Pigtails

Yesterday I was so stressed from work. I told myself to go to the gym or take a bath instead of having a drink. I went to a book club meeting (which didn't really help, I probably should have skipped it), had dinner with my boyfriend (which also didn't really help as he was super stressed too) and then went home and took a bath (it really helped).

I can see that there are much better ways to deal with stress than drinking. And here's the kicker... one of the things I was really stressed out about resolved itself in the evening. It meant working late and having to call various colleagues and clients but now the issue is resolved and off my plate. In the past I likely would have gone to have a drink straight after work, and it would have turned into two or three and then I wouldn't have been in the right frame of mind to resolve the issue, or I would have neglected to deal with it completely.

This time around in my sobriety I'm realizing all the practical aspects of not drinking and why it just doesn't make sense for me to drink. It feels like it's coming easier for me when I keep things simple and just say, drinking will not help this situation, drinking does nothing good for me, let me do something positive and good for myself.

ACT10Npack

Have you thought about going to your doctor about your stress aka anxiety issues your going through? He/she may give you something to help you deal with it.

WantToHeal

Well done, Pigtails!!!

773niki

I came across the same realization the other day myself. Anxiety was easily "put off" and temporarily numbed by drinking. Now, I realize that it is a normal emotion. Not that I love stress, but feeling again has some advantages. And I definitely like knowing what I'm doing rather than not remembering adn running away all the time.

Don't you love when sobriety throws us one of these revelations?

Mcribb

I spent my entire life dealing with stress by drinking. So when I get sober I try to pray or meditate or write to help the stress, my expectations were that the stress will go away instantly by praying or meditating or by going for a walk, the truth is that lots of times the only thing that helps stress is time. I get stressed I take action by writing praying and meditate then I need some time to decompress.

Pigtails

Not really because in the past I've been to therapy for my anxiety and it helps on some level but right now my individual health insurance policy (I'm self-employed, so, no group coverage) does not cover mental health and I don't think it's worth it to pay full price. It helped to an extent but so does other ways to balance stress, such as running, taking a bath and reading, watching a funny movie, talking to a friend or relative, not drinking (ha, imagine that )... and all of those are free. :rotfxko I felt I was spending a lot of money even just with the co-pays, to be told stuff I already KNEW, but just needed to put into practice. (It was very helpful in the beginning but then after I had figured out a bunch of my issues and their origins, it was more about deciding to change myself and actually doing it). So now I find that practicing what I know is best to do for myself is more helpful than talking to a therapist about it.

I have also considered anti-anxiety and/or depression meds but I do not want to turn to medication unless I really really need it or until I have tried all natural/healthy ways to take care of myself and they don't work. Right now when I actually aim to take care of myself and be healthy, I feel much less anxiety and stress, so I think I'm okay without meds. If that changes then I would explore them because I just want to be healthy and happy. I have an anxiety-induced sleep disorder (adult night terrors) that I sometimes take an anti-anxiety medication for, but I try to avoid it because it is habit-forming and messes with my natural sleep cycle and I figure it's best to try to deal with it naturally... so I tend to take the same approach towards all medications. (I do take supplements such as Sam-ee and 5HTP and melatonin... these seem to help me a lot, although I have wondered about the side effects/potential habit-forming nature of Sam-ee but the rest seem to be completely fine and as close to natural as possible).

neferkamichael

Pigtails there was plenty of stress over drinking in the beginning of of my recovery, but 2 years, 1 month, 20 days sober, even when I get stressed over just normal living, I hardly think about taking a drink. It gets easier as the days go by, honest it does.