Trying so hard... but it still creeps up :(

[DSodaNow]

Hello Ladies,

I am doing well and moving forward in my sobriety, but I am having a hard time getting over some of the issues that I used to drink to deal with. Specifically, ANXIETY! The past few days I have been overcome with anxiety. I have been trying to practice the breathing techniques, the meditation and other things my therapist has taught me. I have increased the number of AA meetings. On occassion I have used some anti-anxiety medication that I have, but I am running low on that and really don't want to have to ask the doctor for more.

Does anyone have any suggestions? So many things trigger this. I was doing so well and now 5 months sober I feel like it is worse than ever.

[WLDKATZ]

DONT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP TELL YOUR DR WHAT IS GOING ON....sorry for the caps just realized it was on....tell him the truth, I didn't come to find out I have agoraphobia(afraid of open places) and a few other things that cause me anxiety....I need meds on a daily basis...good luck and keep posting btw it is worse when you PMS did ya know that????


HUGS<
Pamm

[vegibean]

Anxiety is an issue that I feel needs attention. You can take meds for it but it's just a "band-aid" for the real problem. I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since I was a little girl and until I found out the how, when and why I was going through it I couldn't get better. I hope you can find someone to talk to about this and learn some coping skills that will help you.

I know that in the past finding something to do to take my mind off of it helped, like cleaning, organizing, something mindless, you know? Good luck!!! Anxiety is horrible and crippling.

[Paulie]

I had around 8 or 9 years sober when I started having anxiety. The anxiety tossed me into a depression cause I had no idea what was happening to me. After close 2 two weeks with very little sleep I went to my dr and told her everything that I had been going through. She put me on meds and helped me sign up for any and every class that my insurance offered first for depression and then I moved on from that to anxiety classes. During the same time as taking the classes I also so a therapist and continued my program with my sponsor and meetings.

After a year I worked with my dr and got off the meds. It can be done. There is nothing wrong with getting outside help. Call the dr, ask for help, research what is available in your area, you would be surprised to find things out there like classes that teach us what is happening and coping skills.

That was over 3 years ago I no longer take meds. Sometimes I feel the anxiety coming on but today I have skills, I have people that I can talk to. You are doing the right thing, keep talking and reach out.

Share what you are feeling with your sponsor and other women at meetings, you will be surprised how common it really is for women like us.

I wish you relief from this pain.

[Lily]

I too suffered from anxiety. I was 5 years clean off meth and doing pretty good, then got a job that stressed me out BIG TIME! I went for weeks with very little sleep and went to see the doc who prescribed me sleeping meds and antidepressants. I too got off the meds, it didn't end up being a forever thing. I had to go back on them when my husband got sick with cancer, but then i relapsed.

today I try not to take the anti depressants. They have too many weird side effects for me. I have stopped and started a very low dose though probably more times than my primary doc knows, however I did seek information from my husbands neurologist on this particular anti-depressant med.

So hang in there and talk w/ your doc. blessings, Sheila

[lizw]

Have you got a sponsor and started on the steps?

[nandm]

I can only share my ESH on this. Some of which involves my opinion based on my ESH.

When I first got sober I was just thrilled to be finding a way to live without drinking. The Steps truly helped with a lot of the anxiety that was going on in my life because that anxiety was based around my situation and the unmanageability in my life from my alcoholism. The Steps also helped with the situational depression that was created by the unmanageability.

It wasn't until I was nearly a year sober that I realized there was more to my anxiety and depression than just my situation. I no longer stressed about how I was going to pay my bills, I didn't have to worry about where my next drink was coming from, etc.... But I still was finding I was experiencing severe anxiety and depression. I was then put on medication for it. I also started a group therapy for sexual abuse survivors. I eventually tried to get off the anti-depressant and was fine for about 6 months then the depression and anxiety hit again with full force. So back on the anti-depressant I went. I also started one on one therapy at that time to deal with some childhood issues. Nearly 2 years later I was diagnosed as bi-polar. The mood stabilizers along with the anti-depressants helped a lot. A year or so later I was diagnosed with PTSD and chronic anxiety. At that time I was put on klonopin as needed for the anxiety. Today, I understand that due to multiple traumas in a short period of time combined with a career that dealt with too much death and horrible ways to die, and childhood abuse has culminated in PTSD. The PTSD goes hand in hand with the anxiety. I still have to treat the bi-polar part as well. I sometimes truly hate having to take medications for all this but I do know that when I do not take them my life becomes insane. It doesn't cause me to want to drink because I treat that problem with working the program of AA.

I don't know if this helps you in any way. I guess I just wanted to say that sometimes there is a need for anxiety medication in sobriety. Please talk with your doctor. If you are taking for a medical problem and taking it as prescribed then you are not compromising your sobriety. Just MHO

[Tisa2U]

Heres my ESH on the subject:
I was diagnosed bi-polar 20 years ago. I refused treatment, prefering to self-medicate for 18 long years. When I got clean my Mom talked me into taking my psych meds to help me. I agreed to take the meds until I had a year clean. At the end of that year I was working a program & doing great. I quit taking the meds and withing a few months was high. I don't blame my relapse on my quitting my psych meds, but I know it played a part. When I crawled back into the rooms, I surrendured to the fact that I was bi-polar as well as being an addict. I also suffer from PTSD, Anxiety & Panic Attacks, OCD, and a few other labels. I see a counsellor to deal with childhood & domestic abuse issues. My Sponsor is fully aware of my psych meds and treatment, and my Psychiatrist & Counsellor are fully aware of my addiction & continuing recovery. I take the minimum amount of meds needed to control my symptoms, and refuse anything with abuse potential.

A great deal of my anxiety was relieved by counselling, and more was relieved as I got some more clean time under my belt.
My suggestion is that you become fully informed about your options, and to discuss every little bit of it with your Sponsor, your support group, your family (if applicable), & your medical team..

[DSodaNow]

Originally Posted by lizw

Have you got a sponsor and started on the steps?

Thanks, everyone. I am working the steps with my sponsor. I really haven't shared a lot of the anxiety issues with her. She knows about some of them, but not the whole story.

I have been really reluctant to go on meds. I just have an adversion to it. I think a lot of it is because I mis-used them years ago and ended up in the hospital for taking a bottle of Celexa.

But it seems the repeating advise is meds. I will have to have a more in depth conversation with my doc. I would really like to not have to do the meds.... but therapy and aa don't seem to be doing it.

Thanks, again!

[Paulie]

No the advice is not meds, the advice is to get advice from your dr

And be totally honest with your sponsor, you deserve that, give that gift to yourself.

[vegibean]

A friend and I were talking tonight about the steps (I saw that you're doing them, GREAT!!!!!), I didn't think much of them until I started working through them and benefited a lot from doing the work.

Again, I hope that you'll be feeling better soon. Anxiety is a nightmare to shoulder.

[endzoner]

hey D.. hows bout walkin i know it helps just fresh air and sunshine , maybe people watching , Or any sort of out door excercise . its a good tire an helps the anxity.. keep up the good work hun ..