What in the World - Hangxiety: Why some people experience anxiety after drinking alcohol

Download Hangxiety: Why some people experience anxiety after drinking alcohol

After drinking alcohol, some people don’t just have a headache - they feel guilt, dread, low mood and a deep sense of embarrassment.

It’s known as ‘hang-xiety’ or hangover anxiety, and science backs up that it’s 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’s experience with anxiety, and how it changed their relationship with alcohol.

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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: William Lee Adams and Benita Barden
Editor: Verity Wilde

Published on Thursday, 22nd October 2026.

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