Day 8 thought id chuck myself out there
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 38
Day 8 thought id chuck myself out there
hello all im chris I live in the west midlands UK ive been using alcohol for the last 4 years to relieve me of my GAD Anxiety and OCD as we know it cures ev at the time comes back with a bang the day after i don't want to take meds which is why ive also decided the sober route
I never woke up and needed a drink and I never hit top shelf stuff
basically id finish work and go to the pub and have 4-6 pints of cider 5% then on the weekend double that, felt great at the time all my anxiety panic went and all the symptoms but its fueling it I know...
i was also depressed whenever my daughter went back home so you guessed it id sit there with a pint or 6
last Monday i quit cold my anxiety symptoms were unbearable
on day 4 -5 i felt quite good minimal anxiety took a lot to bother me.. theres a lot of positives im sleeping well im full of energy also my bowels seem to be returning to normal however not as much is coming out as going in so i presume im constipated
Ive had the best weekend ever with my 6 year old daughter without touching the beer
i just would like to clarify a few things on day 6-7
i feel like im riddled with arthritis it comes and goes during the day
along with a moving headache also theres buzzing under the skin and a host of other symptoms that come and go? is this just my nervous system thinking What the hell?
my resting pulse is calmer than ever
my eyes are returning to a white colour shiny colour which my mom has always sworn by as a great sign of someone
my skin feels awful i feel like someones pulling my face/dry but my dad comes in this morning and says i look 5 years younger it does feel very smooth to touch but not how i feel im drinking loads of water
well im on day 8 now ive saved loads of money i can go to the pub for an hour no probs and drink pop
where do i go from here ? everyone i know there life revolves round socialising and drinking asking them to go to the cinema would cause them to go into shock, i think i need to accept aswell no matter how long ive known them ive hardly heard of any of them since ive stopped drinking
i don't know anyone that does anything different than.. after work pub weekend pub oh lets go for a meal you guessed it curry or pub
thanks chris
I never woke up and needed a drink and I never hit top shelf stuff
basically id finish work and go to the pub and have 4-6 pints of cider 5% then on the weekend double that, felt great at the time all my anxiety panic went and all the symptoms but its fueling it I know...
i was also depressed whenever my daughter went back home so you guessed it id sit there with a pint or 6
last Monday i quit cold my anxiety symptoms were unbearable
on day 4 -5 i felt quite good minimal anxiety took a lot to bother me.. theres a lot of positives im sleeping well im full of energy also my bowels seem to be returning to normal however not as much is coming out as going in so i presume im constipated
Ive had the best weekend ever with my 6 year old daughter without touching the beer
i just would like to clarify a few things on day 6-7
i feel like im riddled with arthritis it comes and goes during the day
along with a moving headache also theres buzzing under the skin and a host of other symptoms that come and go? is this just my nervous system thinking What the hell?
my resting pulse is calmer than ever
my eyes are returning to a white colour shiny colour which my mom has always sworn by as a great sign of someone
my skin feels awful i feel like someones pulling my face/dry but my dad comes in this morning and says i look 5 years younger it does feel very smooth to touch but not how i feel im drinking loads of water
well im on day 8 now ive saved loads of money i can go to the pub for an hour no probs and drink pop
where do i go from here ? everyone i know there life revolves round socialising and drinking asking them to go to the cinema would cause them to go into shock, i think i need to accept aswell no matter how long ive known them ive hardly heard of any of them since ive stopped drinking
i don't know anyone that does anything different than.. after work pub weekend pub oh lets go for a meal you guessed it curry or pub
thanks chris
Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: UK
Posts: 1,042
Hi there and welcome, we're from the same neck of the woods.
well done on 6-7 days, they were by far the hardest for me, hopefully things and especially the physical symptoms will ease up for you soon.
I can't answer most of your questions as I'm really new to all this myself, but there's loads of supportive folk using this site all the time and the wealth of wisdom and experience is really impressive.... just wait and see what answers you get and keep asking.
good luck to you xx
well done on 6-7 days, they were by far the hardest for me, hopefully things and especially the physical symptoms will ease up for you soon.
