This anxiety is gonna kill me!
Sober...Finally.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Galveston TX
Posts: 574
This anxiety is gonna kill me!
Day 16. My anxiety is in overdrive right now and it feels like an elephant is just sitting on my chest. It seems the more I vent or read anything pertaining to alcoholism it just triggers me to stress out, almost like talking about not drinking all the time makes me obsess over wanting to. If I read a book or go to the gym it subsides. I started a blog, wrote 3 paragraphs for the day and went into full freak out mode afterwards. I gotta get my **** together....I feel like I am losing it. 
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
Have you tried meditating?
If something is triggering you, it is possible to desensitize yourself to it. Deep breaths in the meantime.
Thoughts can't hurt you, just change what you're thinking about. I focus on something beautiful - a flower, a tree, a dog, a favorite dress - anything to change my thoughts.
This forum used to be difficult for me - it gets easier to deal with emotions after some more time away from alcohol.
Congrats on 16 days, keep going - you'll heal. Days nine and ten were my worst, but I have steadily improved since then. Time takes time.
If something is triggering you, it is possible to desensitize yourself to it. Deep breaths in the meantime.
Thoughts can't hurt you, just change what you're thinking about. I focus on something beautiful - a flower, a tree, a dog, a favorite dress - anything to change my thoughts.
This forum used to be difficult for me - it gets easier to deal with emotions after some more time away from alcohol.
Congrats on 16 days, keep going - you'll heal. Days nine and ten were my worst, but I have steadily improved since then. Time takes time.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,504
I use reading and exercise (walking) to get me through those times too. When I'm stuck, I use this. It's so simple but it helps:
Belly Breathing Exercise
1. Place one hand just above your belt line, and the other on your chest, right over the breastbone. You can use your hands as a simple biofeedback device. Your hands will tell you what part of your body, and what muscles, you are using to breathe.
2. Open your mouth and gently sigh, as if someone had just told you something really annoying. As you do, let your shoulders and the muscles of your upper body relax, down, with the exhale. The point of the sigh is not to completely empty your lungs. It's just to relax the muscles of your upper body.
3. Close your mouth and pause for a few seconds.
4. Keep your mouth closed and inhale slowly through your nose by pushing your stomach out. The movement of your stomach precedes the inhalation by just the tiniest fraction of a second, because it's this motion which is pulling the air in. When you've inhaled as much air as you can comfortably (without throwing your upper body into it), just stop. You're finished with that inhale.
5. Pause. How long? You decide. I'm not going to give you a specific count, because everybody counts at a different rate, and everybody has different size lungs. Pause briefly for whatever time feels comfortable. However, be aware that when you breathe this way, you are taking larger breaths than you're used to. For this reason, it's necessary to breathe more slowly than you're used to. If you breathe at the same rate you use with your small, shallow breaths, you will probably feel a little lightheaded from over breathing, and it might make you yawn. Neither is harmful. They're just signals to slow down. Follow them!
6. Open your mouth. Exhale through your mouth by pulling your belly in
Belly Breathing Exercise
1. Place one hand just above your belt line, and the other on your chest, right over the breastbone. You can use your hands as a simple biofeedback device. Your hands will tell you what part of your body, and what muscles, you are using to breathe.
2. Open your mouth and gently sigh, as if someone had just told you something really annoying. As you do, let your shoulders and the muscles of your upper body relax, down, with the exhale. The point of the sigh is not to completely empty your lungs. It's just to relax the muscles of your upper body.
3. Close your mouth and pause for a few seconds.
4. Keep your mouth closed and inhale slowly through your nose by pushing your stomach out. The movement of your stomach precedes the inhalation by just the tiniest fraction of a second, because it's this motion which is pulling the air in. When you've inhaled as much air as you can comfortably (without throwing your upper body into it), just stop. You're finished with that inhale.
5. Pause. How long? You decide. I'm not going to give you a specific count, because everybody counts at a different rate, and everybody has different size lungs. Pause briefly for whatever time feels comfortable. However, be aware that when you breathe this way, you are taking larger breaths than you're used to. For this reason, it's necessary to breathe more slowly than you're used to. If you breathe at the same rate you use with your small, shallow breaths, you will probably feel a little lightheaded from over breathing, and it might make you yawn. Neither is harmful. They're just signals to slow down. Follow them!
6. Open your mouth. Exhale through your mouth by pulling your belly in
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 3,781
Been there and can totally relate.. Sorry your feeling this way.. Takes a while for the poison to leave your system.. Hang in there, it does get better.. Try to eat healthy and drink lots of water/ Gatorade.. I know it's easier said than done.. Get lost in a movie if possible, I see your in TX and I know how blasted hot it is right now.. Wishing you the best!!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 8,704
First, good for you on 16 days, what a great start. There could be many factors at play right now in terms of anxiety. I tend to believe that the mind and body need time to stabilize. You've made a major life change, therefore time is needed to adjust to that change. I also believe that the amount of time it requires is different for everyone. I feel for ya, I'm generally not an anxious person but I experienced severe anxiety when I went through withdrawal, and I really did feel like death was not out of the question. I would not wish it upon anyone. I believe it will pass. If not, you could make a doctors appointment and get some medication for those trying times. Then again, that can be a slippery slope as well because many people begin to rely on it...and the dependency develops and you are back square one. Wish you the best. Stay strong.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,439
There are some more good ideas on dealing with stress here Dom:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...44-stress.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...44-stress.html
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Somewhere in California
Posts: 1,136
Hi-
I quit drinking in large part due to being sick and tired of the debilitating anxiety and panic attacks that I learned was caused by alcohol withdrawal.
It was scary. The first time it happened it I thought I was having a heart attack (doom, feeling death was near, etc.).
The good news? I quit drinking and it went away.
I quit drinking in large part due to being sick and tired of the debilitating anxiety and panic attacks that I learned was caused by alcohol withdrawal.
It was scary. The first time it happened it I thought I was having a heart attack (doom, feeling death was near, etc.).
The good news? I quit drinking and it went away.
Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Eugene Oregon
Posts: 306
What really helped me was reading a book on anxiety. I also took a yoga class which fortunately started about a month after I quit--wish it had started sooner-- oh well. I also take vitamins/supps I've researched for the purpose but can't post here what helped. Jacuzzi--golden--it is impossible to not relax after 20 minutes or so. The breathing recommended here is great too in those tense situations--it's like my yoga breathing.
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