I hit one year and 10 months sobriety on April 10. I wanted to ask if others on the AA board have experienced any anxiety issues after being sober for over a year and how they deal with the problem of anxiety. Whether it's through AA principles, psychiatry, medication or coping techniques..any advice on this would be helpful and appreciated.
I have mornings where I wake up with anxiety and there is no reason why...it's just there and I have to work at it to lower it's hold on me. It's just the gut feeling of nervousness and anxiety I am dealing with on a daily basis. So, I'm interested in hearing from those who are sober but have anxiety issues and how they manage them. This has become a serious issue for me now.
I am a month and a half shy of a year of sobriety. I know you said you were interested in hearing from those with over a year. Did want to say congratulations on having a year and 10 months of sober time under your belt. I deal with anxiety myself. It is so much better since I have been sober however, still have it at times. I hope that you find some responses which are helpful, such as Bikerbill's. BTY
I took a poll and found that 90% of alcoholics of my type admitted to having anxiety issues .. and the other 10% were lying.
After I put the booze and drugs down the most important phrase for me was:
"There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest."
I will have 25 yrs sober in July and rigorous honesty deals with my alcohol"ISM"s better than any medication or therapy I've had since 1972.
I take a mild blood pressure pill and a statin for cholesterol ... that's it.
The oldtimers told me "Keep coming back, it gets better" and it has over the years. I had to quit looking for the easier, softer way and get to work.
God is doing for me what I could not do for myself.
I can remember the first year I got sober about the age of 38...and 365 days being a big goal...
Once the one year was achieved? I was very anxious...re ok..What now? Felt kind of in a lost space..
Slackened off meetings...and went backwards..Slackened off the DO THINGS..and went backwards..
Almost lost the sobriety that I had..
Then a fellow AAer told me that what I felt was normal after one year...but that I had to keep going forward..each and every day...or I WAS going to loose it..
I had a bit of a vacation from AA after 22 years sober...for the same reasons...went backwards..and picked up that drink..
Almost died after 6 years..
Got back in ....however....and now have about 14 months..
I didn't celebrate one year...this time...I just took it as another day..one day at a time..
The statistics are that between one year and 5 years...that only 3 percent of us make it..After that? The percentage goes up...
Keep doing the DO THINGS....and don't slacken off Bro...One day at a time..:)
I agree with BB, ... sometimes outside help(medical advice is needed) ... working the steps and continuing to go to meetings on a regular basis was a giant step forward for relieving anxiety for me ... down the road, I developed a 'heart' issue(probably due, in large part, to my excessive drinking over the years) ... ... ... you see?, ... alcoholics have one thing in common when it comes to the heart, we develop 'enlarged' hearts that get worse as we continue to drink ... it's a bad thing and 'high blood pressure' with a high risk of a 'stroke' is also a byproduct of heavy drinking ... especially during 'detox' (which is why it's very highly recommend one go through 'detox' with the aid of a medical doctor ...) ...
High blood pressure can aid the anxiety problem and vice-versa ... and this condition usually lessens over 2 to 3 years of sobriety, depending on our drinking history, to a more 'near normal' level ... however, in my case, due to heavy drinking and genetic makeup, my blood pressure came down but not down far enough ... ergo, I had a mild heart attack followed by congestive heart failure at around 4 years sober ... ... ...
The medication with the addition of having to use a CPAP machine to stabilize my heart while sleeping, solved my problems ... your medical solution here may be different than mine since we do not share the same drinking history's nor the same genetics ... so, my advice is to see a medical doctor 1st, to ensure you don't have a physical reason for this problem ... then if you are good there, then perhaps a psychiatrist would be in order to help you get this condition under control ...
This is just a simple opinion on my behalf, but if you do have a good conscious contact with God, and you're not at total peace, or near total peace with youself, then another problem may exist that you need to have looked at, that's all ...
We're with you man, get this checked out if it persists, Love ya and God Bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Hi Happyback,
Just echoing others: It's a good idea to chat with your doctor. Anxiety and depression are just like any other illness: sometimes they require medication. Of course, I would also check in with yourself to see where you're at with AA. How's your spiritual condition? Are you going to meetings? Working the steps?
In the early period of my sobriety, I had what I would call panic spells that would come and go. But, I seemed to have a constant nagging fear of what might happen to me next, or a fear that something bad was coming around the corner soon. At that time, I was only attending A.A. meetings to stay sober -- one meeting every day, and sometimes two. After several anxious months in the A.A. Fellowship, I finally caught on to the fact that the folks in those rooms who were sober and happy were actually working the 12 Steps -- the A.A. Program. After I worked the Steps, my anxieties and constant fears went away -- never to return. What was the difference? The A.A. Fellowship was giving me sobriety, but it was "white-knuckle sobriety". The 12 Step A.A. Program gave me a new happy life. That was 26 years ago. Working the Steps is the best thing I've ever done for myself in my life. Knowing the kind of alcoholic that I was, I never would've lasted this long. That's my experience....for what it's worth.
Thanks for the support, advice and the AA wisdom. It's greatly appreciated and I am in the process of trying to get some help for the anxiety. Thank you.
That's a major question Mike D. We recover...Get better if you will....By taking the action of the steps. For myself...It was all the medication I needed for my horrible anxiety and depression problems. If that solution wasn't enough for me...I'd talk to a doctor about it......Not another alcoholic.
My anxieties (and fears, selfishness, doubts, shames, perfectionism, laziness etc) are why I drank. These are my defects and shortcomings.
Today my wife asked me to rake the lawn, to clean-up the winter debris and get things ready for fertilizer and mowing.
1) I could look at that request (DEMAND) as just another PITA job I HAVE to do and if she got off her ar$e she could do it herself. I'm just a victim .. AGAIN !! (Anxiety, depression, overwhelming hopelessness as the jobs never end and I can't catch a break, desire to run... to blame her for my bad feelings)
2) I could thank God for the truly nice piece of property I have and the fact that, at nearly 70 yrs old, I am in great shape and can easily get things in order for the upcoming spring growing season. To look at the job as an opportunity to get some good exercise and a feeling of self-worth from a job well done ... and please the wife. (Gratitude, enthusiasm, opportunity, pleasing God and knowing I'm doing the next right thing, enjoyment, fulfillment)
Same job .... 2 choices .... my choices. No drugs or therapy ... just making a decision. The choices are the same price( it doesn't cost more to have a good day) If I pick choice 2 I have a great day and sleep well tonight. If I pick choice 1 I have a bad day at many levels and need some Valium just to barely stand myself and pass out at night.
What would/will you choose ??
Im saying my prayers and heading out to the shed to get the gloves and rake.
The answer to all my problems is in HOW IT WORKS ... not in the bottle or the Valium.
Bob R
-- Edited by 2granddaughters on Monday 14th of April 2014 08:51:59 AM
The last thing I want to do is go for anything Benzo related. It was taking ativan prescribed by my doctor when I initially quit drinking in 2012 that lead to a tolerance of ativan and thus I weaned myself off of ativan this past January. I am working to determine the cause of my anxiety right now with a psychiatrist. I continue to work as well on the STEPS.
I understand your thoughts on the strength of the AA philosophy HOW IT WORKS though very much. Thank you for sharing that.
