rider

I mean I got incredibly weepy when I WAS drinking, now that I am not (and it's only seven days, but who's COUNTING!) I still get crying jags. Don't know if it's because I am sad that I lost "the guy" I liked so much or what the problem is. I DO feel, though, that I can handle the sadness a bit better now. It doesn't get out of control like it did when fueled by alcohol. I don't have the urge to write an email I'll regret at least.

Anyone else get the crying blues?

otterbearcat

I think alot of people get depressed when they stop drinking.
Ive fought depression most of my life so it really dint have anything to do with that for me.

I DID however become anxious and irritable.

I still get super weepy though.

rider

Hi Cat, me too on the anxious, but I've always been that way. Drinking or not.

Alcohol really brought some serious depression out in me. This is not an all-enveloping blackness like I used to get.

I think, now, I feel sad and blue. Maybe some of it is that my friend alcohol is not in my life as well as "the guy." I can't drink him out of my head, so I have to feel the very real and painful feelings without my buddy alcohol to make it all better. At least momentarily.

BloodnbonE

Remember alcohol is not really our friend =) In my experience drinking doesn't help get someone out of your head. It's something that will go away over time. Sounds like maybe you should move on from him and go out and meet some new people. Meeting new people (especially of the opposite sex) really helped me get over my ex.

tommyk

"Remember alcohol is not really our friend =)"

So very, very true.

It took me a while to realize that, too damn long.

coffeenut

Early sobriety can bring a rush of emotions. Learning to deal with them sober is part of recovery (imo).

I had horrible anxiety while drinking. 90% of it cleared up at about 2 months sober.

Maybe you need to see a doctor if the depression is severe.

tyler

I know that when I was drinking and drugging regularly I went years without shedding a tear. I numbed myself so thourghly I was incapable of feeling anything, good or bad. I've been clean from my drug of choice for over 2 months. I used it 24/7, all the time. I have been quite emotional since I quit that.

I still struggle with alcohol, I'll get a few days or a week and then grab for a bottle. Never makes me feel better, even while I'm doing it, but I keep doing it. I was never really a daily drinker, more of a binger, and I guess I still am. Less than before, but still a problem.

Many of us use drugs and alcohol to numb us from pain and when you remove that from your system it can be a shock to deal with all of those emotions. I'd say what you are feeling is pretty normal. It does get better as you learn other coping skills other than turning to that bottle. Well learning them is actually the easy part, putting them into practice is the battle. That's where I am. Take care. Congrats on your 7 days!!

Liberty47

Yes, I hear you. I've had to stay off of Facebook because I'm terribly brokenhearted over a guy and every one of my thirty-five year old friends seems to be blissfully married, engaged, and/or blissfully nursing newborns, perhaps the best time of life. I have no man or children, not much of anything and only five days sober at that. This is NOT the high point of MY life. But there will be other men for us, there always is, and now that we are clear-headed perhaps we will be able to meet quality men that stick through us through thick and thin. We're never alone, even when it seems like everyone else is having the time of their lives. I hope maybe in a year or so we look back on this time from a much happier place....

rider

All good advice from everyone. Thanks.

I don't believe in medication (uh, well, I guess I believed in the alcohol variety of medication) so anti-depressants are out. I think not eating right for a few years may have depleted my B vitamins. That is a known cause of depression. So I am taking vitamins and eating again. I'll see how that goes.

Yeah, the guy....we are now conversing guardedly. I have my doubts if we will ever work out after all my craziness, but I am glad we are making a foray into a friendship.

SCRedhead

All my emotions felt like they were bubbling over when I first got sober. I think, for me, I had just held down so many emotions for so long with booze that I didn't know how to deal with them. I felt like I was on a real roller coaster ride of emotions for the first 3 months, happy, sad, elated, excited, then crying, laughing, laughing until I cried, I really thought I was losing it there for a while.
I calmed down a lot after a while--think I just had to feel things for a change. Does that make any sense at all? I hope so.
What I wanted to say is: It really does get better.

vegibean

When I stopped drinking I think I cried for two weeks straight. All the pain I covered up with the alcohol had no where to go any more other than out. Think of it as cleansing your soul. You'll feel so much better once you work through all of this. I promise you. Hang in there rider, you're doing great!!!!!

rider

Thanks everyone. Today was hard again. Just spontaneous eruptions of tears at strange moments. One hour I feel great and strong, the next I feel sad and weak. Up down, up down, up down. Well as Scarlett O'Hara said... "tomorrow IS another day."

Hevyn

rider, we say it on here so much, but it really is true - it gets better & easier as you go along. You will not feel this way forever - you'll go through many phases while you're recovering. Joy and happiness will be with you once again, at some point. Don't expect too much right now - be kind and patient with yourself. You have alot of healing to do, physically & emotionally. I'm glad you're here with us.

Gypsy Feet

Agreed, and let me add, I still cry hard at least once a month, whether anything is sad or not

Mattcake

I've been feeling blue and weepy lately too. That's fine by me, I actually enjoy it - it's healthy, cathartic, and sometimes it's also necessary.

Emotions don't freak me out. Numbness is what I dread.