On The Road

Hi Everyone

My anxiety has really been working on me for the past week and today it's spiking like crazy. I'm not going to drink, but sure could use some support right now to get over the hump.

ardy

100% in this corner... that is a hard demon to control..prayers love and hope.. wish I could say something that would help.. but know that it has to come from inside... well kiddo hold tight its going to be a bumpy ride but you can do it... look in the mirror..and tell that kid to behave and help you.. hugs a Mom... and one that has walked and is walking in those shoes... ardy

Soberwolf

Have you tried breathing exercises meditation yoga walking even will help you feel less anxious at the same time maybe you should book a Dr apt and talk about therapy for anxiety

Wastinglife

I also deal with anxiety. I'm on day 18 so it's probably normal to feel anxious this early in sobriety. I'm not worried about anything in particular. Just constantly on edge.

Rar

I also suffer from anxiety, which I tried to relieve by drinking. When I was drinking, the anxiety was at its worse in the morning, but got better throughout the day. Now that I'm not drinking, it is the opposite - MUCH better in the morning and increasing throughout the day and night. It was unrelenting during my first week of sobriety. I'm hoping the minimal morning anxiety now extends to the afternoon and evenings. I understand that anxiety can be debilitating. Mine was so bad, I felt constantly on the verge of tears and startled at even the smallest of sounds. It was all I could do to not drink. I wish you well. HUGS.

ScottFromWI

I suffer from Anxiety too, it's a diagnosed condition with me that I didn't seek help for until a couple years into sobriety actually. Most likely a lot of my drinking over the years was an attempt ( failed ) to self medicate.

Outside of therapy, there's a lot of things you can do on your own to help with anxiety - meditation, mindfulness, exercise, rest, self help reading, yoga, etc. I've also chosen to accept that i'm simply an anxious person and that no matter what I do I'll still have anxious moments in my life. I also remind myself that the anxious episodes always pass, and nothing bad ever really come from them.

hpdw

This is to the letter how it is with me . Its a little devil to handle at times but I get there a day at a time . SoberWolf suggests breathing exercises and this does help , medication NEVER worked for me( except for the first 3 days in withdrawal) I couldn't tolerate the side effects . Had CBT sessions x6 twice with a year or so in between , didn't do much for me either . Claire Weekes material is a good education , so its this site ( I believe educating your self on how problematic anxiety perpetuates is important , I could be alot worse if I didn't know how it all works ) Anxiety Attacks - anxietycentre.com

Anna

And, there are a couple of great books on our list that really helped: me. They gave me tools to help me manage by anxiety:

From Panic to Power by Lucinda Basset
When Panic Attacks by David Burns MD

entropy1964

Well you'll get a lot of people that relate here I'm sure

I have GAD and PTSD. I have tried all kinds of meds over the years and nothing that isn't addictive works.

You've already received a lot of good advice. Exercise and yoga are probably at the top of my list for preventative 'medicine'. I also lead a very structured life. This helps me more than just about anything. I make sure I know what is going to happen for all of my waking hours. I thrive in routine and predictability. Now, I get that this isn't always going to happen (I injured my foot so exercise is out right now.....a huge thing for me) so I have to learn adaptability and coping skills. That's all part of recovery. But 90% of the time I can schedule my time pretty well.

My poor daughter...'hey Mom lets go to a movie?' "Wait is that on the list?". Yeah, I'm that bad. Sometimes even leaving the house for me can be really hard. I wish I wasn't this rigid but I am. And that's ok for now. Anyway, really helps me not to leave anything to fate....especially idle time!

On The Road

Thanks for your responses. Anxiety has subsided - will start anew tomorrow.

ShaneW

I too suffer from anxiety, however it has decreased over the time since I got sober 4+ years ago, and fallen to a dull roar each time I work the steps. It does get better. And better, and better.

When I was new -- exercise, even simply walking 2 miles, would take a big chunk of weight out of the anxiety backpack I wore each day. Meetings each day and sharing my thoughts, emotions and fears as often as possible with my sponsor and trusted network friends also took huge chunks of weight out of that backpack.

Anxiety is caused by unresolved situations, in my experience. Unresolved commitments (to stay sober, to stay in a relationship etc), unresolved problems like money or living situation. Etc, etc.

I find that when my anxiety is high, and I do ALL that I can in that moment to alleviate/resolve those unresolved situations then even when the problem still exists, my anxiety goes away. An example would be - money problems weighing on me, so I (in the moment) do the footwork I can and apply to a couple jobs, or polish my resume etc. Then when I finish, even though the problem is by no means solved yet, I have done all I can IN THE MOMENT to move towards resolution - and my anxiety lessens/goes away. Thats my experience. I've found that by doing all I can in the moment, that time travel thinking (lamenting the past, fearing the future) goes away as I know I am doing what I can to secure a brighter future.

Meditation goes a long way as well. I found this analogy for meditation a couple years back and use it often. It is fantastic for quieting an anxious brain (in my opinion).

"Don’t get on the train.

There are 1,001 great metaphors for meditation. One that really resonated with me came from Matthieu Ricard. I imagine sitting at a train station, watching the trains arrive and depart. My pure awareness is the station and my thoughts, feelings, sensations, etc. are the trains. If I am not mindful, I will hop on a train and take it to who knows where. But the moment I realize I am on the train, I am magically off of it, back at the station, just watching without judgment, with compassion."

Article referenced:
18 Spiritual Teachings that Blew my Mind Wide Open. | elephant journal

Best of luck, keep reporting back and stay as grounded in the present moment as you can, it will help and it will get better.