alex7373

I was a heavy drinker for 10 years and quit drinking several months ago. Since I've quit drinking I'm having trouble writing. I've done freelance writing for magazines, blogs etc and when I was a drinker it came easy to me. A few drinks in me and I was able to get an article out. Now I'm really struggling. I'm not able to write at all. I actually sit down at my laptop and my head begins to hurt.

I'm wondering if this is just part of the withdrawal. I get this tense feeling and I can't relax. It's not a hyper feeling but it's a feeling that something is missing, that I should be reaching for a drink or at the very least have a pint glass of beer on my desk to look at. Even on days when I consumed mild amounts of alcohol somehow having a pint glass of beer next to me while I wrote was all I needed. It was that crutch that if I needed it i could reach over and take a swig. Without it I feel alone.

CarolD

Hi again....

Are you aware of PAWS?

Post Acute Withdrawl - Relapse Prevention Specialists - TLC The Living Center

Have you had a medical check up since
you quit drinking?

I still have a drink beside me
only now it's not alcohol....

I do hope this situation clears up quickly.
It sounds frustrating for sure.

Glad to see you are not drinking
Sobriety Rocks!

nandm

I had a similiar experience and found mine was related to PAWS. It was well worth checking out the web link for me as it explained a lot and put my mind at ease on some things.

stone

I am 7 months sober (with a 2 day slip so not 7 months technically), I still find I have trouble concentrating, it is starting to improve but it's still hard.
Having a drink would make an 'occasion' of whatever I was doing so doing things now without that sense of ocassion is hard. I have faith that it will continue to improve though.

alex7373

yeah i've had a medical check up but not for alcohol, for another health condition.

I have 3 of the PAWS symptoms - concentration and i have trouble falling asleep and stress

i need to do a better job of dealing with my stress

Signal30

I love to write. When drinking, I always had a beer next to the keyboard or the notepad. When I quit drinking, writing and alot of other things I enjoyed doing weren't the same sober. It was depressing.

Then, when I started getting more involved in AA, I began to enjoy writing again. My heightened relationship with my higher power and proactive work in the program gave me a jump start. The keys on the computer started clicking again, and the ink in the pen was transvering on the paper.

It takes time, patience, and expierence to enjoy change, but wow is it worth it!


Tom

chip

Welcome to SR, Alex
I can relate. It took a while for me to get my mind back, but it did come back. PAWS is very real, and it can be really tough to deal with. The good news is that it will pass. Things get better in sobriety. I hope you'll keep working at it.
chip

Tazman53

I can totally relate, for the first 3 months things just did not seem to go right, then as I stayed sober, worked the steps things started to improve, eventually I found that I was doing things better sober then I was when I was drinking.

The longer one stays sober the better things get, when I used to white knuckle sobriety that was not totally true, I found that the longer I was sober the more frustrated, angry and discontent I became, because all I was doing was not drinking.

What made the biggest difference for me in those areas was working on myself as a person, learning how to live life on lifes terms sober. I used the steps of AA to help me through that and continue to do so.

Key is a program of recovery, AA is the one I use, but there are others, stopping the drinking was not the hardest part, staying stopped was, once I learned how to deal with life things got a lot better.

Time takes time, it will get better, just keep working on your recovery.

lovingseren

Please know that your brain will "de fog".
Sobriety is the best gift I have ever given myself.
It took me some months to find my "sober feet".
It took a while for us to get sick, it will take a while for us to get better.
Be gentle with yourself.

Seren

Jfanagle

From the very first day that I quit drinking I began to walk. At first it was simply to distract myself from my "cocktail hour," a misnomer as my hour was more like 12-14 hours at that point, however time not withstanding I did walk. It drew me into a meditative mind set, as well as beginning a physical rehab. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I do believe that there was a component in this walking practice that helped clear my mind and also gave me a distraction that I had previously filled with booze.

Some years later I still walk and it is during this time that I sort and "file" my thoughts for retrieval during the upcoming day. I am a creature of habit or habits, and I think that may have been why alcohol consumption became such an easy habit to cultivate.

This may be of some help, if not you will at the most invest some time and the cost of a pair of good walking shoes. I did drop 35 pounds in the process which seemed to increase my appeal to the opposite sex and since I was single this ultimately has provided additional distractions.

Just my experience,

Jon

EverNew

I can most definitely relate. I find that my cognitive ability is reduced at the moment and im about a month into recovery. I worry enormously about this but try to reassure myself it may be reversed with time. Im supposed to be studying academically but feel more or less utterly unable to retain anything. So I do understand. It is apparently common though as far as I understand... We just have to wait and see.

Love L.

Dee74

Things do get better EverNew - trust me

D

Jaxsyer84

Perhaps you have to reteach yourself how to write sober. I mean were you a heavy drinker, or just used it as a muse?

zjw

not to sound so hopeless but 4 years sober and i still have a very hard time concentrating on tasks that require critical thinking etc.. in my case its debilitating and could cost me my job. I have to wonder in my case tho if its a combination of factors rather then just lack of booze.