Holiday withdrawal symptoms (actually, alcohol)
The past three days I have been suffering these symptoms:
- antsy
- inability to concentrate
- fidgety
- headache
- heart palpitations
- apathy, or is it mild depression?
At first I put it down to the usual post-holiday blues but then I remembered - I had been drinking 3-4 drinks a day while I was in Penang last week. That is way higher than my usual consumption of 6-7 drinks a week, though that is usually consumed in the one night when I go out, which is not good either. So my current symptoms can only mean one thing - I’m suffering from alcohol withdrawal.
It turns out that you do not have to drink heavily to suffer from the symptoms. All it takes is for a sudden stop of drinking, or a sudden reduction in intake for the symptoms to appear. Supposedly the body would crave for more alcohol during withdrawal but I’m not feeling it and I’m thankful for that.
Though there are treatment programs for the severely dependent, there is no cure for those suffering from milder symptoms like I am. I just have to wait for it to pass.
The other thing that I have learnt is that drinking coffee whilst going through alcohol withdrawal is a big mistake. Coffee delivers caffeine in a big jolt which amplifies my symptoms. Tea is better because it releases its caffeine gradually but no caffeine would be the best, and I have reduced my intake.
However, the consumption of caffeine had become part of my daily routine, and that has its own withdrawal symptoms. Some of them are similar to the ones from alcohol withdrawal too, and I think I’m suffering from an overlap of those symptoms.
In conclusion, the next time that you think you are suffering from a post-holiday depression, you could just be experiencing withdrawal from alcohol. Especially if you drink like I do. And I must say that the feeling now is worse than the withdrawal from a certain other recreational drug. 
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9 Responses to “Holiday withdrawal symptoms (actually, alcohol)”
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Oct 17 2007 / 8:02 pm
Oh no, thanks for analysing your post-holiday blues. No wonder we always get somewhat depressed after a holiday, I’ve never looked at it that way before.
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Oct 18 2007 / 5:29 am
So true! Now you can’t crack open a coldie at lunchtime and keep going… not for a while anyway. Oh no…! Are you planning your next holiday already?
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Oct 18 2007 / 10:02 am
blur ting: me neither, the symptoms this time are worse than before so I thought something must be different - this is the first holiday where I drank alcohol everyday.
jl: hahah I bought my tickets for SG for Xmas/NYE even before I left for Penang.
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Oct 18 2007 / 10:43 am
Hahaha! I suffer that every Monday.
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Oct 18 2007 / 11:26 am
i get withdrawal symptoms by 10am everyday in the office if i dun get to drink a cuppa each day by 9.30am. tats how bad it is! =_=
i hardly touch alcohol unless during my events so i dun get YOUR TYPE of withdrawal symptoms, but the holiday ones, yes, definitely. arrgh, i miss taiwan already!
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Oct 18 2007 / 12:29 pm
steph: nice one! Heheh.
mf: caffeine withdrawal symptoms are similar to those for alcohol if you look at both lists. I feel your pain.
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Oct 18 2007 / 7:01 pm
Yep, the good ol’ post-holiday blues! The longer the holiday, the more flat you feel as well…people who live overseas for a couple of years then return home often go through a period of depression whilst trying to settle back into the routine.
And alcohol withdrawal symptoms, as Steph said, think i get that every Monday! If you’re feeling like this, imagine how bad a full-blown alcoholic must feel…makes you emphathise with what they have been through. -
Oct 18 2007 / 10:31 pm
[...] because of my alcohol withdrawal, I haven’t had any tea [...]