Hi Everyone
Guest
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 16
Hi Everyone
New here and I have some questions for you regarding mental health issues and therapy and alcoholism.
I've gone to therapy in the past for my alcoholism and have also been to the doctor several times, tried medication and all that. I think what may have helped the most was just having people there for me that understood and overall what helped was simply staying away from alcohol.
Anyhow, what confuses me is the urge to drink and the emotions that come out of it. I will be completely calm and a normal functioning person. I don't have issues during the day, but come evening when it's time to drink, if you deny me the drink all kinds of emotional issues come out. I feel depressed, anxious, lonely, angry and sad. Why is this the case? How would something like therapy help?
I remember the last time I went to therapy I was told that it was because of my childhood and that I needed to work through some issues. Huh? During my days I can function okay and have no pressing issues really, it's just when it comes time to drink, its TIME and if I don't get the drink that's when it all comes out. So should I have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorder? I'm not sure, I'm not a psychologist nor have been to school for that, I'm curious to hear what experiences you all have had.
Anyhow did therapy help any of you get over the ugly feelings whenever you couldn't drink? I mean sometimes I feel like I just have to suck it up and take it since I've drank for so long and that this is my fault so I have to just deal with it however, the urge is so very strong that it's hard to ignore.
Any help/suggestions is appreciated, Thank you
I've gone to therapy in the past for my alcoholism and have also been to the doctor several times, tried medication and all that. I think what may have helped the most was just having people there for me that understood and overall what helped was simply staying away from alcohol.
Anyhow, what confuses me is the urge to drink and the emotions that come out of it. I will be completely calm and a normal functioning person. I don't have issues during the day, but come evening when it's time to drink, if you deny me the drink all kinds of emotional issues come out. I feel depressed, anxious, lonely, angry and sad. Why is this the case? How would something like therapy help?
I remember the last time I went to therapy I was told that it was because of my childhood and that I needed to work through some issues. Huh? During my days I can function okay and have no pressing issues really, it's just when it comes time to drink, its TIME and if I don't get the drink that's when it all comes out. So should I have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorder? I'm not sure, I'm not a psychologist nor have been to school for that, I'm curious to hear what experiences you all have had.
Anyhow did therapy help any of you get over the ugly feelings whenever you couldn't drink? I mean sometimes I feel like I just have to suck it up and take it since I've drank for so long and that this is my fault so I have to just deal with it however, the urge is so very strong that it's hard to ignore.
Any help/suggestions is appreciated, Thank you
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Athens, Georgia
Posts: 962
+ Therapy - never slowed down my drinking, using. I was way too 'smart' for the therapists, psychodocs - fortunately they never got me on their life-controlling psycho-meds.
+ Rehab, twice - stopped my drinking, using while in the 6 week program - slowly started back drinking, using each time after about 6 weeks, then the descent into full-blown active drinking.
+ After the 2nd Rehab - the descent into pure living Hell (Internal Condition).
THEN ... I Worked The 12 Steps of AA, with a Sponsor, and all the way thru the AA Big Book. It took a while to get Honest within Myself, then to actually comprehend and Apply the 12 Step Work.
NOW ... 3+ Years Sober, and FREE.
I KEEP Working the Program ... I STAY FREE ... RDBplus3
+ Rehab, twice - stopped my drinking, using while in the 6 week program - slowly started back drinking, using each time after about 6 weeks, then the descent into full-blown active drinking.
+ After the 2nd Rehab - the descent into pure living Hell (Internal Condition).
THEN ... I Worked The 12 Steps of AA, with a Sponsor, and all the way thru the AA Big Book. It took a while to get Honest within Myself, then to actually comprehend and Apply the 12 Step Work.
NOW ... 3+ Years Sober, and FREE.
I KEEP Working the Program ... I STAY FREE ... RDBplus3
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,784
fortunately they never got me on their life-controlling psycho-meds.
Please don't slam life-saving medicines as "life controlling psycho-meds". That is inaccurate, to say the least, not to mention harmful to those who (could) benefit from them.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
For me therapy helped me understand my addiction, but also some of the underlying conditions I dealt with. It also helped me learn about what acceptance really means and how to live with my addiction rather than trying to seek a "cure".
I would also reinforce that psych meds can and do serve a very helpful purpose for some. But just like everything there is no magic pill that can just fix all of our problems - we need to take a holistic approach to recovery just as we do our mental health.
I would also reinforce that psych meds can and do serve a very helpful purpose for some. But just like everything there is no magic pill that can just fix all of our problems - we need to take a holistic approach to recovery just as we do our mental health.
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
I was very keen on therapy. It was a new concept when I was young, and my family thought I could benefit by talking out my problems. Psychologist referred me to the Salvation Army Bridge program for alcoholics. No fooling him. A couple of years later I had a session with the probation officer. Spun a good yarn about my child hood and problems. Very convincing it was. She recommended to the court I be sent for treatment for alcoholism. Dang it. They sent me to the nut farm. No fooling those guys. 21 and locked up with a bunch of Korsakovs patients.
