ozm8ey

Hello to me anxiety and alcohol voice are quite similar. Anxiety likes to tell you lies and makes you feel like you cant do anything. Alcohol voice likes you tell you lies also buts makes excuses for you to drink, like last time about a week ago when i tried to quit it was friday night and it told me its friday night and just drinking tonight will do no harm but after that night I started to drink again. What do you guys think?

VigilanceNow

Hi Oz. For me, anxiety and alcohol have always gone hand in hand. Anxiety is a well-documented side effect of excessive alcohol consumption, and often that leads those of us with the alcoholic voice to drink more to ease the anxiety. It truly is a vicious cycle. Alcohol makes me feel invincible for a brief time, when in fact we all know in reality it does exactly the opposite.

If you have anxiety, definitely address that issue as it exacerbates the vicious cycle of bingeing with alcohol. You can pick yourself up again after a relapse!! :-)

Dee74

Hi OzMa8ey

There were very similar for me except that my negative self talk which fuelled my anxiety was me trying to tear myself down and my AV was mostly fuelled by me trying to kid myself that I deserved a drink and that this time would be different.

I'm glad I stopped listening to both of them

D

PeacefulWater12

They went hand in hand with me too. I learnt to take no notice. To recognise those thoughts and let them float by and leave.

hpdw

Your post sums up a lifetime pattern I had . With understanding how this cycle perpetuates comes freedom .

joandmelandhan

Yes! There's a nasty little insidious voice which wants me back in the clutches of alcohol and failing that wants me to be a sad lonely person who achieves nothing. It took me a while sober to start connecting the 2. I've kind of assumed that it gets no luck hitting me with lies about alcohol so tries to grind me down to feeling so bad about myself that eventually I'll crack.
I personally believe a dying addiction will try anything. Absolutely any dirty trick to grind us down. Masquerading as anxiety, depression, fear, allsorts......
I have a healthy scepticism of my "own" thoughts.
No I don't need a morning in bed
No I don't need the whole cake
Yes a shower and teeth clean will make me feel better
No people don't hate me
Etc etc......
For me the voices all add up to the same and I'm wise to them.....

FreeOwl

I've definitely seen a relationship between the two.

My anxious voice whispering almost unconsciously to me "you're not good enough, you're a failure, people won't accept you, they're laughing at you..."

My Addictive Voice whispering, almost unconsciously; "No problem. A little booze and a couple lines and you'll be AWESOME".

They worked in tandem.... though the one created the other...... the booze and the drugs beating me down and further convincing me of my worthlessness..... the worthlessness whispering my shame..... the Addictive Voice bringing the "Solution".

Insidious.

My Addictive Voice is gone now. My anxious voice is still with me. But my response today is to notice it, to breathe, to address it: "Ah. You're feeling anxious. That's ok. That's human. You're going to be OK. It's OK to feel anxious. It's normal. People might not like you. That's OK, too. People are people. Some will like you, some won't. Some will see your value, some may not. Either way, you'll still be OK. This isn't real danger, it's only negative thought. Thought can't hurt you. I'm here with you. And regardless what anyone else thinks - I Love You. I Value You. I'm with you."

We don't need to be controlled by the Addictive Voice..... even if we still have the Anxious Voice...

joandmelandhan

Wonderful post Freeowl

shortstop81

That's some good insight, and I have experienced the same things with anxiety and my alcoholic voice. They both represent warped thinking - which unfortunately, leads to unhealthy, self-defeating behaviours.

Both voices are still within me, but thankfully are getting quieter and easier to ignore. But left unchecked, experience has taught me that they can come back with a VENGEANCE.