unger894

I'm having a hard time getting through day 1, mainly because of the anxiety. It just seems easy to make it go away with a drink. Any suggestions?

AmericanGirl

Hi Unger. My advice would be to make a list of reasons you want to quit. Read here, stay here, chat here. Tell us how your day went. How was it?

You can do it.

TheEnd

Go find something to do, I know it's easier said than done, but keeping busy really does make the time go much faster and makes the experience a lot less unpleasant.

But if you look at the time, Day 1 is almost over in my book.....

julez

Unger, it may be the easy way to step outside of yourself and your anxiety, but in the long run, your alcoholism will just get worse with time.
I felt a lot of anxiety for the first week.. It passes, I promise. You have to give it time though. My "drinking time" was between 7 and 10pm. I started to go to 7~11 and get a big gulp at 7, read recovery material, or come on here til 9, then I went to bed. It worked for me to change my routine. Give it a try!

Dee74

Hi Unger

Some days you just gotta say 'enough" and do something different, I think.
Think about all the benefits of sobriety.

See your doctor if the anxiety is really bothering you.
Do you have a recovery programme? People to call?

D

savexourxship

Like said, if you have legit anxiety, goto the doctor.

artsoul

As I remember, the anxiety was one of the first things to go away (it took about 2-3 days for me). I treated withdrawals just like having the flu and stayed in bed (tuned into this place to get me through the cravings). I drank a lot of water and took B vitamin complex (and ate some good food, though I know some people don't feel like eating for the first few days).

The good news is that it is part of withdrawals and it's temporary. If it lasts or gets worse, of course, definitely see a doctor.

Hang in there and congrats one day 1....

Kmber2010

Unger, I can only urge you to not drink and see a Dr. if necessary.

For me, I developed anxiety/panic attacks from the years of heavy drinking and in early sobriety it was rough going. They did pass and I have mild to no anxiety now.

If you find the anxiety is overwelming then please see your Dr. as sometimes it is health related.

Hang in there and don't drink. Your anxiety will get worse.....I tried that for a few years.

coop1

Speaking from experience if you drink to get rid of the anxiety they both will get progressively worse. I have done it for years, drinking to get rid of anxiety is not the answer. I'm on day 5 and the anxiety has eased a little each day...hang in there.

flutter

yuck.. I totally relate. Towards the end of my drinking 'career', my anxiety was ridiculous, disabling.. and I thought the only thing that helped was drinking. Sure it helped, but also was the cause of it as well. After I was sober for a bit, it actually disappeared mostly. I spent time with a counselor learning new ways to deal with it, should it ever pop up again.. but it really hasn't.

I would see a doctor though, a lot of people have anxiety issues unrelated to drinking, too.

phytoman

No advice... I'm new to this as well. I just want to wish you strength and encourage you to listen to people here who have been there before...