6 months sober tomorrow, Biggest challenge is stress
 

Well, im almost there, 6 months tomorrow.! Im pleased I made it this far as id almost given up on being sober. Im so glad for my wife and kids im here for them now and not so self centered when I drank.

Its been a long and scary rd these 6 months, scary withdrawal first couple of months lots and lots of anxiety, some horrid panic attacks which have abated thank the heavans.....

Now my biggest struggle is recognizing and dealing with stress. It still creeps up on me and leaves me going " what the hell is this ferling"? However I do feel that im slowly getting better at recognising it as stress. The scariest thing is when it hits I xan feel a bit spaced out from it which jyst makes it worse. Anyone experience d this?

Anyways these things are becoming less intense and frequent.

Im trying to get my career back on track as I passed up a prlmotion to take a lot of time of work and get well from the booz. I do feel stigmatized as the bosses know I had to tell them because of what I do).

Love to all, you all really helped me through

Congrats on 6 months Justin.

Have you considered counselling for your stress issues at all?

D

Congratulations on 6 months, especially after trying for so long. There are so many ways of handling stress out there, I'm sure you'll find one that suits you, and your reactions will become normal. You've done really well and no-one can take that away from you.

Congratulations on 6 months! That is such a huge accomplishment

Congrats! There is a thread on here all about stress. There are some good ideas there.

congrats on 6 months mrjustin! Well done.

as for stress, it is something we learn to deal with - drinking or not. Just know that drinking actually makes the stress a lot worse.

I wonder how people who never drank deal with stress. Alcohol causes more stress than it relieves. And that relief is a false relief. It may make one forget about something or distract them, but the real cause is always there. And that's what needs to be addressed.
Remember that.

Congratulations on 6 months!
Hope your stress issues will lessen with time.

Congrats on six months sober! :scoregood

I don't handle stress well either.....I used to do a 3.7 mile nature walk 3 or 4 times a week.......and I always felt remarkably good afterwards. Physically and mentally. I spent as much time in the present during that time as possible.

Thanks guys, yep got the counseling happening for the stress Dee. Nice to hear from others that have been through the same thing :-)

Congratulations Mister J.
Stress is my biggest challenge too… but it's getting better and better.

Well done Justin!

Justin I was going to ask a question kind along the lines of yours.I am 45 days not drinking today,things seem to be going very smooth that's what concerns me.I am taking meds doctor gave me that I never took before seems to be working well.I know everybody is different so I am wondering if there might be a wall or something coming up or could it be smooth sailing.I know there is a yes or no to this,had family over last night they were drinking wine didn't bother me ,until I had dreams about it...just wondering

Hi exwell,

Congrats on 45 days sobriety good work.

My understanding of this is that everyone has a different experience depending on how much the drank, what they drank, for how long, other health problems etc. Theres similarities in what we go through though, and thats where I found SR great.

If youre doing well, and its sounds like you are then keep on keeping on mate. Our journeys may be different, the destination of sobriety is all that really matters.

I guess what im trying to say is, if whatever your doing is keeping you sober keep up the good work :-)

6 months is amazing. Congratulations Mr. Justin!

6 Months is fantastic Justin!! :scoregood

Congrats on 6 months. That's awesome! I can't wait to get there too :)

Glad your panic attacks have improved. Congrats on 6 months. It all gets easier over time. :)