elihoping

Hey SR,

I'm 5 1/2 weeks sober now and over the last few days, I've been experiencing a fair bit of anxiety, usually when I'm at home alone and particularly at night, when I want to sleep. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with it?

Thanks,

Eli

Dee74

This site has been good for me:

Calm Clinic for Your Anxiety & Panic « Calm Clinic

D

nogard

Hi elihoping,

What do you currently do wabout it?

I do a range of things, go to meetings, read recovery literature, talk to other addicts in recovery, help someone else, post here, meditate, run, walk, scream sometimes, talk to that power greater than me that I do not understand, do some housework, you get the idea. What I dont do is drink or use under any circamstances and if that means waking a friend at 2am because I am in danger of doing that then I wake them up.

Glad your here

Kevin

neferkamichael

Elihoping, 5 1/2 weeks sober? You are FANTASTIC. Congratulations. 2 years 4 months sober and anxiety ridden, so please some tios. I could use them too.

elihoping

Thanks Dee, am checking that out now.

Hi Nogard. Thanks for the response. In the past, I would get anxious about particular things, events etc. This current "free-floating" anxiety is kind of new. I go to meetings, chat to people etc. I've tried meditating but I'm not great at it yet. This anxiety has really only come up this week. Maybe my feelings are starting to resurface? I burst into tears for no reason earlier when I was watching tv. I also have this feeling of impending doom.

Earlier today, I became very aware that I'm terrified of any new, unfamiliar experience and have been for a long time. Even if I have to drive to somewhere I don't know very well, I get very stressed about the possibility of getting lost or being late. Anything unfamiliar is such a huge deal to me.

Sorry for the rambling but as I started to respond, some of this stuff just came up.

elihoping

Thanks neferkamichael! 2 years and 4 months is amazing. Can't wait to rack up time like that!

lilgolden73

my anxiety is through the roof...I even have the shakes...grrrr...40+ days sober..I don't get it!

buickbeast

Grats on the 5 1/2 weeks!
I have a mild case of PTSD from the middle east and I'm on day 14 of staying sober. I was a heavy binge dinker for 5 years straight.
I went from not being shy whatsoever to not being able to physically write anything while during class in about 3 years.
What I've been doing to help my anxiety for the past 2 weeks is:
-work out every day, even if all I did was walk for 30 minutes.
-I used to drink around a liter of Coke everyday...I've had 3 cups since then.
I'm out like a light when I want to fall asleep and rest well 90% of the time now. Also, I've noticed my anxiety level has plummeted lately.
I hope this helps!

Toss

Your not alone - I have been sober about the same length of time and deal with the same kind of stresses. No real advice, I'm trying to find a new way of dealing with it as well.

Good Luck,

Toss

CHUCKD

I used to have panic attacks nearly everyday. . . I was prescribed Ativan but didn't like the fact that it was a narcotic. Now I take an old cheap medicine called Buspar twice a day and I haven't had any anxiety attacks for more than a year. Also it's non narcotic and you don't feel it's effects at all. You'd have to ask your doctor for it because it's kinda uncommon to be prescribed it unless you ask. I just got lucky with my doc suggesting it.

zanzibar

This site has done absolute wonders in helping me deal with anxiety. That link Dee gave you is very helpful. CBT can also help with long term anxiety. Essentially though anxiety in the first three to six months of sobriety is pretty normal but still has to be taken seriously.

Posting on these boards about it is what seems to helps me the most. Also read the stickys in the anxiety section of the mental health forum.

But read up on it, the more you understand it the easier it is to deal with it.

But to me the most important thing I've ever learnt about dealing with it is don't fight it, flow with it. If you fight it you'll never win, and you'll be in the attack longer.

Delilah1

I am 38 Days sober and still feel anxiety throughout the day. I have been reading, been on this site, exercising, deep breathing, and I will admit to tears a few times. I am going to check out the site Dee mentioned.

I tend to worry about things (kids, money, family, work), my husband is famous for telling me "just don't worry" if only it were that simple!!!!

Lotrus

If you have an anxiety disorder I would advise therapy.

But early recovery can be very stressfull. Well, I guess that's obvious.
However what happens in the brain is that it releases stress hormones, if the stress goes on for a considerable amount of time your brain will keep stress hormone production high as it concludes the world it's in is dangerous. Makes perfect sense if you're being chased by wild animals all the time.
But unfortunately nowadays it's things like recovery or mortgages or employers that trigger the same response.

The best thing to do to alleviate this sort of anxiety is to just let it be and take good care of yourself.
Think about how you'd do things if you didn't feel the anxiety and try to behave in that way. If you feel anxious about driving somewhere, do it anyway. That way you show your brain that the world isn't that dangerous after all.

If you get uncomfortable physical symptoms, and anxiety can cause many, then remember that it doesn't actually mean there's something wrong with your body. If your chest feel tight and you start worrying about getting a heart attack for example then that's not needed because anxiety won't give you one.