Erinleigh03

Wpainterw - your story sounds like my current situation. Just Wednesday night I had been on a binge and the second I laid down my anxiety kicked in. Constant state of worry and panic...but I really couldn't figure out what I was so panicked about. I worried myself into being physically I'll and spent three hours throwing up. I just can't do this to myself anymore. I'm so tired of blacking out and waking up to a massive headache and stomach ache. Followed by throwing up in the bathroom. My entire life is suffering and I feel as if I could lose it all very quickly.

Anna

I hope and believe you will find your anxiety will diminish when you stop drinking. Like you, I began to spiral out of control with anxiety when I drank. It was so hard to deal with. I'm glad you're going to talk to a counsellor and your dr.

wpainterw

Erinleigh: The anxiety is probably a result of a bunch of things, including developing alcoholism. The booze very likely makes any medication you take less effective and may very well create risk if you combine medication with booze. So it's going to be a big assignment and it sounds like you really need good professional help and also help by linking up with other recovering alcoholics, preferably some with a track record of sobriety and a past history of anxiety. You can probably find them at meetings of various sorts, AA or otherwise. Just speak up and raise the anxiety issue. If you can get a handle on the addiction, stop the drinking, you will probably see improvement in the anxiety. Look at it this way. Maybe something in your brain, desperately wanting alcohol because your whole chemistry has changed, along with some changes in neurology, something in your brain creates anxiety so as to get you to self medicate with booze, like a voice saying, "Maybe a drink or two will make things better...." And this creates a "loop" because the drink ends up by making things worse, more anxiety, more drinking, etc. The object is to find a way to break the cycle and for that you need professional help.
After I got well into sobriety I ceased to have anxiety attacks. Haven't had one for 24 years.

W.

Mizzuno

About these cravings at 4pm. I noticed, for myself, that i needed to make sure that i wasnt hungry. I needed to look at my mood, was i angry? Was i tired? These cravings will pass and they will lessen in intensity after awhile. If we have a routine and that routine is interrupted there is discomfort. What if you checked into this forum when the cravings hit? Reaching out and talking about it has always helped me and hopefully it will continue to help.
Im glad that you are helping yourself through this process. It gives way for others to help you along the way. Keep posting and stay close. Thank you for sharing.

DisplacedGRITS

i had a lot of panic, anxiety and feelings of impending doom when i first quit drinking. it was so horrible. i'd be okay then suddenly just this massive attack of "holy sh*t! something awful is going to happen/is happening/has happened!" i didn't know what it was or why but i just felt it. impending doom. the only thing that kept me sane was hearing that it was "normal." are you kidding me? but so many people said it was. i was pretty sure there wasn't a "Lie to Lisa" meeting in the chat room that afternoon so i went with it. you'll find that many of your anxieties will lessen with continued sobriety. the rest will become more manageable with help from your outside resources and what you continue to learn through sobriety. as long as you stay away from the false sense of security that drinking gives you, you'll find a more stable, sustainable way of managing yourself.