timbrodie

Hi,

Has anybody here had anxiety that disappeared after going sober?

I'm sorta anxious these days. I remember when I was younger - before I started drinking with friends on weekends like every weekend for 10 years with quite a lot of drinking during weekdays too (and ofcourse loads and loads of coffee) - I had no anxiety whatsoever.

I'm just curious if it's all due to the alcohol and if I seriously give it up this time, will the anxiety go away after 6-12 months?

Thanks.

Tim

Natom

I would see a doctor about this. No-one will be able to give you a conclusive answer about whether your anxiety is caused by alcohol and whether it will go away if you stop drinking. I know that when I stopped using cocaine I had paranoia and anxiety for a while afterwards. They gradually dissapeared and I only get anxious very rarely now.

Natom.

Delilah1

Hi Tim,

I have always dealt with anxiety, I remember as a kid feeling physically ill before a big test. One of my biggest faults is I want to make sure everything is perfect at home, work...

I have learned that doesn't work. I still get anxious some nights as I worry about bills, kids, work... But I am trying to deal with it through exercise and reading. I also have talked to my doctor and have medication that I only use if I am severely anxious, or having a panic attack. My advice would be to talk to your doctor.

timbrodie

Thanks for the reply Natom!

I'm just curious whether this prolonged anxiety is due to me not really having gone sober for more than 2-3 weeks at a time, like my body never had a chance to fully detox and regenerate.

timbrodie

Thanks Delilah1!

I did talk to the doctor actually. He gave me some SSRIs and told me to stop drinking, but I kept on anyway. SSRIs didn't help so I quit that. I guess I'm here to find a real reason to quit, to find hope, as opposed to just being told to quit by some dude in a white suit.

I need to know if anybody here who didn't use to have anxiety, but who got it after years of alcohol abuse, had this anxiety diminished again after going sober? And if so, for how long did you have to go sober?

Thank you!

Tim

CuteNGayYay

I know my social anxiety got better when I got sober last time

mecanix

Alcohol certainly added to my stress and anxiety . I was extra jittery for the first few weeks of sobriety , i certainly felt a lot less on edge after say about 6 weeks and 6 months was a huge change .
I encourage everyone i know to try sustained periods of sobriety to understand how alcohol can effect us physicaly and emotionaly .

Good Luck , M

Natom

The likelihood is it will get better. But if it doesn't then at least you will be in a much better place to actually do something about it.

Natom.

least

I'm taking SSRIs too, and I can tell you that they don't help as long as you're drinking. Drinking negates the effect of the antidepressants so it's useless to take them if you're drinking.

I too have serious anxiety. It didn't go away after getting sober but it did get much more bearable. Now the meds I take for it have a chance to do their thing and the anxiety isn't so bad.

I'd see what happens a ways down the road and if it's still bad, then see your doctor about it. :ghug3


to SR!

LSC1

Hi
I always thought I drank alcohol to deal with stress and anxiety. I have been a chronic nail biter my entire life. The first few weeks of sobriety I was highly stressed and anxious. Exercise has helped. I am nearly 5 months sober. I am a lot more relaxed at home and at work it is unbelievable. And for the first time EVER I have fingernails long enough to paint. I still experience anxiety.. instead of drinking I walk, swim,have a cupper or find a more suitable way to deal with the cause of the stress.
Cheers

LadyinBC

Paxil didn't stop me from drinking either. I am 5 months sober now and I do feel less anxiety than i did before. I agre with others talk to your doctor.

SparklingSeven

My panic attacks stooped. Had them for years. Didn't realise it was booze related. Not quite the same, but I thought I'd mention it.

Stang

Yes mine went away after detox. I read on here where some folks stay anxious even after 6 months of sobriety. They probably have another issue but the alcohol makes it worse.

sugarbear1

My anxieties left me after I worked the 12 steps, but that is me.

FBL

I had anxiety and panic attacks. That all went away for good after I quit drinking.

Lionhearted1

Everbody has anxiety its part of being human living in this 24hr world, but after a heavy spree alcohol made me a big bag of exposed nerves. once the mind and nervous system have time without poison you would be amazed at how much better you feel.

gall1972

I drank because of the anxiety of situations. Stressed about wanting a night out to more fun... stressed about wanting to be a normal drinker.

BUT the one thing that I have learned about myself is that withdraw, no matter how "big" the withdraw is, my anxiety is out of control. I believe that its part of the withdraw process and it usually levels out after a few days. But those days are admittedly hell on me....

The feeling of breaking out of my skin, the tight chest, the inability to move from one spot.

I'm on day 4 and I can say I am better then what I was on day 1.

I just have to learn in time how to deal with the sober anxiety.

Gall

Sasha4

I still have anxiety.
Not as bad as when I was drinking.
However, I can live with it a bit more now because I know by stopping drinking and doing everything else I can - eating right, sleeping, being honest, I am doing as much as I can to treat it.

I think some of my anxiety stemmed from the deceit that drinking brought me.
I felt I was not being honest as a person, as a daughter, a partner, a mother, a friend or a sister or an employee when I was drinking heavily.

A lot of the anxiety came from the feeling of living a double life for me.

I think I will always will be naturally anxious.
But as long as I'm doing all I can to help myself, its just something I have to live with.

dancinggirl

My anxiety went away last summer when I had three weeks sober. I normally bring one of my kids with me when I go out as a sort of "buffer", if that makes sense. So I can talk to someone and so that any attention/glances directed at me are minimalized by another person there. When I stopped drinking, I had no qualms about smiling and making eye contact with people again. I'm on day six and already feeling a bit better in this regards.

duane1

Put it this way, it seemed like my kids became more well behaved kids a week after I quit. Also, any night where I didn't pass out from drinking, I would spend the whole night w/ one eye open thinking about death and tragedy. Now I still have some insomnia, but it is just insomnia and doesn't involve depressing and anxiety in my thoughts. I still have some social anxiety though I am aware of it and working on it by doing little things like making sure I look someone in the eyes when I am talking to them. Not too hard to do since most people are terrible at making eye contact.