Depression and mild anxiety AFTER quitting drinking
 

Hi all, new poster here. Anybody who whas quit drinking, did you experience depression and anxiety in the months after you quit? I used to drink everyday. Not a huge amount, maybe 4-5 beers, enough to give me a nice little buzz for as long as I can remember. I'd also usually get pretty hammered on a Friday or Saturday night. I stopped a couple months ago and I must say I've been depressed and had some mild anxiety ever since. Feelings of hopelessness about the future, no motivation, some anxiety about stuff that never bothered me before. I dont crave a drink, but I'm just down in the dumps. I've never suffered depression before this and I must say it sucks. I've been to the doctor for it and he prescribed me some Lexapro but I have yet to take it because I keep on hoping this will go away and am scared to death of AD medication.

Anybody else experienced this and how long did it take you to get better? I'm assuming its the quitting drinking thats causing it. I never felt depressed when I drank and I never felt the need to drink because I was depressed, but maybe subconciously I was and the drinking masked that? I dont know, I'm just confused and down right now. I take great care of myself. Work out, take vitamins, eat reasonably well. Any insight would be appreciated.

Maintainin,

Don't worry, you're having a completely normal emotional reaction. I wasn't depressed when I was drinking either. Those feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and no motivation come around when we're not getting the ease and comfort that alcohol provided. It varies as to how long it last and I wouldn't venture a guess as to when it will get better for you.

I don't know whether you have considered the possibility of being an alcoholic. No one here will tell you that you are, only you can decide that for yourself. The word "alcoholic" alone scares some newcomers to death. It's a very harsh label that some just don't want to consider.

I would recommend that you hang out here for a while and see if you identify with any of the folks here who say they are alcoholics. I'm an alcoholic, I have been for most of my life. One bit of advice, try to be as honest with yourself and us as you can. By being honest, you will help yourself, and we'll be able to offer assistance.

I'm glad your here.

Ed

Welcome to SR!

This link might give you a perspective

link from my files on PAWS...

http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.htm

I also suggest trying AA meetings for
support and an interesting group of new friends.

Keep posting..we are here to share with you.

Thank you for the quick replies. I dont know if I would consider myself an alcoholic or not? I know I had a drinking problem. LOL, is there a difference? At the present time, I can honestly say I dont want or need a drink, especially if this despression and anxiety is the result from drinking all those years. I just want to feel better. It's not a constant depression. Some days are better than others and I'm up and down during a day. Just feel really unstable at the moment.

Welcome to SR, I will back up what golfman said, the depression for me wasn't bad, but it took me several months to get back to the energy level I had before, now life is a whole lot better, the mental aspects were the first to improve for this alcoholic, the physical energy took some time, it was like I was just dragging and then all of a sudden my energy was back. I do take vitamins includding B complex which seems to help quite a bit.

Yes, there is a difference between having a drinking problem and being an alcoholic. Without getting into much detail, many people are heavy drinkers but if given a good enough reason to stop, they can. They might be a little grouchy for a while, but then they resume their normal lives happily.

On the other hand, alcoholics cannot control how much they drink, when they will drink, and what they will do when they are drinking. They live to drink and cannot rid themselves of the cravings they have for alcohol. That being said, these descriptions only scratch the surface of what an alcoholic is dealing with.

As mentioned earlier, stay with us for a while. Read the things that people write. And keep on talking about yourself and asking questions.

Kind regards,
Ed

Some religiously insist that abstinence is all one would need to feel better but I beg to differ. If you were feeling good while drinking and bad when not something was wrong with your life / feelings / emotions aside your drinking abode.

I used to be friends with a great psychiatrist / addiction therapist whose approach was simple – “So, you feel good when you drink / use drugs?” Yes. “Great, let us focus on what’s wrong when you do NOT drink / use drugs?”

