Hercules

Hi all I hope you are well,

Iam 90 days sober which is massive for me, it's the longest I have been sober for atleast 10 years maybe more. It was extremely hard in the first few months but now my cravings to drink have practically gone and Iam so thankful for that. But my anxiety seems to have increased the longer I have been sober.

My problem now is I have been having bad anxiety the last few weeks I have moved home As I split up with my ex and I thought I would be feeling Even better as Iam in a peaceful environment, but this anxiety is really getting me down. Iam starting to think now maybe this was the underlying course of my alcoholism all along. Iam hoping it's my brain still healing and it will pass but it's quite depressing going from one struggle giving up alcohol to this.

My anxiety comes in waves and TBH it's similar to when I use to be coming of the alcohol the next day, it's Centered around eating food strangely enough thinking Iam going to choke and now also when I feel my blood sugar drop I get very panicky, as I had a panicky attack after the gym last week. . I have recently lost 22kgs and have been eating a mostly vegan diet the last 3 weeks and just wish I could feel normal.

Has anyone else had bad anxiety after a few months of sobriety that has cleared up with more time?! Iam reading books on anxiety at the minute and think I will look for a CBT therapist also..

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

Here

ljc267

I had it very bad for the first few months, but it has gone down substantially.

My guess it that the split form your ex is causing it more then the not drinking is. I had a hard time with the fact that quitting did not resolve every issue in my life. Sounds silly but I thought that quitting would fix everything. Well it didn't but it made me better able to handle those problems.

Maybe talking to a professional would help.

gregknight

I think alcoholism can manifest itself in different ways with individuals and in my case, I tend to view it as a disease, but more accurately, a symptom of my real disease which is anxiety and depression, with lot's of self-loathing. Any physical craving for alcohol has been a distant second to that. I have approached sobriety in a new way this time, (7 months sober!), by seeing a psychiatrist and getting on a good antidepressant, and getting a therapist with a background in addiction recovery who I see weekly, as well as getting help and advice from this board. This has made a big difference with me and sobriety feels better and more permanent this time.

I don't have much time being sober either but thought that my similarities to your situation may help. Best wishes!

entropy1964

Hmmm. Yes I have very bad anxiety. It is mostly controlled through diet and exercise. And yea, hearing that gets old. But I swear, I'm a mess if I'm not physically active. And hard physical activity. It works for me anyway.

What you're describing sounds more related to blood sugar. I'm not a dr so please go see your GP. But I have had blood sugar related anxiety attacks and they really are awful. And the swallowing thing clinched it for me because that's what happens to me. If you can eat maybe a wider range of foods, cruelty free/organic meats, healthy fats, maybe some plain yogurt with berries. Veganism is very limited, and fine btw, but maybe not if you're having these issues. See your dr for sure tho.

cusper

I have anxiety as well. I am one day short of 2 months sober and my anxiety is fairly high right now. But I did quit for over a year and a half a couple years ago and the anxiety did improve much more after 8 months of sobriety. Although I think that I am just an anxious person by nature. I was raised with alcoholics who were hypochondriacs and that is a bad combo. So not only did I grow up feeling unsafe in my own home I had reinforcement by their ramblings of various potential diseases that could hit me at any time. I definitely suggest any kind of therapy. If you find the right therapist and have goals for yourself and work towards them actively you will be surprised how much better you will feel. Being sober is definitely the first step but it does take work to change the way you think about things and therapy is great for that.
Also going out and connecting with others or volunteering- any kind of connection to people really helps you get out of your own head. I moved home and broke up with my boyfriend once because of my anxiety and it only made things worse because all I did was fester in my parents home and because they let me live there rent free I was really stuck in my own head. It was only when I forced myself out to interact with other people and got out of my own way did I improve. Also there are tons of great talks about anxiety on youtube - Ted Talks on anxiety. I find those really help. Especially when I don't have anyone to talk to in a moment when I am feeling particularly anxious.

Hercules

Yes that day I was very low on energy and pushed to hard in the gym and the low blood sugar anxiety attacks are absolutely awful, but I think it just exaggerated the anxiety opposed to starting it. I have started incorparating meat again once a day or every other day. But I had always been an anxious person and I think the alcohol had been hiding it for years. I will get over it tho, if I can stop drinking I damn sure can get over my anxiety. 👍🏻

PurpleKnight

Day 90 is fantastic Hercules!!

Grymt

I thought I was stuck with anxiety. Years ago I was heavily into valium. With fairly regularly seeing someone to talk about life, meditation, learning to do things in spite of the anxiety, I tapered and gave valium up entirely. Stopping eating wheat products made a huge difference. Instead of it being a continuous experience it became occasional to the point now I notice it more when it comes and know what to do..ie keep active, trust it passes and don't act out. Don't let the anxiety decide what I do. Not always easy but entirely doable. So, I think looking at diet and allergies is a good idea as well as all the other suggestions.

zerothehero

At three or four months I suffered massive waves of anxiety. Six months was better, and with a regular meditation practice I'm good these days.

If you're interested in CBT, you may also find ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) useful. It incorporates elements of CBT along with mindfulness practices: The ABCs of ACT ? Acceptance and Commitment Therapy