bokkie

Hi Guys,

I wanted to ask if any of you suffered irrational fears during your drinking days? I have recently developed some strange anxious phobias that are driving me crazy! I am on day 2 now and hoping they will start to subside as I add up my AF days. Have any of you had this experience?

Ghostly

I think anxiety can be a problem for people regardless of whether they drink / don't drink or whether they have a problem with alcohol. That said, a lot of us with alcohol problems tried to hide from our fears, irrational and otherwise, by using alcohol. When someone gets rid of that crutch they can sometimes conquer their fears by finding healthy ways to deal with them.

Guess that's my long way of saying if things don't get better consider looking into outside help. Good luck.

pennywistle

Yes. And from my experience, the anxiety, paranoia and irrational fears subsides over abstinence and taking care of yourself emotionally and physically.
I am sorry you are going through this right now.
Hang in there!

artsoul

Since alcohol depresses the central nervous system, there a kind of hyper-excitability that happens during withdrawal/hangovers.

If it gets worse or you think you need help with detox, don't hesitate to get help. Hope things get better for you soon!

refrigerator

This is what I find to be true in my case. Having a hangover and going into full blown withdrawal always has anxiety related to it.

For me, it was always the fear of "omg i'm dying!" because my heart rate was up, i had tremors, hyperventilating etc...which were all products of the withdrawal/hangover....and because i was experiencing all this i suffered severe anxiety.

Can't count how many hundreds upon hundreds of days I had to deal with this and it effected my life in a very negative way.

RyanRed

Oh yeah I know the anxiety all to well. For me it was so bad sometimes I couldnt even step outside without going into a panic attack. of course this was all withdrawl related. Sometimes I would wait till it was dark before I went outside to walk to the corner store to get more booze because I would feel more calm. Light was the devil to me for awhile.

Its just all part of being an alcoholic - NOT FUN STUFF!!!

-Ryan

refrigerator

Exactly the same for me. I couldn't even walk outside my apartment and go to my truck. I couldn't drive or anything with out a panic attack

Eventually I went on meds for my anxiety, which just seemed to make my drinking problem worse. Viscous cycle i was in.

Reset

Over the past few months I've begun to learn that all of my fears were/are irrational.

It feels so good to live this way.

bokkie

Thanks for all the replies, when I am drunk i can take on the world but with a hangover I am a nervous wreck. I get scared of some bizarre things that make no logical sense. I am hoping that once i get through these first few days the haze will begin to clear a little and I will see these ridiculous fears for what they are.

Seth84

Irrational fears? Oh yeah, I had them big time! Thinking I was always going to get fired, that everyone was conspiring against me. I had all that and more. Repeated Irrational behavior begins to alienate even your most ardent supporters and confidants. Sad thing was, once I sobered up I began to realize how crazy I must have seemed, but by then it was too late. I had burned so many damn bridges that only so many could be fixed. Looking back on it now I realize that the main person out to get me was myself and alcohol.
Stay sober and most of that crazy thinking will go away.

bokkie

Yip, I am still in the "everyone is out to get me" mind set. I have also burnt many bridges that can never be rebuilt but I am looking forward to a time when this paranoia will start to dissipate a bit. Also these weird fears I have of "what if my son's school burns down today?" "what if my ferry sinks?" , some days it is really debilitating, my alcoholic brain plays some crazy tricks on the sane (whats left of it) part of my brain. Anyway, I am feeling a little better today, although haven't left the house yet but i have managed to eat, first time in two days so I guess that must be a good sign. T
hanks again to all on this site, especially the long term abstainers who still take the time to help us who are just starting out

Seth84

Eating is so important. Drinking lots of fluids also helps. I think half the crazy thoughts i had can probably be attributed to dehydration. I had those random wierd crazy thoughts too, things that were completely out of my control. Stay strong, keep eating and hydrate. Your body is probably starving for these things.

bokkie

I really haven't been eating at all the last couple of days but have been drinking litres of water and sports drinks so I hope tomorrow to be able to eat a bit more. I agree, I do think a lot of my "symptoms" are from severe dehydration (you have to love the irony of the more I drank the more dehydrated I became!!

IamAlcoholic

Hi Bokkie....thanks for sharing your feelings. Usually, after a heavy binge session I have really bad anxiety and paranoia. Much like the other posters above in that I think 'I am going to die' or pass out. This generally leads me to the confides of my apartment for two days until the anxiety dies down. Horrible feeling.

Your thoughts about your kids schools burning down sounds quite scary. Perhaps you could/should speak to a professional about this? The irrational feelings might be part of something deeper and not just alcohol related. In which case you might be able to get some counseling.

bokkie

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback, I do believe though that it is just a side effect of the alcohol as a few years ago I was AF for 6 weeks and these crazy thoughts went away, just wondered if anyone else has these experiences as they are horrible.
Also sweating very heavily this afternoon, and feel in a foul mood but getting through the day, very early night for me I think

BobGT

Hey bokkie! I've read here alot that taking a multivitamin, especially vitamin B, helps. Supposedly alcohol flushes vitamins from your body. I'm not a doctor, but it seemed like a good and cheap idea to me. Just a suggestion.

bokkie

Thanks Bob, I'm off to get some VitB today. Last night was pretty rough, insomnia, sweating profusely, and I was alternatively boiling hot and freezing cold, pretty hellish but a bit better this morning. Still sweating very heavily so drinking loads of water and sports drinks to try and keep hydrated. Hoping the worst might be over but we will see how today goes.

StPeteGrad

My doctor told me to start taking Vitamin B1 immediately (prescription dose but I won't share the amount) since alcohol inhibits the body's ability to process it.

When I was in inpatient treatment they had us on a very high carb, high salt diet. I gained 20 lbs back that I'd lost in the past year and had few cravings during that time.

I've noticed I have to pay close attention to the amount of refined sugars and time of day I have them. M&M's at night- ok. Cake in the morning - not ok!

Welcome to this forum. These folks have helped me a lot in my journey. It's a nice feeling when someone writes "I feel like I could have written that post." That's when you know you're in the right place. We're all pulling for you.

Lipitor

It was quite normal for me to have an abundance of irrational thoughts .

The worst times were

1 first thing in the morning

2 When I was tired .

It is called rebound anxiety.

Alcohol pushes down all the normal reactions to things and , when it is removed , they bounce back like a spring that has been compressed and held down . Always much more pronounced than before. It is the bodys way of trying to get some equilibrium back.

I found it one of the most unpleasant experiences with heavy alcohol use.

And no matter how much self mind control I had, It screwed with my brain.

It is so much calmer without.



Hope all goes well

L

laura1978

So I'm a dumb drunk. I had absolutely no idea that the anxiety I felt with a hangover - dry mouth, panic attacks, fear that I was going to drop dead, irrational thoughts and fears and most notable pharmacaphobia - were a direct result of the booze. I thought that the alcohol contributed to an existing problem. I have to say day 7 has been totally anxiety free. :-)