Dharmabum2012

Hi there,
I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, I was under the impression that m anxiety was completely separate from my binge drinking. I just now realized that the longer these binges have gone on for (approximately 2-4 huge binges a month for 4 years) that my anxiety has gotten worse. I contributed it to job stress, love life etc, but it is now that I am realizing it is my drinking while drinking my drug use that is causing the anxiety. How long did it take for you guys to realize it?

Astro

I realized I had anxiety issues when I stopped drinking, stayed sober, and my anxiety went through the roof. I still have anxiety issues and I work on them by attending 12 Step programs, working with other alcoholics, and asking for help from a power greater than myself that I choose to call God.

Dharmabum2012

Thanks for your response Astro. I'm happy to hear you found strength in something, I'm agnostic myself but I respect others who find strength and empowerment in something I can't. Do you think perhaps your alcoholism was masking the anxiety and once you stopped drinking you realized how much anxiety you had? Or do you think from all the drinking thats what caused your anxiety now?

alphaomega

It took me decades. Truly. I had no idea.

Now, there isn't a question as to which came first...

growpath

like alpha it took me years to put the two together. I. like you blamed it on my job and life in general.

it was a huge relief to me when I realized the anxiety went away when I quit drinking and got some sober time under my belt.

JaneLane

I had depression and anxiety for about a decade before I started drinking. I took medication when I was about 19 for my mental health problems, then started drinking heavily when I was 20 as it kept me calm in conjunction with my medication.
Like Astro said, it is taking me a while to get the anxiety down with my medication.

bigsombrero

I thought I was going crazy for a while there with anxiety - I had a few really bad panic attacks and even had to go to the ER once. Eventually, I figured out that these only occurred after very heavy drinking binges. Not that it stopped my drinking: withdrawal seizures finally did that.

So yeah, I kind of figured out they were related even before I quit. That said, once you hit that "breaking point" with anxiety, it kind of makes it easier to go back to that place - even in sobriety. I really damaged my confidence quite badly thanks to those attacks and all those doors of panic that were opened by my alcoholism. I went to a medical professional 6 months ago and I've been nearly anxiety free ever since. So happy to be sober and free of all the health problems that came with drinking!

Sbforever

It took me a long long time. For starters I fell for the fraud of the medical model and all that broken brain serotonin bull crap the psych industry uses to sell billions of dollars worth of pills. I ever thought to question it despite the fact I never received any medical tests to confirm "low serotonin" , Gaba or anything like that. I didn't know it was a just fraudulent marketing gimmick.

I have anxiety insomnia because my brain is broken... Well alcohol despite hangovers and occasional bad behavior works pretty well for it I thought.

Well maybe if I had a pill for anxiety insomnia I wouldn't feel the need to drink ? Sounds Logical. Lets give it a try.

Insomnia is a symptom of depression I am told and after viewing the multi billion dollar fraudulent pharmaceutical ad champagnes all over TV and in magazines I "knew" I had a problem with my serotonin levels. Take SSRIs , Sounds Logical.

When SSRIs gave me nothing but 'side' effects I "agreed" to try some more pills like zombie all day pills , clonopin and believe it or not I even picked up a diagnosis of ADD along the way and was given amphetamines too. I went from the frying pan of alcohol into the blazing fire of Rx drugs.

About 2 years later the panic attacks and ER visits began along with the psych lockups called "treatment" that goes with them.

No one in those places EVER asked what I was like BEFORE taking psychiatric drugs, nope, just pile on or rearrange the pills and labels (again).

This went on for years until finally I read some books that were critical of psychiatry and told the truth about it, The Myth of the Chemical Cure - Joanna Moncrieff and Anatomy of an Epidemic - Robert Whitaker.

That knowledge combined with my resentments over the civil and human rights violations that are the mainstay of inpatient psychiatry gave me this resolve to get better and never go near these places again.

I knew I was lied to, there was no scientific proof my brain was broken and I couldn't get better. That was HUGE for me.

I did it , I got off the pills and stopped drinking and was doing really well. Falling asleep drug free and my anxiety was getting less and less for about 3 months.

Then I got angry about some drama manufactured by those gossiping, never shut up, non stop texting constantly lying type drama factories inhabiting the sober living place I was in and I went out for some drinks. Screw this place and screw sobriety, I hate these people and all of it... Was my thinking at that time.

It wasn't long before I was waking up with wicked anxiety and drinking at it to calm it down. Then the ER looking for detox again leading of course inpatient psychiatry, locked doors and the threats to coerce pills like Haldol that always seem to come my way but that time really I knew I could get better and endured the final weeks long psychiatric nightmare.

I just finally figured it out, anything I take for anxiety, alcohol or Rx drugs like Clonopin even if it lessens it short term it rebounds on me and makes it many times worse.

But these pills are "non addictive" ... Really, then why do I get sick if I just quit them ?

I also figured out my thinking (action) , not my brain (object) causes anxiety. Worrysome thoughts lead to anxious feelings.

The worst of course was worrying I may have an anxiety attack and causing them in the process. Oh no I feel it starting... Here it comes I know it... How many pills do I have left ?

My wish for the longest time was to just stop having anxiety and first I drank then I took thousands of pills trying to make it come true only to discover years of hell later it was the cause and not the solution. I must have went to rehab a dozen times and came out an Rx trash can before I finally figured it out. It was all the chemicals keeping me sick.

Wastinglife

I was a weekend binge drinker for a while up until my mid 20's. Then the hangovers and anxiety from the weekends would last into the week. I started to drink to alleviate the anxiety during the week and soon I was constantly drinking to combat the previous days hangover/anxiety. It took a while to realize I was on a self-perpetuating cycle. The anxiety was constantly there if there was no alcohol in my system. That basically lead to daily alcohol abuse.

Astro

Oh I definitely drank to mask and numb my anxiety, depression, and fears!

ubntubnt

I can't tell you much I feel that the mainstream media don't make this point clearly enough. I only ever heard about the liver damage and the jaundice and the social fallout of heavy drinking. Never about the mental damage it causes.
I thought my anxiety and dizzy spells were a result of a heavy work schedule and the related pressure. The company I have been managing was getting big fast in recent years as my drinking escalated. At the same time my anxiety was becoming a real issue.
There is zero doubt that the anxiety was caused by alcohol and not work stress. I can see that now.....how I wish I saw it earlier.
Once I realised that it was the drinking that was causing my anxiety and sense of losing my control on things the decision to quit was really easy.....Quitting of course will be tremendously difficult but this realisation was a game changer for me.
I am guessing it would be for many others also.