Depression after stop drinking
 

Hello, I probably should introduce myself considering this is my first post. It's been about 2 months since I stopped drinking and they've probably been some of the toughest months I can remember (less said about my memory the better...)

I've had problems with depression for a long time, and since I stopped drinking I'm feeling much psychologically worse than I did before, but better physically since I stopped. I've had some nasty side effects on previous occasions anti-depressive medication and I'm reluctant to go down the route again.

Since I've stopped drinking I'm finding it really hard to do things which used to bring a lot of pleasure to my life, for example playing the guitar. Drinking used to act to remove a lot of the inhibitions which I build up, and I'm really struggling to finding a way to deal with things in sobriety.

If anyone has any recommendations or advice I would be most appreciative.

Thanks.

Welcome to the Forum!! :wave:

The body can't wipe away or fix years of drinking in a matter of months, so the first thing I'd say is be patient, the body needs to do it's thing, but it needs time to do it!!

For me Sobriety has been a long term project, a learning curve, figuring out how to live without alcohol, it's gonna take a new set of skills, effort to achieve it, so hang in there!!

You can make it happen, but it's gonna take small steps!! :)

Welcome CelestialWaves. I hope I'm misreading your post. But it sounds to me that you feel you were better off drinking. Believe my you're not! Alcohol is not a solution for any problem! I highly encourage you to stick to sobriety and deal with depression separately.

Nice to you Celestialwaves

I relate to you a lot i was the same in early sobriety, believe me when i say youl get back in touch with the music

Welcome to sr

I'll second what purpleknight said.

I have experienced bouts of low mood, low motivation, feeling unfocused, feeling a sense of dread, anxiety, sleep problems, energy drainage, sexual issues, stress, and general malaise. All of these come and go, not constant. Some of them were there with the alcohol, some of them feel new. Maybe these are all just elements of being human that I previously 'handled' by drinking.

Maybe these are all signs of some physical condition and I should consult a doctor.

Maybe I could use therapy again... haven't been to a counselor in a long while.

Maybe it's a little of all of the above, combined with the rebound effect of not drinking and my body trying to adjust to sobriety after a long, long, long time of abuse.

Whatever the case.... I'd say you're not alone. You might consider seeing a counselor or going to a doctor if it is getting disruptive. I do think that if you take the right steps to address your emotions, mental processes and physical well-being.... it will improve with time.

Three things helped me, and I have a certain vulnerability to depression.

Exercise. Research has shown that 20 mins of exercise (where your heart rate is at least what you experience with a fast walk) about every other day (or more) helps reduce depression.

I take St. Johns Wart (a food supplement available over the counter) daily. Sam-e (also found over the counter) has also been shown to have antidepressant effects. Even though these can be found without prescription, it's best to consult your physician about them.

Last, but not least, I found that AA helped quite a bit.

Nice username BTW. All the best to you.

Welcome CW. Have you thought of learning a new way of life such as through the AA program. Might be worth checking out. For me, stopping drinking didn't fix the problem, it just brought it out. I thought I had depression until I met a man with real depression, then in realised I was suffering from self pity. The solution that worked for me and has delivered contented and permanent sobriety was through AA.

If that is not for you there are also other methods on this site which you may find useful.

Thanks for the replies and the warm welcomes to SR, it's a great honour to be testament to the advice here, I greatly appreciate it.

In my first post I think I gave the impression that things were better when I was drinking. That's not the case. Since I've stopped, I'm not really interested to go back to how I was but I'm struggling to know what to do with my mind that'd had grown used to alcohol.

Purpleknight,
You're right, I can't expect my body to snap into place straight away without any readjustments. Patience as always is a virtue! Thanks for the tips about finding new skills, and the learning curve. Regarding the latter, I've found stopping drinking is the first obstacle of many others to come, ones that I didn't know about before.

beerbgone,
It may seem like I thought I was better off drinking but I must have given the wrong impression in the words I wrote. I've got no intentions of returning back to drinking.

soberwolf,
Greetings fellow Londoner. Thanks for the words to relate to my situation and for saying my interest in playing guitar will return.

freeowl,
Thanks for saying I am not alone my sentiments and observations. What you write about sleep, anxiety, energy drainage and others being there before and after drinking and whether they are medical ailments or ones of 'being human' and dealing with them by drinking is near enough exactly the situation in my head.
You're right about seeing a counsellor and a doctor about things.

awuh1,
The recommendation for exercise and St John's Wort is a good one. I didn't know 20 minutes is all that's needed (to start anyway), seems a less intimidating figure than I expected. Thanks for the kind wishes and liking my user name.

Gottalife,
Good to hear AA worked well for you. Although it's not an exact comparison or replacement, I've been going to meditation classes that have had a great impact so far. It's a discipline of teaching my mind to stop running away on thoughts, or negative thoughts.

Thanks again to everyone who provided wonderful insights.

We're really glad to have you with us CW. :) It's so good to not be alone with the struggle. I was so relieved to find SR.

I felt very strange for the first 3 months. I had been so used to masking my feelings and using alcohol to cope. All it did was make things much worse - but it took me a while to adjust to the 'new normal' of sobriety. No more getting numb and foggy - which is a good thing, but takes some getting used to. You will heal and begin to feel brighter and have more hope. Stay with us - you're among friends who care.

Hello Hevyn, thanks for the reply and it's great to have found this forum and not be alone in the testing times of sobriety.

Thanks for recalling your first 3 months of sobriety and they took a while to adjust to the new normal and things take some time to heal.

It seems as ever patience is a virtue...

Hi CW! Congrats on your 2 months! The first few months after quitting It was very much like walking a mental tight rope (bad memory, thoughts of impending doom, fogginess, general unease, edgy, various odd physical sensations). I think there is a strong expectation (at least there was for me) that things would be so much better right away when in reality it's a lot more gradual. someone once gave me advice on here saying that it really takes time for the brain to heal and all of these "sensations" were the brain healing itself. Somehow that helped. Keep going you can do it! It will get better.

Welcome,

For me, the depression existed long before the alcoholism so it needed to be treated.

Like you, I had bad side-effects from the first two antidepressants I tried, but finally the third one suited me well. I'm not saying antidepressants is 'the answer' for you, but you might want to consider trying a different medication.