Drinking Problem or General Anxiety?
 

I'm sitting good at day 34 since I quit drinking. Anxiety is the only problem ive been having. The title read "Drinking Problem or General Anxiety" because I'm beginning to ask myself that. Reason I'm asking myself is since I've quit I haven't really craved beer. Last night, I went out to the bar with some of my friends and had no problem drinking coke. People would offer me beer and it wouldn't bother me to say no thanks I quit. After I left I felt good and slept peacefully.

I started drinking heavily after losing my childhood dream job. It last for about 5-6 months of heavy drinking. Always would have anxiety from being jobless with bills coming in. Almost kind of like self medicating with the alcohol. Does that make sense to anyone? Maybe I'm thinking too hard :gaah

I really do think this place saved me from going full blown hardcore though! The reason I quit wasn't health or relationship problems nothing like that. I literally woke up one morning and said you know I'm kinda tired of this. So I quit. Blood sugar was alittle off around the usual drinking time but has since lined out. Ill have an anxiety attack whenever I miss a workout or something like that. I've always had anxiety just think it took a nose dive when I lost my job. Any thoughts??!:herewego

Hi Addmik!

You can have both problems at the same time. ;)

If you develop the habit of medicating your anxiety with alcohol, alcohol first becomes your main coping mechanism, then your only one, then your addiction. (If that hasn't already happened.)

I suggest you continue to cut out the alcohol completely and try to deal with your anxiety in a healthier way. Then, either you won't want to drink anymore -- or you still will, and you can ask yourself then, is alcohol a problem for you on its own?

For me, alcoholism was a symptom. It was a symptom caused by my underlying anxiety/depression. I began to use alcohol to self-medicate. The result was that I became an alcoholic and still had the anxiety/depression to deal with.

For alcoholics, stopping the drinking is necessary, but it often involves a lot more than that.

It's good that you've stopped drinking, and hopefully now you can begin to deal with your anxiety issues.

For me, it's kind of like the whole chicken and egg debate.

Did my anxiety come first? Or was it my drinking that came first and then caused the anxiety and depression? Hard to say. All I know is, after 25 years of heavy alcohol abuse - I am in general a depressed and anxious person who needs medication.

I always had anxiety first. I could stress myself out so bad I would be running to set on the pot. Before drinking I would always have to runs. Now I get that and anxiety attacks crazy enough.

It sounds like both. You acknowledge anxiety led to heavy drinking, and I've read that there is a kind of rebound effect during detox that can last days, weeks, even months. In other words, the anxiety can be worse for awhile in early sobriety and then tends to level out. I sure hope so. I'm six weeks sober and lately having a few great days alternating with one or two rough ones. I'm emerging from a couple of rough ones and right now just feeling exhausted.

I had crippling anxiety before my drinking went off the rails. I had anxiety at a young teenager, before I even had a drink.

Me too xxx

Yes, I had anxiety before drinking. It was at its peak when I used to have to speak in meetings or make presentations at work. Unfortunately alcohol was like a wonder drug and made all the anxiety go away and it took many years for me to realise it was making things worse. It doesn't matter what came first. If you struggle with anxiety, then drinking will send you through the roof.

It helps to tackle these things separately. You can't learn how to cope with anxiety while you're still drinking because you need to find a different solution. The problem is that if you ever get to a point where you feel your anxiety is under control and you decide to start drinking again your brain won't forget how to process the amount you were previously drinking, which will mean you will quickly be back where you started, which may trigger some anxiety... and the whole vicious cycle starts again. These things don't exist in a vacuum, they feed off one another. And although we can really on reasonably tackle one thing at a time we have to be careful about how they effect one another x

Hi Addmik19, First congratulations on your time and making the decision!

I'm hoping this post will help you to see your post in a different light. The alcoholic brain (or a brain that has a drinking problem) can do amazing things. It functions more mysteriously than anything that I've witnessed. The further you get away from the last drink and the day you commit to sobriety the more true this is. It will make you see things in an entirely different light and perceive things in any manner that's necessary to question the decision that you made. It will create reasons and distort things that will have you believing that it really wasn't that big of a deal. It sounds like that may be what's beginning with you.

In your post you're saying

This is your first post:

I get what you're saying about wondering if where you had anxiety issues anyway regardless of the drinking, you're questioning if the anxiety that you have now is due to really having a drinking problem or is it just that you're anxious.

Regardless of the usual anxiety, if it caused you what it did the first week that you quit (a living hell), then there's a problem. A month later you're wondering if you really have a problem. Only you can answer that question but it's helpful to look at those past posts. I do that all the time when my mind starts to tell me that I've made it this far and seem to be ok.

Never forget that first post, it will help you to reflect when those questions come up. Honesty with yourself is key.

You can do this! Recognize those questions for what they are. It doesn't always feel this way and when you get past all of this you'll see these feelings for what they are. That, and living is BETTER!

It's crazy how fast the human brain forgets pain! I'm going to stick with sobriety. I feel alot better without the beer. I do miss the taste of beer. Won't lie. But don't miss the feelings! Or the beer gut! Thanks everyone!

:c011:

THAT is how you stay sober :) You CAN do this and that response proves it!

Hey I & maybe others would love to read about the rebound effect during detox,that you mentioned! If you would please post a link or send in a private message,thanks a lot been wondering about this end of things every day over here !