needtostopthis

I know there are a lot of posts about anxiety and depression on here. I was just reading one about how the anxiety should go away once you stop drinking. Here is the thing, I hope that is true. I know that stopping drinking is not gonna be a miracle cure for all that ails me. I just hope it helps. I am so tired of being anxious and pissed off all the time. Then I get depressed because I can't seem to enjoy life because of my anxiety. In your experience did your anxiety really get better once you got full on sober? Or was it still around? I am just feeling like this today,

kcvalentine

I had horrible anxiety. AWFUL. Thought I was literally going to die on the spot anxiety. I quit drinking alcohol and it went away within a month. As in I don't ever have any panic attacks. Sure I still get nervous about things, I'm human. And sometimes I feel down when I struggle with a life issue, but I've never really had issues with depression. But I can tell you that drinking was the root of my anxiety and once I cut off the source and recovered from the aftermath I never suffered from it again...and it's been that way for over two years now. xoxoxo

karate

Mine reduced 80% or more when I quit drinking .

I read and re-read many books on the subject ,
I'll be glad to post the most helpful titles if you wish

KateL

I get it now and again, but get help from my doctor. But it's not nearly as bad as when I was drinking xxxxxx

Johno1967

Stopping drinking is only one part of achieving sobriety and alcohol may not necessarily be the cause of your anxiety. If you drunk to deal with anxiety there is a chance it will still be there when you stop. Anxiety for me was worse when I was drinking because alcohol was messing up my mind, body and spirit. I was living in fear.
Since I took Step 3 and turned it over my anxiety has left and the worries I confront today are only a shadow of the past. I'm more mindful and non-judging about that "voice". All I can say is that I stopped drinking countless times and was overcome with anxiety and depression and feelings of worthlessness and returned to alcohol. Its only when I recognized that I had a spiritual as well as physical and mental disease was I prepared to acknowledge that I was truly licked and needed a holistic approach in which a spiritual source is very much a part of.

karate

One thing is it won't cost a dime to quit drinking and see if it helps .

I'd bet a large sum it will

freshstart57

My anxiety and depression both nearly disappeared, down to the 10-20% level in a few weeks after I quit drinking. For me there were two very different aspects. One was the effect of that nervous system depressant that I stopped ingesting. But the other boost was entirely psychological. I got a huge boost when I realized that I was doing something amazing, something that folks had been telling me was impossible, and something that was going to change my life.

Finnie

I'm day 18 and my anxiety was off the scale for a few hours today. It is passing slowly and I'm coming right.

It depends on the person I suppose!

TigerLili

My anxiety and depression is much less at three week sober than it was when I was drinking, but it's still there. I see a psychiatrist for it.

needtostopthis

That is great. I hope I will be the same. It really gives me the extra push to say 100 percent sober.

needtostopthis

Sure I might like to check some of those books out. Thank u!

bigsombrero

I had severe anxiety attacks as an active drinker - even had to go to the ER once, and also urgent care.

While my anxiety has decreased significantly after 1.5 years sober, it's not completely gone. The problem is realizing that I've been anxious for all these years...and the booze always provided a cure. Now, I can't drink anymore...so my initial fear was "how do I handle this stuff NOW??" While the attacks aren't nearly as bad, I still have to deal with how to manage my anxiety.

The good thing is that I'm handling this with a sober mind. It gives me confidence to know that there's really "nothing wrong with me", there isn't alcohol withdrawals taking place, I'm not sick, etc. Today, I've learned to manage my symptoms better because I'm sober. I also notice my ability to power through the attacks is back. I got a little shaky a few weeks ago while on the subway...in the past, I would have gotten off and jumped in a cab and ran home. Now, I just kept riding the train, got to my destination, handled my business and things worked out.

The main thing you'll notice is how much easier this condition is to deal with, when you have your sobriety. It's a huge advantage in coping with anxiety.

Aellyce

I had anxiety before starting to drink in unhealthy ways but it had gotten way worse with years of alcohol abuse. Never had depression when younger, but a few years of chronic stress, drinking, and other self-destructive behaviors finally escalated in a really nasty major depressive episode last year. It was frankly the most awful and difficult experience I'd had in life, lasted ~6 months. I worked on the depression seriously and it lifted after a while but I was still drinking, still had many bad days with depressive mindsets and anxiety. I'm 2 weeks sober now and it's much better. I no longer feel depressed but anxiety comes and goes... eg. this morning it was very high when I woke up and what helped a lot was eating a healthy meal and then going for a walk. I really had a couple hours of wonderful calm. Now I'm working and am feeling a bit agitated again. I think these rapid changes in mood are normal in early sobriety - I also look forward to becoming more stable emotionally.
Meditation also helps if I do it regularly.

Ethos23

Mine goes away nearly completely. I would get absolutely terribly anxious after drinking. During my last binge I went to the ER with anxiety attacks at three in the morning (then continued to drink for two more days. Madness. After I quit its just calm. Its probably because when I'm not drinking my life is not madness and I am also engaged in activities that diffuse anxiety, such as exercise.

karate

Feeling good- Burns
AA big book
You can be happy no matter what -Carlson
Don't sweat the small stuff -Carlson
Stop worrying , start living -Carnegie
Anger busting 101-Hightower

Those should keep you going for a while .

I used to read 2-300 pages a week , with brief times of 500 or more pages in winter

Pipping

I really think that if you stay sober, you will be utterly amazed at the difference. When I drank my anxiety was constant and would peak in relation to different situations arising during the day. Driving to work in the morning was torture, the anxiety would come in waves and my whole body would tingle and shake, often I would actually vomit or need to use the toilet urgently. I felt close to tears most of the time. If I was challenged at work by asking to do something unexpected or help in an emergency, I would just about faint. My diet was crap as I was too anxious to eat but after getting drunk I would stuff a whole jumbo size pizza in my face. I chain smoked. After 3 months sober all of this has gone, who would have thought? Admittedly I felt very anxious and angry yesterday but I had to have contact with someone who stole from me over a period of time. Although I felt uncomfortable it passed and I could still function fine. I really relate to how you are feeling. You will definitely see a huge difference if you stop drinking.

Sanantoniosober

Mine went away almost entirely. But it takes a while. Took me over 6 months, and it still pops up here and there, but only for a minute or two, nothing like the overwhelming sense of panic I would have before.

Finnie

I am on day 18. Anxiety symptoms are decreasing. I have gone from having constant anxiety for days on end to much less.

Today though I had a really bad anxiety attack which lasted about 2 hours. It was the worst attack I've had since I've quit drinking.

I went to the gym and I feel good again so hopefully I won't get another attack as bad.