Originally Posted by
biminiblue 
The drinking causes a lot of the anxiety. The only way to know is to quit drinking for a few months. It won't do any good to treat anxiety with prescription meds while you're drinking - plus it's dangerous to mix anti-anxiety drugs (most of them) with alcohol. Stop drinking and tough it out for the first couple months. Your anxiety will increase for a while, because that's what happens when you remove a central nervous system depressant like alcohol.
Good idea. That's my plan...to completely omit alcohol from my life. (You said 3 months but I would like it to be forever) I just need to find a way to deal with the panic attacks without drinking. It's so hard to feel like the world is caving in on you (a.k.a. a panic attack), and know that if I just drink a few drinks I will feel better and it will end my suffering (temporary) and NOT do it. When in the pain of a panic attack...all I want in the moment is relief. It's like I go into survival mode!
But I know that the way I am dealing with it is NOT healthy and probably making it worse and IS causing problems in my life. Sooooo.......I need to devise a plan to get thru the panic and anxiety in a different way ASAP. Thanks Bimi!