Introvrtd1

Hi,

My first day of sobriety was on Dec 14, 2015...... Haven't had any alcohol since then....The withdrawal was difficult and the insomnia was worse...

Im already posting in the 'Anxiety' forum, because my daily journal of posts deal mostly with anxiety and related issues. Im hoping this phase of my recovery will pass soon, but looking at the posts of other members tells me I still have a long way to go.....

Some say 90, 180, 270 days, or even years before they get thru the phase of anxiety, depression, or some other abnormality in their life of sobriety....

It seems my body has a lot more tolook forward to in order to feel 'normal' again....I know that day will come...its just very different for everybody and I can't compare my situation to theirs...

I can only pray that I get there....

Thanks for reading....

Dave42001

Nice work on your time, keep up the good work!

zjw

yeah i figured if i can just get this chemcial out of me if i can just get passed the withdrawels. Ok if i can just manage to wrap my mind around these things etc.. i'll feel less anxious. I dunno that took years. at over 4 years i still have a fair amt of anxiety tho ions less then i did then. I'm just learning to cope with it etc..

its a journey but i mean its a good one tho because you learn the proper way to handle stuff and such at least I am anyhow. I tried to get a quick fix ya know get a hack at it all those years i drank but i never learned what i shoulda learned. Now i'm learning it. seemed like a crash course at first but its gotten easier now.

thers some good reads in the reading list on it to help.

FBL

Everybody's "recovery" time is different. I spent nearly 30 years drinking, so I didn't expect my mind and body to fully heal in a matter of days or even weeks. I DID start to feel much better after about 90 days and kept seeing marked improvement from then-on. I really felt that I turned a major corner around a year or so. Bottom line: give it time and things WILL get better

Introvrtd1

Thanks for that encouragement Former,

I know everybody's different but the one constant I keep hearing is 90 days before some marked improvement.....I'm not sayin this is my mark, but I'll be glad to see how I am on that day.... Right now Im about halfway there....

ScottFromWI

Congrats on your sober time Introvtd! I also suffer from anxiety and the more sober time I get does help, but i'm also realizing that my anxiety has most likely been with me my whole life. I tried to drink it away for 20 plus years and of course that made it worse. I have recently started doing some therapy sessions and they really seem to help, never done anything like that before but it's opened my eyes to a lot of things. I've also realized that anxiety is something that you can't necessarily "cure" or make completely dissapear. But it is something you can definitely live with, and being sober makes it a lot easier to live with.

least

The anxiety and restlessness were always the worst part of w/d for me. But after about six months I noticed it was a lot better. Stay sober, the best is yet to come.

Cow

Good on you, Intro! You keepa go!

I agrees with Mr. Scott and think please does not hesitate to speak with therapist to help you cope. And if it turn out you get feeling too overwhelming anxiety or insomnia during withdrawal, which might threaten you sobriety, I think is no shame to get (non-addicting!) medication support.

Introvrtd1

Looking forward to it Least.

Thanks,

SoberinSyracuse

I in no way minimize what you're experiencing because it's very common and lots of people go through it.

That being said, consider the following:

• What you focus on expands.
• A watched pot never boils.

Would it be helpful to read less about anxiety and more about optimism (The Secret, or whatever strikes your fancy)? Instead of counting the days that you feel anxious, count things each day that make you smile and have a goal of doubling the daily number each week?

If nothing else, this may help pass the time while your body and mind heal. Please beware of self talk. Instead of "I'm anxious. I'm anxious. I'm anxious." try "I'm healing. I'm healing. I'm healing." Even MDs believe in the power of affirmations, so pick affirmations that express what you want to have happen, not what you want to see end.

I loved this quote, "This [anxiety] has come to pass, but it has not come to stay."

eleven

Hey there, Introvrtd1 . . . my sober date is 12/15/2015 and even as I am grateful for each day since that day, I am looking forward to the 90 day benchmark, as well. When you said you are halfway there, that just struck me - wow! already halfway there!

I just wanted to let you know that I am doing this with you and cheering you on.

endlesspatience

I'm also really pleased to hear about your progress. Not sure about the anxiety one but on the insomnia one, let me assure that prolonged sobriety really helps there. There are some very practical measures we can take on it too. For me these include:

1. No caffienated drinks after 4pm.
2. Setting a regular bed time and waking up at the same time
3. Not using computers or mobile phones for at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
4. Wearing warm bed clothes and cleaning my teeth
5. Not smoking
6. Writing a gratitude list
7. Using an eye mask and ear plugs if I need them

Once I put all that in place, I started sleeping a lot better. And you know what? Once I had a good night's sleep my anxiety reduced and I felt less like having a drink.

It took a while to make the changes but none of them are difficult things to do,.

Introvrtd1

It's getting better.....Less frequent and less intense anxiety.....There are still some situations I avoid to keep from panicking but Im working on more exposure to face those fears....

Its a work in progress....

uncorked

Hey Intro, congrats on your sobriety! The first few weeks are the hardest. I know it sounds hokey but meditation and yoga help immensely. In fact, studies show that the brain actually changes if you do meditation 20 minutes a day. The other thing to remember is that your brain will kind of try to play tricks on you in very early sobriety. So don't believe everything you think!! A thought is just a thought, not a fact. That's pretty freeing, don't you think? Good luck and stay on the board here.

Introvrtd1

That's encouraging uncorked......

Thanks!!

Introvrtd1

Uugghh.....Sugar cravings....

bullmas

Introvrtd1" The withdrawal was difficult and the insomnia was worse..."

Same results here , over and over again, I made 62days up to last Thanksgiving, b4 my holiday wine " binge-athon" , began!! now being back on track I realize that my only real withdraw is the agonizing insomnia! Stay in the game!

Cheers

Dee74

Hows things Introvrtd1?

D

FBL

Yep, I had 'em too, really bad. I guess my body craved all the sugar that it wasn't getting anymore from beer. I put on some weight, but I also started walking every day, which helped. I still indulge my sweet tooth more than I should, but it beats drinking any day.

Hope you're doing well.

Introvrtd1

Hangin in there Dee,

Thanks