Then I met two AA recovered alcoholics and they are severely, emphasize on severely, depressed. I myself am back from the relapse, do not drink and do not care about the drink anymore but feel very depressed myself. For the first time in my life I see no more hope, I have no energy and I face my new predicament of being homeless and hungry like those pigeons given to Anaconda as a lunch that wait for the snake to wake up and swallow them. They do not do a thing, just wait for a certain death…

I firmly believe that if I am to feel better I have to work on every level – life is a whole, your food, the air you breathe, the TV you watch or the newspapers you read contribute to your well being. Gym is not enough? Go to the mountain – there is a real energy of the forest, of the river to be found. Vitamins are great but the salad or / and an orange are better. TV gets on our nerves and is slowly killing our (addictive) neurons to turn it off and take a nice book instead…

To empty one’s brain for a while is always a good exercise. Open one’s eyes and look at the world’s wonders instead of being focused to torturous “I” is also a good approach. Life is tragic (it would end eventually) in its core but could consist of beautiful bits.

I for myself know that watching CNBC makes me irritated but listening Glenn Gould playing Bach calms me down and inspires. Depression comes when one cannot turn the TV off and have Gould play. To change that is a small, somethimes first and crucial step we need to do in order to get better…

Good luck.

.

You talking about me Ed? You, you talking about me! LOL

Thanks Golfman. Murfeesboro, TN huh? I almost took a job there a couple months ago at the VA hospital. I'm originally from Kentucky and wouldve been about 100 miles from the folks. Had to turn it down though, wouldve lost too much money.

Yeah, it's a nice place to raise kids. Although mine are long gone now and it's getting a little crowded. Be that as it may, it's still wonderful to live here.

BTW, TAZ...Yeah! I'm talkin' about you...and me!!!

Hi maintainin,

I don't know about mild anxiety, but run-on anxiety attacks were what I experienced the first two months of my sobriety. They became so intense that I couldn't sleep for weeks, and I ended up checking myself into a mental hospital for an evaluation.


My suggestion, what worked for me anyway, was talking to doctors and a therapist to find out what would work, rather than trying to figure it out all by my alcoholic little self. I too feared taking AD's, but looking back now I'm glad I stuck with them for a year. Most of my fear was actually admitting that I needed them, and that I had a depression problem. Gawd, us alkies hate admitting crap like that, huh?;-)

I've come close to starting the Lexapro a few times. But then I'll feel better for a little while and think I dont need them. I'm just all over the place. What did you take if you dont mind me asking and how was it for you? The possible side effects scare the hell out of me.

In accordance with the policies, rules, and regs of this forum I'll refrain from mentioning names of medications. What I can do is share my experience with you.

The side effects scared the hell out of me too, but what I came to learn is that everyone will react differently to AD's, and I'm sure that's true with just about any type of medication, right? The first two didn't work for me, the third one was the charm. If something doesn't feel right, be honest with your prescriber and try something different. Keep in mind though that it generally takes a while for AD's to be fully effective, so it wasn't comfortable for the first few months. When I took them as prescribed and followed the advice of my nurse practitioner, I was able to taper off them after a year and there were no side effects whatsoever from stopping.

As far as side effects while I was taking them, for the first few months I'd feel groggy, foggy, "cobwebs on the brain" and lethargic. That's the best way I can describe it. That feeling never went fully away but it did get much better, and part of it might've been normal exhaustion and tiredness. The best thing I can tell you is that I feel 100% better than I did before I started taking AD's. No regrets at all about being on them.

Hope this information helps.

Scott

I am/was depressed... but I feel like I am comming out of it... I am starting to have some good days... but I was depressed at the end of my drinking... and honestly it did get worse after I stopped drinking... but like I said I feel it is getting better... slowly...

Hi all,

I'm new here and this thread caught my attention.

I've been drinking between 4 and 8 cans (depending on size) of strong lager every night pretty much, with a day off here and there, for many years (about 6 years or so).

I've come to realise that I definitely have a problem and so I'm trying to cut down and possibly quit.

