Anxiety
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2019
Posts: 15
Anxiety
Hi All,
Will be sober 5 months on January 3 and all is going great with one exception. I’ve been an avid skier since I was about 11 years old and worked as a ski instructor in high school. I took a hiatus for several years after college and started skiing again in my early 30’s. At this point I would typically have a flask and take shots on the chairlift so I had a low level buzz most of the time. No issues.
Now I’m sober and experience near panic attacks when I ride a ski lift which hasn’t been an issue before. It’s a combination of the heights and lack of control like once I’m on I don’t have the choice to get off until the top almost like a claustrophobia, It’s crazy weird. Trying to see if other people have had similar experiences in early sobriety and any advice is welcome!
Will be sober 5 months on January 3 and all is going great with one exception. I’ve been an avid skier since I was about 11 years old and worked as a ski instructor in high school. I took a hiatus for several years after college and started skiing again in my early 30’s. At this point I would typically have a flask and take shots on the chairlift so I had a low level buzz most of the time. No issues.
Now I’m sober and experience near panic attacks when I ride a ski lift which hasn’t been an issue before. It’s a combination of the heights and lack of control like once I’m on I don’t have the choice to get off until the top almost like a claustrophobia, It’s crazy weird. Trying to see if other people have had similar experiences in early sobriety and any advice is welcome!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 104
Hi RPM and congrats on 5 months.
I don't have advice as such but I can relate. I feel the same when flying which is quite ironic since I jumped out of a plane 20 years ago on purpose mind you!!
For me I love to travel and sometimes flying is the only option, hopefully your love of skiing will be enough motivation.
I think it's normal to feel uneasy when we have no control, especially when we're used to self medicating.
I don't have advice as such but I can relate. I feel the same when flying which is quite ironic since I jumped out of a plane 20 years ago on purpose mind you!!
For me I love to travel and sometimes flying is the only option, hopefully your love of skiing will be enough motivation.
I think it's normal to feel uneasy when we have no control, especially when we're used to self medicating.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 324
I suffer from anxiety, and always have done. Obviously I can't comment on your circumstances, but I know that many alcoholics are anxious people who use alcohol to self-medicate. Alternatively it could be Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS).
Blue Belt
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Soberville, USA
Posts: 4,174
the legal answer is see a dr.
but...in my experience...
i had hellish paranoia for well over 6 months and it now has lessened to pretty much 0.
It lasted a long long long time and i believe it is a reason folks end up on meds. I suffered through using all sorts of otc products and www info. I bought the audio book, from panic to power. it helped.
my paranoia went a way, but I believe it will return if i relapse. so, i never will drink again.
my dad called me paranoid once. he is pretty honest. i actually didn't drive on the free way for around 6 months and had trouble driving over the speed limit and also at night.
all of this went away, but it took the better part of my sober time. it wasn't that i healed as much as i got used to feeling freakish and then it went away.
booze fried my brain. i had to learn to live with what is left.
none of this is officially diagnosed as this would alter my life dramatically.
all of this is simply the world according to D122y.
hope this helps you understand you are not alone and that it has been done, so far, without a dr's help.
thanks for the therapy.
but...in my experience...
i had hellish paranoia for well over 6 months and it now has lessened to pretty much 0.
It lasted a long long long time and i believe it is a reason folks end up on meds. I suffered through using all sorts of otc products and www info. I bought the audio book, from panic to power. it helped.
my paranoia went a way, but I believe it will return if i relapse. so, i never will drink again.
my dad called me paranoid once. he is pretty honest. i actually didn't drive on the free way for around 6 months and had trouble driving over the speed limit and also at night.
all of this went away, but it took the better part of my sober time. it wasn't that i healed as much as i got used to feeling freakish and then it went away.
booze fried my brain. i had to learn to live with what is left.
none of this is officially diagnosed as this would alter my life dramatically.
all of this is simply the world according to D122y.
hope this helps you understand you are not alone and that it has been done, so far, without a dr's help.
thanks for the therapy.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: California
Posts: 13,031
Jumping off the ski lift has always caused me to panic, maybe it’s because the first time I went skiing was in my 20s with friends and nobody told me they didn’t stop it to let me off so I had to jump what seemed like ten feet, but was probably about 2-3.
I definitely still deal with anxiety in life though and have found breathing techniques work well, maybe some 4x4 breathing as you’re on the lift. My son has anxiety and a few other things that he sees a therapist for and one of the things she’s working with him on is fear. He will freak out about things like walking down the stairs alone. He started putting on a heavy blanket and running down the stairs because he was afraid a bad personal would be down there. It sounds simple, but she asked him “How many times do you think you’ve gone up and down the stairs in your house?” The answer was probably thousands. She then asked him how many times has there been a bad person there, and the answer was none. So she’s working with him on Is it likely or unlikely that something bad will happen. Maybe you can apply that to your ski lift scenario. Think about how many times you have successfully gotten off the lift.
I definitely still deal with anxiety in life though and have found breathing techniques work well, maybe some 4x4 breathing as you’re on the lift. My son has anxiety and a few other things that he sees a therapist for and one of the things she’s working with him on is fear. He will freak out about things like walking down the stairs alone. He started putting on a heavy blanket and running down the stairs because he was afraid a bad personal would be down there. It sounds simple, but she asked him “How many times do you think you’ve gone up and down the stairs in your house?” The answer was probably thousands. She then asked him how many times has there been a bad person there, and the answer was none. So she’s working with him on Is it likely or unlikely that something bad will happen. Maybe you can apply that to your ski lift scenario. Think about how many times you have successfully gotten off the lift.
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