Oswin

Feeling anxious and stressed today. Thought it was booze that made me feel like this but obviously its just me. Still not going to use alcohol to numb it. Need to learn to deal with it and realise I don't need to worry about everything.

JaylaaKent

It will get better - took me about 5 months sober before I stopped feeling endless anxiety and irritability. I think it is underestimated how much time it takes for your body to recover from repeated pounding of alcoholic binges and daily drinking. Some people have told me they still experienced waves or periods of anxiety for up to two years. For me staying busy, melatonin, and exercise helped. But us alcoholics always want immediate results.

LBrain

deep breaths BigO, deep breaths...

try not to let the situation overwhelm you, think good thoughts, think of how soon these feelings will be left behind. hang in there.

LBrain

I would say around the 5 month mark I started noticing a difference too.

Mangoes

Oswin, I haven't followed your previous posts but anxiousness and nervousness are very normal at the start of recovery. Your nervous system is in overdrive, as it tries to find the usual chemicals it gets from the alcohol, that calm it down. Depending on the extent of your past drinking, this can take a while to resolve. Eventually your brain learns to make the chemicals and build the proper receptors to do this on its own.
Try to do things that replace those chemicals with endorphins - take a walk or a bike ride. I have a skipping rope in my basement and if I'm feeling edgy, I take a jump to burn myself outs a little.
Do something to fill your soul, like meditation, or take up something creative like art or knitting. These help pass those lonely hours when you could be in your head, but end up with something creative instead.
This phase will pass, but dig into your toolbox to help you too. Post on SR exactly like you're doing. One step at a time. It takes a while for a body, heart and mind to heal from booze.

Soberwolf

Loved the strength in your post oswin

FreeOwl

yeah.... after using alcohol to 'deal' for a long time, the bounceback effect is that in sobriety we can feel anxiety, stress, depression, all sorts of things that we didnt realize we weren't feeling for a long time.

It DOES get better though and it stablizes and we find that - surprise - this is just the stuff of LIFE. And, in sobriety we are able to find new ways to accept and process and vent these feelings. We find that the ups are less up and the downs are less down....

Jump into some exercise - it helps tremendously.

Tonymblue

Yeah. The anxiety and despondence is rough. I definitey takes time to come out of it. Hang in there.

Justwokeup

I am experiencing the same things. My mind races constantly and I do not want to get out of bed after 33 days. I quit once for 8 months and still suffered from foggy brain, then a five month relapse has me right back where I started. Trying to stay positive and walking a lot. I know there will be an end to this madness. Good luck in your recovery.

Oswin

Thanks everyone, I never actually thought anxiety and stress might be an aftermath of my drinking. I thought it was probably just who I am. Nice to know it might get easier over time