But when I look back, I think it was the anxiety more than anything else — the jaw-breaking, soul-crushing anxiety that inevitably followed a night of drinking — it had been clobbering me all day. For so long, I thought alcohol had helped me relieve anxiety — that’s what it promises, right? But somewhere along the line, I realized the equation was actually reversed: drinking alcohol was like pouring gasoline on my anxiety. Maybe I’d feel some relief for a little while, but then — boom — I was spinning like a top. Each morning after was worse than the last.
