kelsey123

Anypne else struggle with anxiety? I drank heavily for a total of about 7 years (breaks for pregnancies) and quit about 6? weeks-ish ago after tapering off for about a year. My anxiety has improved some but it is still a major struggle and I hate it!!! Like I am wasting my life worrying. I worry about everything and always fear and assume the worst. I also have horrible HORRIBLE hypochondria and worry about health problems, like cancer or if I already did irreversible damage to myself before quitting drinking. I will just think and think and worry and worry about it! All day! And i can't figure out how to shake it! Anyone else struggle with this? Any suggestions or tips?

MycoolFitz

I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and PTSD and sleep deprivation. What I'm learning is not to get anxious over my anxiety. I know sounds stupid but when it arrises I just think oh high there you are I accept you I don't fight you and it tends to back off. Works with head aches to. When I can't get the anxiety to go away or I can't sleep I just take it because a quart of booze a night was not a good answer. But honestly accectance and surrender did wonders.

GirlFromCO

I think you should visit the doctor, have a full check up, and tell them that you are experiencing a lot of anxiety. They will probably have treatment suggestions for your anxiety, and also let you know that nothing is wrong with you physically. It's so important to get it treated and learn coping strategies before it can really take root. There is so much you can do from conscious breathing to exercising to therapy to diet changes and prescription meds if you need them for emergencies. Also, if you're overcoming some sort of addiction those same skills apply to anxiety - riding out the wave especially.

Over the years, I've been diagnosed with C-PTSD, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and severe depression so I know how hard it is to ask for help but it's so crucial. It's really not so scary once you're actually sitting down talking to someone about it.

artsoul

One of the most helpful things I found (I'm a fellow worrier) is bringing my mind back to the moment. I only start worrying when I try to figure out the future (thinking maybe by worrying I can protect myself from being unprepared). It's really wasted energy though, because the future never turns out the way we set it up. It's also overwhelming trying to keep a handle on all the possible scenarios.

When I catch myself getting caught up in the worry/anxiety, I stop and put my focus on something physical: feeling my body in the chair, focusing on my breathing, listening to the sounds in the room, etc....... it breaks the thought and allows us to change our focus. It takes practice and you may not notice the change right away, but it can really help once you get more proficient with it.

You might also get some useful tips from this article: :How to Stop Worrying: Self-Help for Anxiety Relief

Seeing a professional is a great idea, too.

TwelveSteps

I don't know a single alcoholic who hasn't dealt with similar anxiety issues. The good news is, for me, even though my anxiety and insomnia predated my drinking, they got MUCH more manageable over the six months or so after I quit drinking. I really hadn't realized how much alcohol abuse had aggravated my general, day-to-day anxiety level. Keep it up, it gets much better!

GG

dawnrunner

In my OP rehab, we learned to meditate. we meditated in almost every session. Several of the guys were quite resistant and would be a little disruptive, but everybody was hooked on it by the end.

Our counselor said he would fly apart if he did not meditate every morning and every evening.

We would sit upright in our chairs, feet flat on the floor. He would talk us through it as follows: Your shoes are full of feet. Your feet are on the floor. Bring your mind into your feet. Let all the tension go out of them. (silence for a bit) Now your ankles. Your mind is in your ankles. Your ankles are soft. (silence) Now your lower leg. (etc.) Until we got to the top of our heads. It would end with a few minutes of complete quiet. then slowly open your eyes and feel different!

The idea was that the mind is hyperactive, and we can slow it down through consciously bringing it into the body, which is still and always in one place.

It was really interesting. Something to try?

Sugah

Once I was through withdrawal, I discovered the lingering anxiety/fears/anger that I felt was the result of a warped thinking process. When I took the steps necessary (all twelve of them) to correct my thinking and resize my ego, I found peace.

Might not be the answer for everyone--sometimes, we've done real and lasting damage to our bodies and brains that needs to be corrected medically--but it worked for me.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

oak

I just did an 8-week class called "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction". The class is about meditation and other mindfulness practices. It helped so much. My stress was much lower after a few weeks.

There is also a book that I like. It was written by a well-known cognitive behavioral therapist, focusing on anxiety. 'When Panic Attacks' by David Burns

For me- counseling, physical exercise, journaling, and talking to people also help. I still get high anxiety. But my stress level is much lower (even lower than normal) when I really spend time doing things that help. It's easy to feel at the mercy of our anxiety (or other feelings), but what we do makes a big difference.

Also- it might help to look at when your anxiety is lowest. Are there non-drinking times when it is gone? Are there times when you are so focused on doing something you like doing that you don't feel anxious (or feel less anxious)? If so, add more of those activities into your day (unless there's a negative aspect of that).

I hope you feel better very soon. Keep trying different things until you find what works for you.

kelsey123

Thanks! My doctor is aware of my anxiety...basically just told me to try stress reduction techniques and let her know if it isnt better in six months. I did have a full workup in september, got normal results on a cbc and normal AST, ALT, and bili tests. Abd she looked right at me and said i was not jaundiced which is always my other fun paranoia. Yet here i sit, convinced that since i didnt quit until november something could have popped up. Just love anxiety, haha.

Fallow

Yes Im living with the same thing every day. Last time I thought I found a tiny lump in my neck (gland) I had a week long panic attack. The doc checked it, laughed, and refilled my anxiety meds prescription. Most days I have moments or minutes where I want to scream at the top of my lungs, run away, or jump out of my own skin. Im gonna try some meditation, yoga, and therapy this time cause anxiety is my number one reason to drink.

sugarbear1

are you an alcoholic? anxiety & depressioon are par for the course.....take the steps...

Anna

I also worried a lot about my health when I stopped drinking. It took me a long time to begin to be able to deal with it. I have read a lot about anxiety and I think that it's basically fear of the unknown. Like you, if my checkup at the dr went alright, I'd worry about what might develop tomorrow. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? None of us do, and living in fear of what might develop tomorrow can keep us down. I really found "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle helpful because it showed me a way to live in the moment, or at least in the day. I believe the Universe has a plan for my tomorrow and it will come in its time.

Emma18

I have depression and anxiety and yeh my main problem is letting the anxiety get a hold on my because I'm thinking about it so much. Then that leads to drinking as my way of dealing with it. I'm working on fixing that though

FBL

Towards the end of my drinking career, my anxiety was off the charts. I was on medication for about 6 weeks after I quit drinking and it hasn't been an issue since then. Please see a doctor.

lisa29

Thank you so much for posting this thread! I've been sober for 3 days now and I can't stop thinking about all of the irreversible damage that may have been done. I also found a small lump on the side of my neck, freaked out and googled like crazy, only to later find the same lump on the other side of my neck... A lymph node gland.. I guess we have finally pulled our heads out of our as*es and realized how badly we've been treating ourselves! I'm getting blood work done on Tuesday and going to see a psychiatrist for the anxiety. I'm ready for a 'do over'! I hope that your anxiety has subsided a bit w/ your healthy dr's visit!