redfalcon

Hi guys, first post in SR. I have been attending AA meetings and am 90 days sober. I was googling increased anxiety from stopping drinking and found a very dated thread on here. Just wondering if this anxiety is a common thing and whether it will fade with time. Pretty keen to join the community here also as a way to bolster my sobriety between meetings. Hope everyone is travelling well and having a great day.

Dee74

Hi redfalcon

yeah it's a common thing. How long it lasts really depends on the person - do you have a history of anxiety or is this a new thing since you quit?

D

redfalcon

Hi Dee, I had it start a few years ago from an incident I attended as a firefighter. It has come and gone, but I thought I mainly had it in check. But it has returned massively now!!!!

Dee74

I think pre-existing conditions will probably take longer, but even as an anxious person all my life things got a lot better for me when I quit drinking.

It took a little time - a few months - but I hope the same is true for you too.

Have you seen anyone about it in the past?

D

MythOfSisyphus

Welcome to SR, redfalcon! It's good to have you with us. For me I had a lot of anxiety early on but it smoothed out after a while. YMMV.

venuscat

Hello redfalcon, and welcome, and....



on 90 days sober!!! That is awesome!

Anxiety was a very big problem for me for a lot of years, and as my sober time has built, it has begun to diminish. I know that I need to eat healthy food, and get enough rest and exercise to keep it in check, and sometimes I forget to do that. But when I am mindful, I find that I am really very different than I used to be. Calm is not something that anyone who used to know me would say about me, but it is who I am a lot of the time now.

Really glad you joined us. ♥

Mentium

Hi and welcome! I suspect a lot of people who develop drink problems do so for the same reasons I did. I was an anxious young person and alcohol was the perfect anti-anxiety substance. I drank it to sooth social anxiety and shyness and then later on for more general anxiety. Then I had to drink to alleviate the anxiety caused by consuming too much alcohol. Later still I had to drink to suppress the screaming all enveloping anxiety that jumped on my every morning as a result of the bottle and a half/two bottles of wine consumed the night before.

The cure, in other words, became the illness - in my case anyway.

I'm by nature an anxious person and so, sober it still sits there on my shoulder - and it is one reason I have relapsed pretty often after quite long periods of sobriety. What I have not done too much of in the past, is attempt to deal with the underlying issues, which I am tackling this time through the Steps, through close work with a sponsor (to come) and also by taking up meditation, which I did just a week or so ago.

I'm sure not every problem drinker has the same mix of issues, but these are mine. I hope mine ring a bell. In any case good luck with yours!

redfalcon

Thx guys, yep I definitely identified with some of what you said Mentium- thx for that. I also find that I am less inclined to have bad spells if my rest is up, food good and am exercising venuscat. Harder said than done sometimes though!!!

waywardson8260

Welcome redfalcon and congratulations on 90 days! I've heard of a lot of stories about the anxiety subsiding over time as your body adjusts. If not please see your doctor.

Nic233

Welcome Redfalcon,

Another Perth girl here. Well done on 90 days.I'm only almost 3 weeks in this time round but have had a few goes at this so far.

Anxiety was one of my big issues when i was drinking lots. It did subside after about 3-4 months but like the others have said, living a healthy lifestyle really helped me too. I live metres from the beach so a nice walk with my pup helped a lot too and limiting my caffeine (which increases heaps when i give the wine away)..
Keep checking in and coming back.

Poppy79

Hi Red A huge accomplishment reaching 90 days. I will hit that number in 16 days which I am quietly excited about.
Nic, quick question - when you cut down on coffee, how did you do it? My coffee intake has increased from 2-3 in the mornings (when I was drinking) to about 5-7 (3 in the am, 2-3 during the work day and sometimes 1 at night). Is this a bad amount I wonder?

Sent from my iPhone using SoberRecovery

Nic233

My coffee intake always goes to about the same amount for a month or two, then I just start to drop them off a bit. The amount of alcohol i drink when I'm drinking, means a few extra coffees are not too bad :-) . I'm not sure if you like herbal teas but I've found a great zero caffeine, zero calorie choc peppermint one that I sometimes have..but just make sure you're drinking heaps of water..
Poppy be kind to yourself Hun- it's tough getting sober and you're doing so well xx

Plure

Anxiety is very common. I had it really bad a few years ago when I stopped my heavy drinking. This time thankfully not as anxious. Alcohol messes with GABA, which is the main neurotransmitter that calms your central nervous system. Basically with alcohol removed, GABA levels plummet causing the extra anxiety. After a while your body will adjust back to normal levels and feel better.

Sometimes also we drinkers have underlying anxiety to begin with (my situation), so getting on a med helped.

Best to see your doc during this time.

Hang in there and welcome to SR!

least

Welcome to the family. Increased anxiety is common after getting sober. It should get better with more sober time. If not, see your doctor.

Congrats on three months sober!

Hevyn

It's great to meet you, Redfalcon. Wonderful job on reaching 90 days +1.

As the others said, anxiety is to be expected & will ease up at some point. I was bothered with it for about 6 months - but I had been drinking every day & had a very rough withdrawal. Regrets had a lot to do with my feelings too. Congratulations on your sober time - you'll continue to heal and mend.

Mags1

Hi redfalcon, welcome to SR.

A big congratulations on 3 months sober.

D122y

Red,

At 90 days my anxiety was through the roof. Years of binge drinking about every 4 days or so reeked havoc on my brain. I did not know. I thought i was doing great by not drinking everyday.

I had horrid anxiety off and on for well over a year. I'm 21 months clean and it is just now starting to really change. It is awesome being sober and drug free.

The booze was the culprit all the way. I got clean w only a multi vit and b12, exercise, prayer, and SR.

AA wasn't working for me.

Some folks need rx meds to stay clean and mentally right. I made it this far w out any.

Stay clean. It gets better.

Thanks.

redfalcon

Awesome replies guys!!! It is good to know that how I am feeling is not uncommon and will pass. Thanks allot for the suggestions too, I will add them to my tools to work through this!!

redfalcon

Hi all!!! Have been reading a few threads where the authors post updates on how they are tracking. I find this very inspiring, and it also helps me identify and relate to where that person is/was at. As such, I decided I would throw up a bit of an update on how I am tracking. Still sober and just over a week away from bringing up 5 months- 1 day at a time of course. The anxiety is still there, but I have developed some coping mechanisms to reduce how extreme it gets. I have also found that taking a Magnesium and Zinc tablet at lunch and just before bed helps with the anxiety levels, and also with my sleep. I am loving not waking up with a hangover, and am slowly becoming a better person. This sober gig has allot going for it. Hope you are all tracking well.

Red.

BixBees505

Love seeing updates...thanks, Red!