ExhaustedPigeon

I know it's different for everyone but I just need to know that this "down" feeling is related to withdrawal or post acute withdrawal and is going to pass in the not so distant future. I don't even know WHY I feel sad I just do. I'm not a crier and have cried more in the past two days than I think I have in the past year.
I have drank fairly heavily for the past 3 years and have attempted quitting several times. I made it two weeks a few months ago and I don't recall feeling this odd. Not sure why it's so much worse this time???

Walking is the only thing that is helping but as soon as I'm done I'm back to feeling blue. I walk and walk and walk, whenever I get just a few minutes to myself. Yesterday and the day before I walked 8 miles over the course of the day. I'm so tired of this rollercoaster and I'm only an hour into day 5.

To top it off, I'm having insomnia tonight. I never do well with little sleep so I am thoroughly dreading the day ahead of me. It is 1:19 AM here now. :-/

I just want to feel better!!!

Mags1

Hi EP, you're right, it is different for all of us but after all the abuse I'd given to my body with alcohol it took around 2/3 months to start feeling ok.
Thing is, I was logging the sober days up too, so I got some light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm pleased you've found something to dispel the withdrawal. Walking sounds a brilliant way to get through this, though it may not seem like it now.

GaryB1

Hi, the physical effects and heightened emotions of withdrawal lasted about a week for me and I was an all day every day drinker for years. It was offset by the freedom I felt at being free from drinking forever. I knew that I would never drink again and that the withdrawals were just a temporary state that would pass

Soberwolf

What's in your recovery plan ?

ExhaustedPigeon

I don't really have a "plan" put together other than telling myself every day "today, I don't drink".

So far I'm not really wanting to drink at all... just wanting to feel normal/better. Not enjoying the struggle at all. (But who does?!)

jaynie04

EP...you are doing great!!! This is the hardest part, we get so accustomed to reaching for something to change or escape from our mood. There is a saying "don't do something, just sit there". Your brain is working furiously right now behind the scenes. The good news is that the rebuilding has begun. We are physically wired to repeat habits, the amazing thing is that what feels awful is actually really, really good.

You are forcing your brain to alter it's circuitry. Our neurotransmitters and neural pathways become accustomed to being attenuated by alcohol.

Here is an excellent article about the process:https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publicati...22-1/13-24.pdf

It helped me to understand where I was in the cycle and know that I was at least going in the right direction. I grappled with feeling bleak and dismal, and i felt alone and lost without my crutch at first. I truly felt like an alien being amongst humans for the first few months. I had built my life up around drinking so without it I felt naked. Treat yourself like a newborn. The feelings you have mean things are happening. And please don't hesitate to enlist the help of a doctor or therapist, preferably one knowledgeable in addiction. Keep going, you are doing great!

Pianoman61

Hey Pigeon,

Glad you are hanging in there, you are doing great. Like you I have not really been craving alcohol. Unlike you my withdrawal symptoms have not been emotional, but were pretty physical for a while. My understanding is on average it is 10 days for the initial detox to happen. After that there is post acute withdrawal systems and they can vary in duration depending on the person but I understand it is not as severe as what you are dealing with now. The main thing is it WILL get better and this is not your new normal by any sense. That being said I am here with 5 days under by belt so those with more insight might correct me.

Jaynie - A few days ago you mentioned this rewiring on another thread and it really helped make things click with me. In my tiny understanding of things this would mean the initial detox would end the physical addiction but afterwards we end up struggling during the much longer process of rewiring.

Anyways, back on topic - Go Pigeon Go !! Nobody can say how long exactly this emotional stage will last but it will end and hopefully taper soon.

PM

August252015

Most of us find a plan, a program of action necessary - and for me, enjoyable- to get and stay sober. Mine is AA - there are other suggestions around here.

Wanting, hoping, trying - these are all passive verbs, IMO and they need to be replaced with action verbs.

You can get through this early part and you can enjoy a good- even wonderful, IME- life in sobriety.

It isn't always easy and IME it needs daily nourishment - and it is beyond worth it.

Hope to see you around.

Zufrieden

I knew that I would never drink again and that the withdrawals were just a temporary state that would pass[/QUOTE]

Amen to this. I just made it through first week of the second serious quit of my life. It is only a bit over a week but the worst has passed. Even if the worst took longer, or re-rears its angry head, it is still temporary and it will ultimately lead to much better things.

Hang in there.

Jonathan

Dee74

How are things now EP?

D

Pianoman61

Hey Pigeon,

Everything OK?

least

It's common in withdrawal to feel emotionally up and down. Give yourself more sober time before you start feeling better. It took you a while drinking to get to this point, it'll take you a while to get out of it. It will pass.