Hangxiety: Why some people experience anxiety after drinking alcohol
Scientists have confirmed that your friends do not hate you after your night out.
After drinking alcohol, some people don鈥檛 just have a headache - they feel guilt, dread, low mood and a deep sense of embarrassment.
It鈥檚 known as 鈥榟ang-xiety鈥� or hangover anxiety, and science backs up that it鈥檚 a real phenomenon. Alcohol affects all systems in the body, including the brain. so it can cause psychological symptoms.
Millie Gooch, author of Hangxiety and speaker breaks down how the nervous system and brain are impacted when the effects of alcohol wear off. She also tells us how hangxiety played a role in her sobriety journey.
We also hear about some people鈥檚 experience with anxiety, and how it changed their relationship with alcohol.
Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: William Lee Adams and Benita Barden
Editor: Verity Wilde
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- Thu 22 Oct 2026 17:50GMT91福利社 World Service News Internet
- Fri 23 Oct 2026 02:50GMT91福利社 World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
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