[mactavish88]

I’m about to hit 40, and I’ve had this exact same experience. Even a single beer, shot of whiskey or glass of wine will leave me feeling depressed for at least a day afterwards.

For me it seems to correlate with having had COVID back in 2021, where prior to that I could still have 2-3 drinks and feel okay the next day. My suspicion/intuition is that it has something to do with a shift in my gut microbiome - from what I understand, alcohol can very easily disrupt one’s microbiome, and the state of my microbiome seems to have a significant influence on my mood.

I haven’t missed the alcohol though. It’s actually been a blessing for my general health and wellbeing.

[francisofascii]

I had a similar experience. For years I drank about 2 beers a night. Then in my early 40s, had a bout of "long covid" that lasted about 6 months. I have fully recovered, but can't drink like I used to. If I have one or two beers, I feel crappy and down the next day. Also the buzz isn't quite the same.

[grecy]

Precisely the same experience here. Since Covid even a single drink makes me feel bad enough to not want to again… and I always had bad hangovers. This is different

[mattgreenrocks]

Interesting. I never connected it to covid-19, and truly cannot remember if it hit me as hard the next day or not prior to the pandemic. (Also, obviously I was younger then, too.) The only symptom I can connect to covid-19 is persistent tinnitus, which is pretty common among long-haulers (though I don't count myself among them).

However, I've also heard mention of people drinking less in general which could suggest a link.