Back after a long hiatus
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 69
Back after a long hiatus
Hello everyone,
I logged in today to find that I haven't been here since January 2015 and have not posted since December 2014! Back then, I was in the middle of a sober period - If my math is correct, I was at about three months or so last time I was here. A lot, and I do mean a lot, has happened since then.
Long story short: I left SR and stopped any form of consistent, intentional action to stay on top of sobriety, thinking I didn't need any help (age-old story). I started drinking again in March under the typical guise of 'trying to moderate'. By July I was hiding bottles of liquor; by September I was having panic attacks, expressing suicidal ideations, and spending days at a time locked in my house drinking myself into oblivion.
Under my own urging and that of my wife, I pursued psychiatric consultation. On October 1, 2015, I was officially diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type II and immediately put into treatment, essentially bringing my lifelong struggle with mental illness to an end (or at least what is the beginning of that end). The alcohol abuse was deemed a form of self-medication to quell the symptoms of bipolar, and I was therefore not pushed into any form of alcohol rehabilitation on top of my psychiatric and psychological care.
Today is February 20, 2016, and since my diagnosis nearly five months ago, I have neither consumed any alcohol nor had any urges to do so. I have also not experienced any suicidal ideations, panic attacks, depression, or psychosis. The few bumps in the road I have experienced involved some initial bad reactions to medication, occasional forgetfulness, and having to restructure my daily schedule in order to allow for my healing - which took some effort at first.
I am back and hoping to re-involve myself in SR conversations! This recovery is a journey and I need communities like this to mutually share the good times and the bad.
I'm happy to be here again. I missed you all.
I logged in today to find that I haven't been here since January 2015 and have not posted since December 2014! Back then, I was in the middle of a sober period - If my math is correct, I was at about three months or so last time I was here. A lot, and I do mean a lot, has happened since then.
Long story short: I left SR and stopped any form of consistent, intentional action to stay on top of sobriety, thinking I didn't need any help (age-old story). I started drinking again in March under the typical guise of 'trying to moderate'. By July I was hiding bottles of liquor; by September I was having panic attacks, expressing suicidal ideations, and spending days at a time locked in my house drinking myself into oblivion.
Under my own urging and that of my wife, I pursued psychiatric consultation. On October 1, 2015, I was officially diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type II and immediately put into treatment, essentially bringing my lifelong struggle with mental illness to an end (or at least what is the beginning of that end). The alcohol abuse was deemed a form of self-medication to quell the symptoms of bipolar, and I was therefore not pushed into any form of alcohol rehabilitation on top of my psychiatric and psychological care.
Today is February 20, 2016, and since my diagnosis nearly five months ago, I have neither consumed any alcohol nor had any urges to do so. I have also not experienced any suicidal ideations, panic attacks, depression, or psychosis. The few bumps in the road I have experienced involved some initial bad reactions to medication, occasional forgetfulness, and having to restructure my daily schedule in order to allow for my healing - which took some effort at first.
I am back and hoping to re-involve myself in SR conversations! This recovery is a journey and I need communities like this to mutually share the good times and the bad.
I'm happy to be here again. I missed you all.
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