Stress at work is almost inevitable, alcohol & stress have long been a pair, certainly in western culture; but is it really helping?

Deadlines push, emails pile up, interpersonal dynamics shift, and suddenly we feel flat-out overwhelmed. What matters is how we respond to that stress. Broadly speaking, our responses fall into two categories:

Adaptive coping — responses that help us process, regulate, and move through stress in healthier, sustainable ways.
Maladaptive coping — quick fixes or avoidance strategies that may feel relieving in the moment, but ultimately backfire and often worsen stress over time.

Let’s look at both, then dive into one common maladaptive strategy — leaning on alcohol — why it seems tempting, and why it’s counterintuitive in the long run. I’ll also offer alternative ways you can destress in healthier, effective ways.

One of the most frequent maladaptive routes people take when stressed is reaching for alcohol — “just one drink to unwind.” Below, we’ll explore why many do that, and why it’s counterproductive for your nervous system and stress resilience.

Alcohol: Why It Seems to Help — and Why It Doesn’t (Long Term)

Why people turn to alcohol under work stress
It’s culturally normalized: lots of post-work drinks, “liquid reward” rituals, social drinking after a tough day.
Alcohol (in small amount) can blunt self-awareness temporarily, reduce tension or anxious thoughts, lower inhibition.
People often see it as an easy, fast “off switch” for mental noise or emotional arousal.
So it’s unsurprising we see alcohol show up as a stress-coping tool in many studies. The problem is, while it feels soothing in the moment, biologically it can worsen stress reactivity and dysregulate your nervous system over time.

The neurochemistry: how alcohol affects stress hormones & nervous system
The stress system basics
When you experience acute stress (a deadline, conflict, or overload), your body activates two main systems:

Sympathetic / autonomic arousal → releases adrenaline / noradrenaline (fight-or-flight)
Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) axis → stimulates release of cortisol (your “stress hormone”) — which helps mobilize energy, modulate immune function, and more. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037?utm

Once the stressor passes, feedback loops help bring these hormones back down to baseline.
What alcohol does — short term & long term
In the short term, alcohol can blunt emotional awareness or dampen some perceived anxiety — giving a sort of “sedative” effect.
But alcohol also activates the HPA axis and sympathetic pathways, especially in heavy use. Over time, habitual alcohol use dysregulates these systems. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4813419/?utm

Studies show that acute alcohol intake (especially in binge amounts) can drive elevated cortisol levels. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289523000280?utm

Chronic drinking leads to dysregulation of the HPA axis and autonomic nervous system — meaning your system becomes less stable, more reactive, and less able to return to baseline. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4813419/?utm

Even when you stop drinking, brain concentrations of cortisol may remain elevated for extended periods during withdrawal / abstinence. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/archive/news/ioppn/records/2010/09september/chronicdrinkingincreasesbrainlevelsofstresshormoneswhichimpactonrecovery?utm

Over time, the more you lean on alcohol to cope, the more your system becomes sensitized to stress cues, cravings, emotional dysregulation, and reactivity — making you more vulnerable to work stress rather than more resilient. https://www.jci.org/articles/view/172883?utm

A study even showed that higher cortisol reactivity predicted greater alcohol craving and consumption in real life settings. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-025-03447-8?utm

In simpler terms: using alcohol to calm work stress is like patching a leaky roof with duct tape. It might seem to quiet things momentarily, but underneath, the structural system is getting strained, unstable, and more volatile.

Therefore, asking “how is alcohol affecting my nervous system?” is vital, because though you may feel relaxed initially, over time your baseline stress levels and reactivity are creeping upward. Moreover, in psychological research, drinking to cope is seen as a maladaptive coping style that mediates the relationship between stress and heavier alcohol use. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318435278_An_Examination_of_the_Impact_of_Maladaptive_Coping_on_the_Association_between_Stressor_Type_and_Alcohol_Use_in_College

Adaptive Ways to Destress Without Alcohol: Practical Tools You Can Use:

Here’s a toolkit of healthier strategies — how to destress without alcohol — that help regulate your nervous system, rebuild resilience, and manage work stress more sustainably:

Micro-breaks & movement
Stand up, stretch, walk for 2-5 minutes away from the desk. Use body awareness (roll shoulders, check jaw tension). Movement helps offload cortisol and reset your autonomic state.

Breath & grounding practices
Simple techniques like box breathing (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4) or 4-7-8 breathing (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8) can downregulate sympathetic activation.

Combine with grounding: feel your feet on the floor, notice three things you see, touch, hear around you.

Time for reflection / “brain dump journaling”

Write out what’s pressing, frustrations, fears. Offload them from your mind onto paper. Often once written, they lose some grip.

Boundaries & pacing
Learn to say “no” or defer tasks when capacity is low. Buffer your schedule between meetings. Leave “white space” to absorb unexpected demands.

Connect & talk
Share with a trusted friend, colleague, or coach. Verbalising stress helps contain it and give perspective. Sometimes just expressing helps loosen tension.

Structured rest / switching mode
Use rituals to transition away from work — walk, change of clothes, music, short mindfulness. This helps your system shift out of “on” mode.

Creative outlets / flow
Painting, crafts, gardening, knitting, music, or a hobby you love. These engage attention in a restorative way, offering a break from ruminative thought.

Mindfulness / meditation / body scan
Even 5–10 minutes daily can build neurochemical resilience. Over time it improves emotional regulation, lowers baseline stress reactivity, and stabilises nervous system balance.

Progressive muscle relaxation / body scanning
Tense, then release muscle groups (feet, calves, thighs, etc.). This helps bring awareness to stored tension and allows the body to let go.

Nature & exposure to green / natural light
Walks, being outside, even sitting by a window. Nature has a calming effect on your physiology.
As you practise these adaptively, you gradually strengthen your “stress recovery” muscles. You reduce dependency on external palliatives like alcohol, and your nervous system becomes more balanced and responsive — not reactive under pressure.

Why This Matters For YOU:

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re serious about doing work you love, growing personally, and maintaining mental clarity. Relying on substances like alcohol to manage alcohol and stress might feel normal, but it’s a brittle foundation.

By shifting toward how to destress without alcohol — through consistent, small practices — you increase your capacity to stay grounded, make better decisions under pressure, and smooth out the reactive swings of daily work life.

And when you’re coaching, leading a team, or managing multiple roles, your internal coherence and nervous system balance become a hidden asset. You show up calmer, more contained, more influential — not brittle.

If you’re ready to shift from reactive coping (including alcohol) to a more sustainable, internally grounded way of managing stress — especially in the context of work and professional growth — I’d love to support you.

Click here to https://coachingbyanneka.co.uk/coaching/ to explore how coaching can help you build bespoke, practical strategies that empower your nervous system, reduce stress reactivity, and strengthen resilience (without relying on alcohol as a crutch).

Let’s talk soon and help you create a calmer, steadier, more resourceful path ahead.