Managed to get through all that without letting them get too close. Left the treatment and drank again, after a while of white knuckling on my own.
They very clearly knew what was wrong with me and, like rd3b above, I was lucky in the sense they didn't put me on any drugs and give me an extra problem to solve. They got their diagnosis right, and in the end I got into the right treatment for my problem, AA, and never drank again.
I didn't have the street smarts to con any medication out of the docs. I didn't want medication in any case, but I did want my problem to be something other than alcoholism. I thought a temporal lobe condition would have been quite good. I even had some of the symptoms.
It all boils down to honesty with the doctor or therapist. And these days I think honesty is more important than ever. We have doctors driven by economic imperatives, who don't have the time for talk therapy so they reach for the prescription pad. And they are also lulled into the idea that some of these modern meds are not addictive or dangerous to alcoholics. My experience contradicts this.
Medication can be very dangerous if misused in any way. Total honesty with your doctor is the only way to go.
Managed to get through all that without letting them get too close. Left the treatment and drank again, after a while of white knuckling on my own.
They very clearly knew what was wrong with me and, like rd3b above, I was lucky in the sense they didn't put me on any drugs and give me an extra problem to solve. They got their diagnosis right, and in the end I got into the right treatment for my problem, AA, and never drank again.
I didn't have the street smarts to con any medication out of the docs. I didn't want medication in any case, but I did want my problem to be something other than alcoholism. I thought a temporal lobe condition would have been quite good. I even had some of the symptoms.
It all boils down to honesty with the doctor or therapist. And these days I think honesty is more important than ever. We have doctors driven by economic imperatives, who don't have the time for talk therapy so they reach for the prescription pad. And they are also lulled into the idea that some of these modern meds are not addictive or dangerous to alcoholics. My experience contradicts this.
Medication can be very dangerous if misused in any way. Total honesty with your doctor is the only way to go.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 28,673
I drank up to 5L a day when I stopped. With a lot of careful advice from a doctor I am now (it seems) am on an a-d that has really made a big difference.
The first time I felt that pit feeling in my guts was when I was 4. I worked out there was a lot of 'stuff' going on with my parents- whose way of dealing with stress was to run away, hide/isolate from others. My dad also was an alcie.
When I became a teen- my coping mechanisms were what I had learnt from my damaged parents. T orun, hide- isolate- drink.
Alcohol at first was a game changer- that pit feeling went. BUT as we all know- came back soon after with a vengeance. This became the pattern of my life until 17 months ago- when I stopped. This new a-d - I started it- replacing a less effective on about a week ago. So I drank for anything- pain, joy, fear, anger. Run, hide, isolate, drink. The a-d has helped ajust a chemical imbalance. I am at least 4th gen. alcie and with a diagnosis of chronic major depression.
It took counselling to work this out- and also the guts to crawl into those parts of my soul I never thought about. Counselling and meetings keep me sober and sane and help me work out the f-ups I have made, face them and move on.
The first time I felt that pit feeling in my guts was when I was 4. I worked out there was a lot of 'stuff' going on with my parents- whose way of dealing with stress was to run away, hide/isolate from others. My dad also was an alcie.
When I became a teen- my coping mechanisms were what I had learnt from my damaged parents. T orun, hide- isolate- drink.
Alcohol at first was a game changer- that pit feeling went. BUT as we all know- came back soon after with a vengeance. This became the pattern of my life until 17 months ago- when I stopped. This new a-d - I started it- replacing a less effective on about a week ago. So I drank for anything- pain, joy, fear, anger. Run, hide, isolate, drink. The a-d has helped ajust a chemical imbalance. I am at least 4th gen. alcie and with a diagnosis of chronic major depression.
It took counselling to work this out- and also the guts to crawl into those parts of my soul I never thought about. Counselling and meetings keep me sober and sane and help me work out the f-ups I have made, face them and move on.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Athens, Georgia
Posts: 962
Hello Least - When I read my Post again, I realize what you said. I do NOT consider it my place to have an opinion about what works for others Medically. That is completely between anyone and their Health / Mental Professionals. It was only meant as a personal thanks that I don't have to be on any Meds (however I do have to take Blood Pressure Meds, so I am stuck with Life 'Maintaining' Meds in my situation also)
Again, I apologize, and if preferable, the moderators can remove my post. (The above Post and this one)
RDBplus3
Again, I apologize, and if preferable, the moderators can remove my post. (The above Post and this one)
RDBplus3
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 6,262
I am both an alcoholic in recovery (25 years) and I take anti-depressants for depression. They are two separate diseases: I see a shrink and therapist for depression and I go to AA for my alcoholism. According to experts dual addiction very, very common.
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Originally Posted by NYCDoglvr 
I am both an alcoholic in recovery (25 years) and I take anti-depressants for depression. They are two separate diseases: I see a shrink and therapist for depression and I go to AA for my alcoholism. According to experts dual addiction very, very common.
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