babyedwards

I have anxiety, OCD and agoraphobia. I used booze for 6 years from sun up to sun down to manage it. Been sober for about a month now. The racing thoughts and health anxiety are back in full force. I've tried meditation, It doesn't work for me or I'm doing it wrong. I've got clonazepam that I can take but I don't want that to become a crutch. Right now I'm sat here with pressure and dizzyness in my head and the thoughts I am dying. I am fighting not grabbing the vodka to quiet the thoughts. It's so easy to fix and would get rid of these awful feelings and thoughts. I hope everyone is having a better day then I am. Xoxo

HTown

Can you walk around the block or is the agoraphobia too bad? Deep breathing meditation- look on you tube. Read? bubble bath? Vacuum the house, clean. Re-organize a closet. Water the plants. Clean out your purse.

tomsteve

imo, it would be wise to talk with the psycholigist/therapist that diagnosed you with anxiety, OCD and agoraphobia.
or find one that specializes in it.

babyedwards

I think I'm going to go for a little walk down my street. And then I will organize my laundry room. I'm also going to keep checking in here. So I don't feel so alone. Thank you all

LesPaul1993

Vodka will only postpone the symptoms and the result will be worse. While you may have anxiety, OCD, and agoraphobia, focus on what you can do at your own comfort level to distract, divert, and refocus your attention. You mentioned meditation which works just like other diversions. The way some meditate is to sit comfortably with their eyes closed, and to turn their attention to their breathing, noticing how it feels to breathe in and out slowly and deeply. When their attention wanders and they notice that their mind begins to race once again, they gently turn their attention back to their breathing: how it feels; what it sounds like; how relaxing it is. Though attention wanders very frequently initially, over time it wanders less. It is often recommended to meditate for 20 minutes twice a day. Instead of focusing on breath some people use a simple word or phrase that is thought rather than spoken, commonly known as a mantra, to focus attention on. One other form of meditation that there is a lot of available information about on the internet is "mindfulness meditation," which focuses on neutrally observing senses and thoughts without judging or reacting to them.

Sorry if this was tedious but I was struck by your statement that meditation doesn't work for you... It will work for anybody but it's subtle: it doesn't work like an "on off" switch; it works more like a "dimmer" switch and may take a full twenty minute session before one notices anything though done consistently, the results improve over time.

ScottFromWI

I deal with anxiety and OCD and the "fire hose" of thoughts that goes on in my brain sometimes. For me it's taken several years and lots of different things, but the things I still do that seem to work the best are

1. Counseling
2. Mindfulness/meditation
3. Some exercise every day
4. Reduction of sugar/caffiene consumption
5. Getting enough sleep
6. Spending time here on SR talking about it with others

Pathwaytofree

Meditation.

Start with 10 seconds or however long you can tolerate. Build up to 5-10 minutes a day.

Try a guided meditation to start with. Focus on your breath.

JamesfrmEngland

Google Acceptance and Committment Therapy, it helps me

Anna

As Scott said, having a routine plan could be very helpful.

I also rely on good books and good music to help distract and calm my mind.

Chilledice

Oh gosh I hear ya on that, just want my brain to shut it's mouth!

Ever heard of floating? Where you just float through your emotions and let them pass in by?

P.S take your medication if it's prescribed.

babyedwards

Thank you everyone. I will look into meditation again and give it another shot and be sure to keep up on my medications. Really glad this forum is around. I don't know what I would do. Xoxoxo

columbus

If you have a computer and speakers (or maybe just earplugs) def. do a youtube search on meditation/guided meditation/stop-drinking meditations, etc.

And also just calming music.

TONS of stuff out there!

babyedwards

Will do. Thank you 😊

ZenButterfly

I find that vigorous exercise helps me.... also you could try yoga. Don't give up on the meditation, it takes practice.

Linners820

Yeah, meditation can be very tough for many. For me, I have such difficulty focusing and quieting my mind (anxiety and slight ADD here) that I've found it not really helpful, least of all when I'm really worked up. Mindfulness has worked much better, and I also agree with the comment about cleaning or organizing something...that helps me too.

Wholesome

I had those racing thoughts and anxiety in early sobriety too. I found exercise very helpful. I also went to counseling and found coming on here to talk to people helped. Stay strong! It gets better, it really does. You're doing great.