LaFemme

Lol

Read an article recently about how women are vastly more prone to anxiety than men, its societies fault, so now you have someone to blame

I know when I drank I was consumed with anxiety...when I got sober I had to work on that although it definitely got better just removing the alcohol. Today I am actually able to confront my anxiety...it ain't easy but I can do it.

Xoxo, my names not LaFemme

Lipitor

Anxiety ...Hmmmmmmm. what a powerful thing it is.

Irrational fear.

L

OklaBH

Missy- LOL I love Black Swan. I have to drink a lot to be that crazy. I guess theres hope huh?

You have a huge heart and you know you need to do this! Alcohol beat me a$$. I was arrogant enough to think I could just quit and be ok. Ive several months into AA and Ive just begun to scratch the surface. I can see why they say one day at a time and that this is a life long process.

My best to you White Swan!

keithj

Anxiety was a symptom of my alcoholism, and nothing scratched that itch like getting wasted. Alcohol was a perfect solution to alcoholism.

I couldn't get rid of the symptoms until I had treated the cause. Not drinking did nothing to treat the cause, it just exacerbated the symptoms of anxiety and depression for me.

For many people, the days just keep getting better when they quit drinking. Feel better, look better, outlook on life is better. But for many of us alcoholics, the days just get worse. And inevitably, we pick up a drink again.

Until that underlying dis-ease was treated (AA 12 Steps for me), the symptoms of my alcoholism owned me.

SSIL75

This was my experience, too. I thought a lot of things about myself actually that really don't seem to be true anymore now that I'm sober. That I'm anxious, highly strung etc. I guess I'm a little highly strung but I wouldn't say it's an defining characteristic anymore.

To answer your question though I don't get sick of people doing what you're doing. You're a lot further ahead than I was at that stage!

newby1961

Thinking that drinking is the cure all for anxiety is just your disease messing w/ur mind. I was told that till I had 6 months behind my belt there was no way to tell if the anxiety was real or if it was just part of the withdrawl symptoms.

I had to many negative consequences due to my using that I could never look at it like it would solve my problems.

BTW my name is not newby1961:rotfxko

ItWillBeWorthIt

Missy, I hope you are having a better day.

Anxiety was pre-existing for me -- I had it off and on most of my adult life. I didn't have to drink to have it. However when I started drinking again, the anxiety was VERY bad and I did drink thinking it would help. It just make it worse.

After I quit drinking the anxiety lessened to a reasonable level in approx. 10 days and got better and better from there. I have been working really hard during my sobriety to find ways to deal with panic attacks and anxiety in general and have made huge progress. I hope the same for you... the most important thing is not to pick up a drink; it really doesn't solve anything. It may seem like it short-term... but play the tape through.

I would speak to your doctor Missy - it never hurts. There are also groups available so you can talk with other experiencing anxiety. Just a thought and there is a thread on this board about anxiety and ways to cope.

My real name is "It Will be Worth It"... don't know what my parents were thinking, they must have been trying to convince themselves that raising me would be worth it. So I better prove to them it was. Therefore, I will continue using the tools I have learned during my recovery to prove to them it was. :rotfxko

Missy7

Last night was so hard, and I know tonight will be harder. We will make cuts in our applicant pool. Can you imagine? There are very few jobs like this. We will use our best intentions but most of the applicants 220 of them, are qualified. Many, perhaps 50, would surely be lovely. We will send second round questions to 15 of them. We will hire one. How can I walk out of that meeting and not feel guilty?

I am going to look for a noon meeting. I tried a meeting this morning but there were only two men in the room (I could see from the parking lot) and I panicked. I need there to be a few people to take up the slack and I think it needs to be a women's meeting. Maybe that will help. That, and I think I'll pick up something gorgeous and complex on the way home and make Phil a nice dinner. He has carried the whole load this whole time. Then I'll quilt or something.

Thanks y'all. See ya soon.

Missy7

Okay guys. I love the name thing. But to clarify, I didn't think I was surprising anyone using a handle, heck, my first CB handle, in like, 1975, was Squelch.

I had been thinking about how unladylike it is to talk about wanting to drink and I realized I had chosen this silly girlie handle. There's something going on there that I don't quite have a "handle" on. I barrel race, drive alternately a small car and a pick up truck, I might be wearing high heels or cowboy boots, I will happily walk into a restaurant with mud on my jeans, I cannot use the remote control, but I belly up to the bar and order whiskey like John Wayne--maybe even cooler. Gender and alcohol. Is there a thread?

least

I know I got very tired of my constant relapsing, when I wanted to stay sober. It wasn't until I started being grateful for my blessings that I could stay sober and be happy with it.

Dee74

You could start a thread like that Missy - may be interesting

My chosen name is actually D(ee) - but a lot of you Americans assume I'm a woman... LOL

D

guyinyvr

Anxiety for me came from a lot of different places and has for a long time and I guess I just used multiple ways to try and work through it as I am just a month from my last relapse. It confounds me why I give up the serenity even a few weeks away from a binge....and doubt i am alone in what I read

A combination of support , meds , meditation , self care , awareness of HALT , AA and counseling helped me to this point since the last binge was after my mom's death. Silly to think the sorrow and grieving would be better using....once I saw the tell tale signs of the past though it was straight for help ...I knew I was in over my own head and my own will is not enough ...

Just my $0.02 and today I feel calm , strong , and reselient.....tomorrow is another 24 and if I find myself falling , get myself help...even right here on SR

JohnBarleycorn

Sometimes it's best not to count days.

Even though you may not believe it at the moment, I have full faith in your capacity to permanently recover, if that is what you desire.

Ignore anyone and everyone who suggests otherwise.

FrothyJay

My real name is not FrothyJay.

It's not even Jay.

Frothy comes from "Frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices"-- one of my favorite lines from the Big Book-- and Jay comes from the jaywalker who kept walking in front of buses.

Clever, ain't I?

fulminouscherub

I used to drink and have anxiety issues. Now I'm almost 3 years sober and still have anxiety issues. I just no longer drink while I deal with them. It was hard at first but it gets easier with practice.

Instead, I work to change what is bothering me or if it isn't something I can change, I try to change my response to it. I pray a lot.

Anna

Missy, as far as gender and alcohol, my personal experience is that female alcoholics face more backlash and discrimination than male alcoholics. It's less socially acceptable for women to be drunk, than men.