which can cause you to become emotionally unstable since you will have comprehension and memory impairments.
When you’re emotionally unstable, it’s much harder to manage stress than when you’re clear-headed. In addition, long-term use of alcohol alters brain chemistry and can lead to panic disorder developing.
You Will Increase Your Hydration.
Dehydration is a known factor to increasing anxiety. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that it will cause your body to remove fluids much more quickly than other liquids. Staying hydrated is critical to your overall physical and mental health.
You Will Reduce Inflammation By Cutting Out Alcohol.
If you drink regularly, you’ve likely experienced some inflammation in your body. While alcohol itself is an inflammatory substance, the mixers that often accompany alcoholic beverages (such as sugar, carbonation, and/or other flavors) make the inflammation much worse.
You Will Lose Weight.
Alcohol is often known as a hidden source of calories. It’s much easier to drink your calories than eat your calories, so it’s no surprise that you may be gaining weight when you toss back a couple beers every night.
Alcohol actually reduces the body’s metabolism, so you have that working against you, too. This is due to the fact that your body breaks down alcohol before fats and sugars, so those take longer to burn off.
So, there you have it! Ten reasons why reducing or cutting out alcohol for hypochondriac is a good idea.
