wantmylifeback2

I am at 11 days sober today and physically I feel great! I've been working out everyday and eating right. The only issue is I have serious anxiety. I find I am rethinking EVERYTHING and obsessing about everything. The last two nights I have had to take melatonin to finally sleep. I don't like to ever take anything for sleeping but the obsessive thoughts running through my head were making it impossible for me to fall asleep. The crazy thing is I'm obsessing about things that happened years ago (when I was drinking of course) with people I don't talk to anymore and haven't seen in years. secondly, I am picking apart every part of my day and convincing myself I have made an ass of myself. Has anyone else gone through this? How long does it last? UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!

Jupiters

oh yah - been there, still have those moments. Replaying the things I did/said when drinking, like a broken record.
I like the poem we read at meetings called "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow"...it seems to (temporarily) stall those obsessive thoughts. I wish I had an answer for when it stops. LOL if you find out, feel free to share!

(ps - I'm sure you're NOT making an ass of yourself, that's just our paranoid selves )

wpainterw

want my life back:
It lasts for different periods depending on the person, but it does get better if you only hang in there. You say you don't want to take anything for sleeping and that's O.K. but sometimes doctors can help with this. It's a tough time you're going through but countless others have done it and you can too. Keep posting here. We're rooting for you and are here to help in any way we can.

W.

nomis

I remember my symptoms peaking around 10 days to 2 weeks, and then SLOWLY getting better. Sobriety is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep on the path and things will improve.

LBrain

I think most of us go through some sort of self-analyzing when we get sober. I'm not into the 12 step thing, but it may be something that can help you get through this.
The main thing is to not let these thoughts ruin your outlook. Take them as experience and to solidify your resolve to not drink.
Focus more on the here and now. Get yourself grounded in sobriety moving forward. Don't let all of your past miseries and mistakes take you down. It happened. It's over. And there is nothing you can do about it but accept it. In time when you have a solid foundation of sobriety you can revisit these thoughts and come up with a plan to make it right in some way. We can't undo the physical damage but we can do our best to try to overcome the emotional wreckage of our past.

Hang in there. Worry about today. Don't lose sleep over something you have no control over - the past.

totfit

Sounds like you are doing two good things and that is working out and eating right. I have these thoughts also at times. You could be diagnosed with some type of mood disorder, but I prefer to just call it the "human condition". If this continues you could always see about getting some therapy or seeing a Doctor. I used Melatonin myself last night due to some obsessive thinking, life stuff.

Short answer is that you should get some relief from current stuff. It may still be attributed to post acute withdrawal. Normally for me it lasts about two weeks, but I still have stuff from time to time and in February finally started to see someone after a couple of day lapse that was legally costly. Haven't had an issue with drinking since anyway, but that is part of my deal. Sober for months to a year plus then lapse.

Just don't give up. Focus on the current events in your life. Read a book. Watch a movie. I have found reading helps a lot. Course I sometimes have to re-read things until the book blocks out the thinking.

One thing just about guaranteed is that no matter how you feel now, it will get better or worse and what we put into it has the predominate influence on which way it goes.

pavaoiztarza

What did the thoughts say exactly ?