comingdown

So I have pretty much always drank at night to calm down and go to sleep. However I have recently started a new job that is putting an extreme amount of pressure/stress on me. As a result I have started drinking more to de-stress. Well now it is all I know how to get to sleep or calm down after a particularly stressfull day. I used to wait until it got dark to drink but now I rush home to start drinking. been going on about 6 months.

I am now drinking so much that I am going through withdrawal everyday which adds to my anxiety/stress. So I found what I believe is a good strategy to come down off of alcohol, basically taper it off over a week. Right now my only goal is to be able to go to sleep without drinking, basically not to be dependent on it physically.

Found this message board and thought it would be a good place to get some support/advise. Thanks

Treerat66

Welcome to the forum comingdown.

Coldfusion

Another good way to withdraw from alcohol is to see a doctor to help prevent seizures and avoid the mental agony of tapering.

countrysidegirl

Best to stop altogether in my opinion tapering down never works you just feed the need to drink even more and the one or two drinks you aim to have turn too three four five etc and you still have withdrawal
I would make an appointment to see your GP and chat about options stopping altogether ain't easy but if you do have a problem its the only way forward
Try exercise for stress and anxiety it is great for this and enabling sleep
Good luck

CAPTAINZING2000

Ever think of doing exercise instead?

comingdown

Yeah, exercise is going to be very important for me as I taper off. Thank you both. Also countrysidegirl I do plan on stopping altogether, I just read a lot about how if my body is dependent on it, I can't just stop cold turkey I have to go to a doctor or taper off.

Anna

Tapering off is really, really, really difficult for alcoholics. I say this from personal experience. It was far easier to just stop and be done with it. Why not talk to your dr?

comingdown

I would actually prefer to go cold turkey, but got scared reading all of the stuff online that says if I go cold turkey there could be serious issues.



I think I can taper off. as mentioned above I am being put under an ungodly amount of stress and I have been starting to have panic attacks. I researched destressing and then I realized the 2 pots of coffee and 2 bottles of wine I was drinking a day were all related to the way I was feeling. I measured exactly what I drank Saturday and Sunday so I know how much I need to cut out.

I don't really have a dr., haven't been to one in years. And quite honestly I am not prepared to ask somebody in person for help. When I did realized my body became dependant on the alcohol this past week I realized I need to do something. I honestly just thought drinking every night was normal

friskme

Hello comingdown,
I too used to have a couple glasses of wine to calm down and/or get some sleep. In fact at first, it kind of inspired me to be more spontaneous and creative with my marketing. I work from home and promote myself on the Internet to get more sales--FYI. So, anyway, I just want to say that pretty soon...the alcohol will not help you sleep. For me, it messed up my sleeping habits even more. I have always had issues with going to sleep, that is part of the reason I started to drink. But, now I have problems staying asleep. I will wake up right away sometimes and not be able to go back to sleep...and no amount of drinking after I wake up makes me go back to sleep. Alcohol is just a lie, and soon it starts to show its true colors. It is good that you are starting to do something to help yourself.

comingdown

Thanks friskme. that's how it started for me. It was the only thing that could make my mind stop racing. Now with the added stress it takes even more to quite it and I realized I am dependant on it.

countrysidegirl

Once one experiences withdrawal and cannot see life without a drink in it has a problem, yes withdrawal can be horrendous depending on the ammount and duration one has been a drinker I know its hard to face up to a problem but seeing a gp really would help, they wont judge you and can offer better advise than reading horror stories off the internet
Well done in tackling the issue you have, yes coffee will also over stimulate you and make anxiety worse
As far as your job goes could you not speak with with your boss and explain your finding it very stressful that may also help ?
Drink sadly as much as you think it will help really is just an illusion

comingdown

Thanks countryside. I am now not sure if the stress is causing my panic attacks or detoxing from alcohol. I am very confused. I just made an appointment with a doctor. Since everybody advised.

firstymer

comingdown, there was a ridiculous irony that I experienced when I was drinking heavily. Like you, I drank almost entirely to de-stress, relax and/or sleep. Yet I was never more anxious and stressed than I was after waking up from a night of heavy drinking. The vicious circle of alcohol and stress was what finally convinced me to quit.

Welcome to SR. You will find a lot of support and helpful advice from the good people here.

Dee74

Hi and welcome comingdown

I think seeing your Dr is a smart move - detox can be rough for some of us, and if you're not sure what you're doing, tapering can sometimes be as dangerous as cold turkey..

D

KateL

Welcome xxxxx

Hevyn

It's good to meet you comingdown! You're going to feel so much better with alcohol out of your life. I thought it was helping me calm down and cope too - but it did just the opposite the more I drank. You're doing a great thing by taking a hard look at what drinking's doing to you. You don't need it.

least

Welcome to the family. Giving up drinking was the best thing I've ever done for myself. And now my sleep is pretty good most nights, not counting when the dogs wake me up to let them out.

I'm glad you're seeing a doctor. It really is the safest way to detox.

comingdown

I went to the dr. My blood pressure was in the very dangerous zone. 166 over 109. She said I need to track it everyday. A combination of the stress and alcohol are most likely the cause. She gave me a scrip for blood pressure medicine and zanax. I also told her I planned on tapering off alcohol which she was okay with as long as I don't drink for 4 hours after taking a zanax. We Have A Follow Up Next week.

Thanks for the advise.

comingdown

HI all,

It has been a while since I posted but I wanted to thank everybody for the kind words. I went to see the dr. and Tapered off Successfully over just 2 days. My last drink was on 3/25/14 and I have not drank since. Like I stated above I have always drank to get to sleep so it took some time for me to go to sleep without alcohol, but I am doing great.

There is a short window every night where I want to have a drink. My wife and kids go to bed and I am just watching tv bored for about 2 hours by myself. I think about taking a big drink to drift off to sleep but then realize how great I feel not drinking and don't do it.

Before I just wanted to be able to go to sleep at night without alcohol, but now I am considering going sober permanently as I am coming up on 30 days sober. It doesn't bother me being sober in social situations at all, never want to drink during the day, I feel great all the time, but I really miss it for those 2 hours right before bed.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the advice and support.

BrendonM

30 days is a big milestone! That sounds like it was a good call, not tapering. The lower your intake gets the more tempting going back up becomes, and I don't know about you but once that first drop hits my lips I'm gone.

Hope you aren't dealing with long-term withdrawal, sometimes when you deprive your body of something it wants it become very angry with you.