Unfortunately I think you've found out what many of us have...that the damage done to us by drinking ( both physical and mental ) gets progressively worse. I also got to a point with my drinking where i would immediately go into withdrawals and have extreme anxiety, racing heart/palpitations, and even some panic attacks when my BAC dropped below a certain level.
Glad to hear that everything turned out OK, but I think what you need to "make of this" is exactly what you said...drinking has to be off the table completely. Perhaps making a serious commitment to some kind of formal recovery plan would be the next logical step?