Accord1

Ive noticed something since i quit drinking. Many people that i deal with on a daily basis; no actually everbody i deal with irritate me much more than before. It can be minor things or can be everything about them. Im guessing it is two things. One is i was blinded by their behavior because my brain was clouded by sauce, two is ive just become an ornery former drunk. Dont want to think this way; its a waste of time and energy and makes me feel like a negative person. However, ive come to realize that its become automatic. It is probably all the things that i was doing wrong before that i am judging people on now. Either way, more people should use common sense more often lol

Dee74

Actually, remembering back, I was the problem, not really other people

I think its easy for us to become irritated in early recovery - giving up booze isn't easy - there's a whole load of mental physical and chemical stuff going on.

I always tried to remember that it was very unlikely people were going out of their way to annoy me or be annoying

I don't think there's much fear of you staying this way - things will settle down and until that happens, if you're aware of it, you can definitely try and take it into consideration when you're annoyed

D

Nonsensical

Probably 2 - but the good news: it probably isn't permanent.

Turns out that persistent alcohol use is bad for survival. Homo Erectus that sat around lethargically got eaten by saber tooth tigers. When the brain is persistently subdued by alcohol it starts producing anxiety-causing stimulants (so you're more likely to notice you're being hunted by saber tooth tigers).

Then you stop drinking.

But your brain is still producing anxiety-causing stimulants. The result is irritability. Mine lasted about 90 days. Your mileage may vary.

Best of Luck on Your Journey!

August252015

I was mad and tired and frustrated and plenty of worse things when I quit. Life irritated me quite often. One day, I remember getting furious at he SUN for blinding me when driving. So people themselves were certainly out to bother me too, clearly.

That changed as my mind sobered up and I started working a program. Getting away from the I, the thoughts of me first, the reality that people just aren't thinking about me....began to sink in.

So much can change as we go along in recovery. Keep going. Turns out. I am a pretty sweet and thoughtful person now according to most people...

Gerard52

Sounds like you need some dolphin or whale sound tracks.

eyes99

People suck. They just do.


But..:they’re also great and we need them. You’ll get over this phase. For me, what annoyed me about other people was stuff that I hadn’t dealt with within myself. Basically, all of the “growing up” that Injad put on hold while drinking. Think of a teenager - they’re frequently annoyed, right? But that feeling is usually coming because they have more complicated emotions brewing underneath that they don’t know how to handle. The same can be true when you stop drinking. So, I’d just ride it out, and pay attention to why you’re getting annoyed. What is it about the situation that’s actually bothering you? My mom has told me since I was a child that just because you have a negative emotion doesn’t mean that it’s the other person’s fault. I’ve found that to be true. You’ve got this!

Gottalife

It seems irritabilty can be a precursor to relapse. The statement "They become restless, irritable, and discontent until they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort that comes with taking a few drinks, drinks they see others taking with impunity"

I think that was pretty much how I was. I didn't find sobriety much fun, I became unhappy and dissatisfied quite rapidly, and a drink began to look like a great idea. And it usually was for the first three or four. After that it became problematic.

tekink

I was really irritable in early sobriety and I'm typically very calm. It went away with time.

lessgravity

Ever read Man's Search for Meaning? Written by a doctor whose entire family besides his sister was killed during the holocaust - tells about his experiences there etc.

I mention it not as a "people have harder lives than you do" line - hate that way of thinking (thanks mom!). Instead what Frankl identifies is where personal FREEDOM lies - it exists in the space between stimuli and response. That area, where we can make a decision about how we will react to the world, is the area where we are humans and not animals. We don't have to "react" to everything - sad, happy, annoying, painful - like an animal - instead we can choose how we react. Frankl identified this ability while enduring the absolute worst of what humans also can do.

It's something that, since getting sober, I remind myself of. Freedom is the space between the world and how we react to it.

August252015

Gottalife makes an important point. As I have gone along in recovery, it has been crucial to shift from that thinking of its normal to be irritated now, on to examining (and first acknowledging) when I am indeed "irritable, restless, and discontent." Then I need to do something about it, making it about me as the problem not someone or something else.

Atlast9999

I was very mad at everything for the first month. I’m almost at 3 months and the anger has settled down. It still pops up here and there but I’ve started to be able to stop and think before I react. I was never able to do that before. Learning how to cope with my feelings is a new process for me but it is getting easier. Hang in there.