I have been to see my GP about it, and we came to the conclusion that I am not an alcoholic, but a problem drinker. I don't really want to quit because I enjoy it, like I used to enjoy smoking, but I decided that was going to kill me so I should probably quit alcohol too, or at least cut down massively.

So here I am now, trying not to drink mid-week and to go easy at the weekends, and I just feel really low and depressed, so much so that it is affecting my relationship a little.

I'm the kind of person that gets bored very easily, and I need loads to do to keep myself occupied. I have more hobbies than most people as a result.

I normally use alcohol to make me feel less bored and happier with every day stuff. For example, alcohol turns mediocre telly into a rip roaring time, and therein lies the problem. Without alcohol I find life very droll and mediocre. Every day things annoy me, TV, current affairs, other people and I even annoy myself to an extent.

The only thing that is better is my sleeping patterns. I really hated the dehydrated feeling and tossing and turning in my sleep when I went to bed drunk.

I don't have a problem with energy levels, I do daily exercise and commute to work on a bike, but I just want this low feeling to go away. I thought exercise was supposed to make you feel good? Not me. Well not at the moment anyway.

Anyone got any advice for me? :c014:

Thanks.

Hey Ted,

I can identify with you. In my twenties I drank for sociability and to relieve boredom. I didn't drink all the time, but relaxing with some booze in front of the television or with friends definitely relieved the boredom that is part of everyday life. I wonder if sometimes it didn't just come down to a lack of mental discipline...

But I digress. The fact is that, at some point, for some of us, we cross the line. There are varying points of view about whether we are born alcoholics or become that way through repeated and progressive drinking.

There's a great book called "Beyond the Influence" that you might want to read, if you haven't already. It described a lot of the physiological aspects of drinking, addiction to alcohol, and alcoholism, and it also outlines some stages of progression. We each have to decide for ourselves whether we are alcoholic or are likely to become so eventually.

I found this book helpful, even though I had already clearly progressed to the point of full-blown alcoholism. I did wish though that I had read it earlier so I could have made a more informed decision - such as I was able and willing - a lot earlier in my life.

Best to you,
M

I realize I didn't really answer your question. Yes, I was anxious and depressed after quitting drinking. Alcohol is a depressant. Withdrawal from alcohol is a sudden change in equilibrium for your brain. The nerves, which are used to over-compensating for repeated exposure to a depressant, become over-excited/excitable when suddenly without alcohol. And if alcohol was the solution to boredom, then suddenly not having it is likely to be disconcerting. We become unaccustomed to constructively using our time when our default has been alcohol.

My depression disappeared about a year or so after abstaining completely. But I was a very heavy, everyday drinker toward the end.

M

Thanks M, that's good to know.

I will look up that book you suggest, and fingers crossed it will only take a matter of months for me to regain some sense of equilibrium.

Best to you too.

It really doesn't matter if you have a "drinking problem" or are an alcoholic. In either case, it's best not to drink. Anxiety and depression are common when one stops drinking. In fact, both are commonly found in alcoholics whether they drink or not. I've been sober for a few years now and take an anxiety med when needed and an anti depressant daily. Many of my friends in AA are in the same boat. So it's no big deal to us. I need to mention, though, that I was prescribed Lexapro years back and had some very bad things happen. So when you start taking it (and you should try it) just be careful. If you start to weird out stop immediately and have your doctor put you on something else.
You won't suffer any damage from the side effects if you don't continue to take it
Yeah, yeah, I know the policy about talking about meds, but that was important.

And let me echo Golfman. Stick around. Perhaps take in some AA meetings. You'll be all the better for the experience.

I have been really anxious since deciding to quit. I couldnt even sleep last night, I had to take a xanax to get to sleep. I always have worried too much so I think I just am overwhelmed right now and worrying too much about the future etc and am trying to focus on TODAY! But I would rather have this anxiety than the anxiety I felt when drinking and worrying how I acted what I said etc the night before when drunk....I am going to try Yoga . I heard its great for anxiety, calms your body and mind.