anxiety and alcohol recovery
 

So i'm one month into alcohol recovery of nightly drinking consisting of about a bottle of wine or 6 beers per night. I had panic attacks 4 years ago when going through a brutal divorce. they lied dormant....but resurfaced 8 weeks ago.

After 30 days of alcohol recovery should really strong anxiety symptoms/ anger symptoms/ and almost feeling like im crazy be existing or is there a true mental disorder at play. I guess i'm asking are anxiety symptoms still typical after 30 days? I love the sobriety but the anxiety/ mental fog/ memory issues etc have been brutal

If you have a good doctor it might be good to discuss this with him or her. In addition a good diet and PLENTY of exercise are key to me in dealing with anxiety. If you are not "clean" of smoking or drink too much caffeine, this wold be something to look at also. Just remember that at least for me alcohol increased my anxiety exponentially. That is certainly not the solution.

Alcohol and anxiety
 

Thanks totfit....yeah the drinking definitely makes EVERYTHING worse. I can't drink because I know the path of alcohol plus anxiety equals panic attacks then your mixing sedatives for the panic attacks with alcohol and that is a brutal path to go down. Just trying to figure out what is alcohol withdrawal related and what is true anxiety/ mental health issues....

Anxiety does increase in early sobriety, that is why a program of recovery can be helpful. I know without the program I used which is AA I could not have dealt with the anxiety and would probably not be sober today.

I also fight with chronic anxiety related to PTSD but it took until I was about 4 or 5 years sober before doctors figured out what was wrong with me. Before that they were treating me for depression. Once they figured it out they started addressing the anxiety issues and they have gotten better in some ways want worse in others.

I encourage you to be honest when talking with your doctor and tell him what is going on especially about how long you have been sober. I also encourage you to find a program of recovery to help support you during this difficult time to help ease some of the anxiety. Here is a link to recovery programs: http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

Hi golf, yeah I was totally like you alcohol and anxiety equals panic attacks. Panic attacks for me meant taking sedatives and the cycle continued like this for years. I'm sober 53 days and the anxiety overall is better now you need to give it more time. The feeling of going crazy has lessened since getting sober. When I was hungover I was convinced I was going crazy but it's just anxiety messing with you. I sometimes think even now I feel a bit foggy but I think it is my mind saying it can function properly again.

Hope this helps you out.

golf, i hear you big time. most recently actually i've been battling some post-bender anxiety. Made a stupid mistake and just went to hard all weekend and i've been experiencing horrific anxiety and disturbed sleep and racing thoughts. i've had issues associated with drinking for a few years and every time i stop for a while, the anxiety builds after a few days but I know deep down that a bad hangover can trigger awful anxiety so it's a lose lose situation for me. How do you guys relieve your anxiety? I feel like I am being punished for all the incredibly disgusting amount of drinking I have done, not a fun way to live.

Have you guys done any reading on PAWS ??

:welcome to SR, wagingpeace and welcome to our anxiety forum.

PAWS is very relevant with depression and alcohol. You bring up a good point. I know that when I was in early sobriety PAWS did play a role in my depression, unfortunately for me there are mental health issues that are not related to my alcohol use. It did take me a while in recovery to figure that out and start treating those issues though. PAWS is a good thing to bring up to a mental health provider as many may not think to associate it with depression unless it is reminded to them.

Are you on any medication b4 or now?

Like nandm has said, it's important to disclose everything truthfully to your doctor. True people w/ anxiety do find it better by staying clean. I've read that anything that can alter gaba to a big degree like too much coffee, or alcohol can lead to anxiety attacks.

Anxiety increases in early recovery due somewhat to the surge in adrenaline caused by both post-cessation hypoglycemia, and the sympathetic nervous system dysfunction of the HPA axis. Avoid over-stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and attempt to maintain a hypoglycemic diet.