Jessjo1996

Today I’m 6 days sober.

I feel like I’m in autopilot. I’m not present. My body is jittery, I have shortness of breath, and I find I hold my breath a lot.

does this go away? Is this normal? How long did your anxiety last?

Anna

Welcome, Jess. Congratulations on 6 days sober.

A lot of us here deal with anxiety. Yes, stopping drinking will help ease your anxiety, probably in the next few weeks. If you had anxiety issues before you started drinking, as I did, then you might still have to deal with it. But, being sober makes it much easier to manage anxiety.

sva777

I had massive anxiety issues that I thought I had prior to becoming an alcoholic. Turns out since I got sober I rarely have any anxiety at all anymore. For me, and of course everyone is different, my really terrible anxiety lasted about 30-60 days. The still bad but manageable anxiety lasted another year or so. It was around year two that I really became aware of how it seemed to be pretty much gone. One thing is for certain, drinking will not make it go away and only make it get worse.

lessgravity

I suffered greatly from anxiety and horrible middle of the night panic attacks. I used to call them the 3am's (or maybe I got that from somewhere who knows). The thing is they were almost (almost) entirely a manifestation of my alcohol abuse. It took time, weeks and maybe into the months, for the anxiety to fade. But it does fade. It truly can get better for you each and every day. I say that with experience and with the years logged of staying in the dark horrors of the drink.

Congrats on the 6 days. Keep it moving.

Greentree87

Take some deep breaths. Take it easy it will pass. Try to keep yourself busy and distracted. I take medication for anxiety but have self medicated for years with alcohol. Maybe join us on the Class of July thread lots of support there x

Surrendered19

Hi Jessjo. That is great that you have 6 days. Those are tough foundational days that puts you in great company. Anyone with a thousand days sober has those same 6.

For the first few weeks I was sober, the best way I could describe the sensation was "stunned." I felt like a bomb had gone off and temporarily took my hearing away. I wandered around in a fog. What you are experiencing is pretty typical and I think and it will slowly fade away.

Stay around and read and post here for some great support.

Hevyn

Welcome, Jessjo - it's so good to have you with us. Congrats on your hard earned 6 days of sobriety.

I felt just the way you described. It definitely went away. I went through many stages as I healed. I was very thankful to be free of it, but felt disoriented for a while. You are doing great - and you'll begin to feel better as you continue to stay free of it.

LumenandNyx

I've suffered anxiety and panic for as long as I can remember. I also know exactly what you're writing about when you hold your breath. I used to do that too. One thing that I've found extremely helpful is to go into a cool, dark and quiet room. While I'm in there, I focus on slowing my breath and interestingly enough - once my breath becomes regular, my body chillaxes.

Holding your breath comes from the same place as grinding your teeth comes from (not saying you do that - just comparing). It's all tension related. While six days sober is super corncoolio - depending on how long and how much you drank - it can be the last and most brutal part of your uphill struggle with withdrawal before you begin the descent.

Hang in there. It'll pass.

least

Overwhelming anxiety is a common symptom of alcohol withdrawal. It gets better the longer you stay sober. If you drink, it will come back. Your brain is learning to function without the daily doses of a depressant, so it's going to be hyper for a while.

It does get better. Just don't drink!

MaximusD

Jess, from what I have seen in my own experience and read for many others, anxiety peaks right around where you are at now so hopefully it should start to go down, at least ever so slightly. One thing is for certain. IF you drink it will just go back up again. Keep it up!

Dee74

Hi and welcome jessjo

anxiety is very common in the early days I think = but support helps. Hope to see you post again

D