Lila12

Hi,

I'm still extremely depressed. Don't see much point in living even though I'm on an antidepressant.

Also, the nightmares are horrible.

Is this to be expected? Not sure how much I can take.

Scared I'm never going to feel "normal". Or hopeful.
Thank you.

biminiblue

Lila, you're at the hardest part. Day 4 is just miserable, no two ways around that.

Anti-depressants don't really work the way they should when alcohol is in the mix. That will get better.

Can you go outside and sit or can you take a short walk? Nature always helps me get out of my head. Make sure to eat some healthy food and drink fluids (something like Gatorade is good in early days.)

Obladi

Hey Lila,

I had vivid, disturbing dreams in the first several weeks after I stopped drinking. I think it's to be expected. Our brains go sort of haywire when we remove the depressant alcohol from our bodies.

I can relate to depression too. I imagine you know that the best thing to do even when (especially when) you don't to get out of bed is to... get out of bed. There are days that I have to force myself to even brush my teeth or take a shower. And sometimes I don't even make it. But I know that the only way to free myself of this state is to get up and do something. If all I can manage is to shower, put on new pajamas, and get out of my bedroom for the day, then that's what I do. And on those days, I give myself a pass in a compassionate way. "If the only thing I accomplish today is not drinking, that will be enough."

Once you've accomplished getting out of bed, you could consider graduating to what I call "The List." This is literally a list on a whiteboard where I check off the basic basic wellness things I know need to be done - every day. Meds, meals, go for a walk, do something related to recovery, do something that uses my creative brain. Your list might be different, of course, but if you try it you might find that it gives you at least a little sense of accomplishment like it does for me.

What you're going through is not out of the ordinary, as far as I know. It's unfortunate that this doesn't resolve on it's own because it can be overwhelming to even start to change; but the only way to change things is to change them. If you're truly feeling so depressed that you feel you simply can not go on, you really need to call 911 or get to the ER. I've done it and I'm glad I did.

xo
O

Dee74

Vivid nightmares are pretty common Lila, but they fade in time, I promise.
The first weeks are the hardest but in my experience things got better each day.

Please talk with a crisis line if you think you need to.

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ease-read.html

D

DriGuy

I went through a period of disturbing drunk dreams early on. I thought I was the only one, but that topic is introduced so often here by others that I'm beginning to think it's a universal phenomenon. Nightmares must be some way your brain adjusts to the change. They pass.

least

You're going thru the hardest part don't give up now. When you get through this hard part I promise you it will get better. Please stay sober, your body and mind are adjusting to not having that depressant in your system. Once they return to normal functioning you won't feel horrible all the time. Hang on - I promise it gets better.

RecklessDrunk

Alcohol is a depressant. It makes you depressed. We have an obsession to drink. When I look at a craft beer bottle, it's different now but when I use to look at a craft beer bottle I would think of the taste and the initial feeling of ease and comfort. The short term effects were stamped into my head.

Alcohol moves through our system more like an antibiotic. Not quite that slow but if you were really sick. I guess like strep throat or something. And you took an antibiotic and 15 minutes later you would have no idea if its working. You probably would be prescribed to take another dose in 4 or 6 hours or something. Even after the second dose you may question if it's working. Imagine if a dose of antibiotic gave the same instant feeling of ease and comfort that alcohol did. We would forget all about its actual objective of killing a virus or bacteria or whatever the doctor is looking to cure.

Thats the objective of alcohol. Its a depressant. It goes after your body and makes it depressed. It just takes a long time to accomplish its true objective of making you depressed. Just like antibiotics take a long time to kill bacteria or whatever they do to get you well.

All other things equal you should begin to feel better as this poison leaves your body. A lot of what you feel is still probably chemically induced even though you are not drunk at the moment.

Just get through today. You don't have to solve everything today. Just get through today sober.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:4)

I think its good advice, religious or not.

anxiousrock

Ugh I hate the nightmares. I get them worst when the AV is really bad and sleep isn't great. They do get better, for me it was after a couple of weeks