Derealization after 7-8 drinks

Has anyone experienced derealization after drinking, even days later?

Looking for some reassurance or similar experiences.

For context, I am not a heavy drinker. Before all of this I would usually drink socially maybe a couple times per month. I am not someone who drinks every day or anything like that.

I quit drinking around December and stayed completely sober for about 4 months. Then one night I had around 8 drinks. I woke up the next day feeling fatigued and sluggish but not really hungover and not particularly anxious.

A couple days later I got hit with what felt like derealization or depersonalization. Everything felt dreamlike, off, disconnected, hard to explain. Bright sunlight and driving seemed to make it worse. It scared the hell out of me.

The weird part is it lasted about 6 or 7 days and then completely went away. I felt 100% back to normal for over a month.

Fast forward to about 9 days ago. I went golfing with a buddy and had maybe 7 or 8 drinks total throughout the entire day. I never even got very buzzed. Again, the next day I was just tired and sluggish.

Then a couple days later, boom. Same thing. Derealization, feeling disconnected, fight or flight sensations, feeling like something is wrong with me.

I have been sleeping great, honestly like 10 hours a night. I can still work, drive, play basketball, talk to people, etc. I just feel off. Almost like my brain is stuck in a heightened state.

Symptoms have included:

• Derealization
• Feeling disconnected from my surroundings
• Light sensitivity
• Feeling worse outdoors than indoors
• Neck pressure
• Chills
• Yawning
• Bowel changes
• Waves of anxiety after noticing the symptoms

The frustrating part is I have had days where I felt better, then the next day I feel worse again and start worrying that something serious is wrong.

I also noticed that when I am busy or playing basketball, I can focus on the game and think about it less. It is still there, but it gets quieter.

The biggest thing freaking me out is that this second episode is lasting a little longer than the first one did.

Has anyone had alcohol trigger derealization like this, especially after a period of sobriety? And if so, how long did it take to fully go away?

Just looking for some similar experiences because this has me pretty freaked out.

One other thing I noticed is that during both episodes my upper neck felt really tight and my chiropractor said my C1 area was pretty out of alignment. I honestly do not know if that is related or just a coincidence, but it happened both times. I also had neck pressure and tension during both episodes.