I can't answer most of your questions as I'm really new to all this myself, but there's loads of supportive folk using this site all the time and the wealth of wisdom and experience is really impressive.... just wait and see what answers you get and keep asking.
good luck to you xx
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 38
thanks for the reply hope your ok im not craving any beer infact I haven't since I decided to stop its the physical symptoms making me feel like im ill when im most likely not haha plus i work on my own so a headache is completely catastrophic where as if someone was speaking to me it dwindles down
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
Welcome.
It feels like all of that and more in the early days - but it really does get better. And better and better and better.
You get reborn in sobriety and you get to discover a whole world of joy, fun, true living, rich experience, emotion, memories and love.
Stick with it!!
It feels like all of that and more in the early days - but it really does get better. And better and better and better.
You get reborn in sobriety and you get to discover a whole world of joy, fun, true living, rich experience, emotion, memories and love.
Stick with it!!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 38
thanks when I went to my OCD therapy and mentioned AA or other people who have been self medicating she wasn't very helpful tbh im going to phone my doctors now, and see where one is could meet new people that way and do different things
oh and I haven't gambled since this either so all good
oh and I haven't gambled since this either so all good
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 38
ive got quite a few hobbies I have my first pilots lesson in a bi plane on sunday so that's good progress ive also planned my next 72 hours so I will take it from there and I have been strictly told to treat myself weekly with some of the money I would have spent I was spending £200 pounds a week on beer plus gambling junk food etc
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,416
Welcome aboard Chris 
I worried a lot about what my life would be like sober too but it really does all turn out in the end. I grew and changed a little and my life grew and changed with me.
Not one of us would still be in recovery if we felt we lost out on the deal
D
I worried a lot about what my life would be like sober too but it really does all turn out in the end. I grew and changed a little and my life grew and changed with me.
Not one of us would still be in recovery if we felt we lost out on the deal
D
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 2,937
Its early days yet for you so don't get too bogged down with how will I feel in the future and what will I do in the future?
Maybe ask yourself too - 'did I go to the pub because I like drinking or did I go because I enjoyed the pub drink or not?
I know some of the socialising places I went to, I went not because I enjoyed them, but because I could drink.
Now if someone asked me to go to the pub with them, I wouldn't be overly excited about it to be honest.
I probably would rather do something else.
I understand it can be difficult when thats what all your friends do.
I think sometimes as we become adults and start drinking, thats our fail safe, easy option, go to activity - 'lets go for a quick drink at the pub'.
It takes little effort to plan.
Its something easy to do.
Others do it too so there is always someone to go with the majority of times.
I know in my first few days and months of night drinking, I had to plan to do other things not related to drinking.
I had to put some effort into finding things to do that passed the time so I wouldn't resort to just going to the pub or the booze shop as it was an easy thing to think of to do.
I did all kinds of things.
Some things were mundane - sorting rubbish out for a car boot, cooking for the freezer, going for a drive, going shopping until later on etc etc. I often went to the cinema on my own.
I did find it a bit sad though once I was out of the daily evening and weekend drinking cycle that I had wasted so many hours sat slumped in front of the television, same spot on the sofa, same drink, same favourite drink.
I realised that drinking made me dull and not extend my horizons.
I accepted a life of sat on the sofa, getting drunk.
I'm glad I put a stop to it in my late 30's and did not carry on until my late 60's.
That would have been so much of a waste.
I think too that if you planned to do something and got engrossed in it, it might take your mind of your health niggles.
You seem to be focusing on your symptoms a lot and perhaps you are worrying a bit too much?
You can google AA meetings and when and where they are held on the internet.
There might be other groups too like rational recovery etc you might want to join?
Remember too, everyday you go without alcohol you will feel better and better.
How you feel now is not how you may feel in 2 weeks, a month, 2 months time.
Lastly, feeling the anxiety and learning to cope with it and resolve it is far better than trying to drink it away instead.
Drinking anxiety away is a short term measure that is never works.
Some of my worst anxiety was the morning after lots of drinks.
So maybe acknowledge your anxious and think I am going to experience this and try and work through it, rather than drink it away.
Acknowledge that you are sad your daughter has gone, but find healthy ways that help you cope with that other than drink.
