Originally Posted by DarklingSong

I very much relate,
my longest stretch was 6 months and I still hadn't managed to find a way to calm myself the way alcohol used to. Having said that, I have learnt that for me, any calmness I get is gone within hours, only to be replaced by days of tension, misery and hopelessness. Although I know this, alcohol has proved such a powerful anaesthetic in the past I still often long for that state. I have to remind myself that it doesn't work anymore. There is no going back.
Just a couple of things that have helped me....none are as instant as wine but they are effective-
- as mentioned earlier a heat pad (really it does help!)
-epsom salts bath followed by alternating bursts of a warm and cold shower......it seems to 'turn down' the nervous system
-massage or a visit to an osteopath.
I know my AV tells me I will never be calm or relaxed without wine again, but the reality is wine just brings far greater pain.