I wish you the best xx
Maybe ask yourself too - 'did I go to the pub because I like drinking or did I go because I enjoyed the pub drink or not?
I know some of the socialising places I went to, I went not because I enjoyed them, but because I could drink.
Now if someone asked me to go to the pub with them, I wouldn't be overly excited about it to be honest.
I probably would rather do something else.
I understand it can be difficult when thats what all your friends do.
I think sometimes as we become adults and start drinking, thats our fail safe, easy option, go to activity - 'lets go for a quick drink at the pub'.
It takes little effort to plan.
Its something easy to do.
Others do it too so there is always someone to go with the majority of times.
I know in my first few days and months of night drinking, I had to plan to do other things not related to drinking.
I had to put some effort into finding things to do that passed the time so I wouldn't resort to just going to the pub or the booze shop as it was an easy thing to think of to do.
I did all kinds of things.
Some things were mundane - sorting rubbish out for a car boot, cooking for the freezer, going for a drive, going shopping until later on etc etc. I often went to the cinema on my own.
I did find it a bit sad though once I was out of the daily evening and weekend drinking cycle that I had wasted so many hours sat slumped in front of the television, same spot on the sofa, same drink, same favourite drink.
I realised that drinking made me dull and not extend my horizons.
I accepted a life of sat on the sofa, getting drunk.
I'm glad I put a stop to it in my late 30's and did not carry on until my late 60's.
That would have been so much of a waste.
I think too that if you planned to do something and got engrossed in it, it might take your mind of your health niggles.
You seem to be focusing on your symptoms a lot and perhaps you are worrying a bit too much?
You can google AA meetings and when and where they are held on the internet.
There might be other groups too like rational recovery etc you might want to join?
Remember too, everyday you go without alcohol you will feel better and better.
How you feel now is not how you may feel in 2 weeks, a month, 2 months time.
Lastly, feeling the anxiety and learning to cope with it and resolve it is far better than trying to drink it away instead.
Drinking anxiety away is a short term measure that is never works.
Some of my worst anxiety was the morning after lots of drinks.
So maybe acknowledge your anxious and think I am going to experience this and try and work through it, rather than drink it away.
Acknowledge that you are sad your daughter has gone, but find healthy ways that help you cope with that other than drink.
I wish you the best xx
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
Originally Posted by ohwell321 
thanks when I went to my OCD therapy and mentioned AA or other people who have been self medicating she wasn't very helpful tbh im going to phone my doctors now, and see where one is could meet new people that way and do different things
oh and I haven't gambled since this either so all good
oh and I haven't gambled since this either so all good
Counsellors and GPs aren't always very well informed re AA tbh. Thank gawd for the internet hey!
There's an excellent online seach at the top right of the AA UK home page - you just stick in your post code and it'll tell you all your local meetings. If you want specific days you can put them in (or just leave it blank for all days).
AA has really helped me with my anxiety, and generally adapting to Living Sober happily and sanely. I really needed to learn new strategies (other than the 'sod it and get pissed' one that I'd fallen back on for so many years.
Loads of advice and info on here - any questions, just fire away and you'll get lots of responses.
Best of luck
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,492
Good for you for working on your recovery.
I think you're at the point where you see that you need to do more than just stopping drinking. It would be helpful to get involved in activities that don't revolve around alcohol and it would give you a chance to meet new sober people.
I think you're at the point where you see that you need to do more than just stopping drinking. It would be helpful to get involved in activities that don't revolve around alcohol and it would give you a chance to meet new sober people.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 38
thanks for the great replies including sashas......im just taking every 48 hours as they come...my symptoms have diminished ten fold since my original posts, im sure everyones understanding that when you have anxiety your mind can make 1 pain into 12 not nice at the time laughable afterwards...
ive had about 4 comments of "have you lost weight" from people what a good feeling, only 10 days in...
I hope to buy a harris hawk on the weekend and start falconry this will give me a new hobbie as I already live by Cannock chase
ive had about 4 comments of "have you lost weight" from people what a good feeling, only 10 days in...
I hope to buy a harris hawk on the weekend and start falconry this will give me a new hobbie as I already live by Cannock chase
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