Hi from a Newcomer needing a bit of Mental support

moocher · Newbie

Hi from a Newcomer needing a bit of Mental support

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Hello Moocher,
welcome to the board. What does your meeting schedule, sponsor, sleep, diet, exercise, and vitamins look like? It's all part of the picture.

-- Edited by StPeteDean on Monday 9th of November 2009 04:53:22 PM

carlasober · Senior Member

Welcome. Keep Coming Back!

kkotz401 · Senior Member

Welcome to the board. I know how it feels to have cravings. I am six months sober and still get very strong craving at time. When it happens I try to take my mind off of it by meditating or deep breathing. It helps me to relax. Just try and stay positive. I am sure you will find this forum to be a great source of support.

Aquaman · MIP Old Timer

Welcome, Moocher!
I'm new, too. Never doubt that you're doing the right thing! Sobriety is job one, because for us alkies, everything else in our lives turns to sh*t anyway if we drink.
I'm glad you joined up; there's strength in numbers!

When I'm having one of 'those' moments I first ask myself if I've got a HALT situation; Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired and if the answer is YES to any of them...I fix it immediately. Those are the four most common triggers for Us. My biggest triggers are frustration, resentment and self-pity. They will lead me right to anger. I can no longer afford to harbor those emotions. I give them to God. He can have 'em. I can't afford to carry that stuff around or it will kill me.

These mood swings...are they a danger to yourself or others? How severe are they?

Rob

Dave Harm · Senior Member

When I first sobered up I battled wild mood swings. And I shared with a therapist what was going on. I basically told him that if this is what sobriety was all about then I'm going back to drinking.

His response was that every time I had these mood swings was when I used to reach for a drink. Since the alcohol was gone my body didn't know how to act. After he said that, I was able to better understand those mood swings and began to see what triggered my thoughts with drinking.

And what Dean asked above holds a lot of weight too...

ljc · MIP Old Timer

I was only restored to sanity after working step 2.

With the guidance of a good sponsor , working the steps, going to meetings, praying ALOT, reading the literature, working with others, eating right, resting right, exercising right, and thanking the proper ppl for my progress I started to get better.

Mood swings were very normal for me from day 1 to 1 yr . And I still have them occasionally now. Im a 46 yr old woman approaching that wonderful time in my life , lol. Im gonna have mood swings.

However, the harder I put all my mental & physical energy into working this life changing program, my life changes and the moodiness dissapears.

If Im experiencing these mood swings to often, then something is most likely bothering me and I need to share that with my sponsor and be honest with her as to what is goin on between my ears. She cant help me if Im not honest with her.

pinkchip · MIP Old Timer

Mood swings were intense for the first year and they still can be for me at just over a year. I am coming from a bit of a different spot though having a mood disorder to begin with. Things are leveling out some though and that's a good thing. Hang in there. No mood swing of mine is worse than the awful despair I had when I drank...especially in the last year of drinking almost daily. 15 years or so of hardcore drinking did a number on me and the program does keep me much more centered as time goes by and I acquire more faith and coping skills. Welcome to the board and we are all here to help you and each other do this a day at a time.

Mark

Jerry F · MIP Old Timer

Aloha Mooch...God to have a mood swing rather than to just be stuck in depressed
a gift!!   LOL

One of the first instructions I got when the drinking was arrested was don't drink
and...don't think.   My brain without alcohol needed to be put back in the box
until I have more time under my belt and my sponsors called for me to take it out
and inspect it to see if it was dry and usable.   I had no idea how to use my brain
after the realization that I got here by pure luck and into insanity by the same
method and alcohol.   Try something simple...pick up some ideas from the elders
in recovery and focus on their thoughts and expressions and then from time to
time pull your brain out of the box and roll it around in your hands for a while and
see if the bruises and bumps are going away. Simple thoughts like do I wan't
the Number 5 grilled cripy, large, with a diet with lite ice might be a managable
thought exercise and then add 4 or 5 packets of ketchup.   Put it back in the box
you don't need it to chew.   Keep it simple and hang close to your sponsor and
the elders. They are the ones with time and more recovery habits than you have
at the moment just repeat what has worked for them.

Memorize this fact...Alcohol is a mind and mood altering chemical and you are
currently experiencing it.   After a while it will change.

(((((hugs))))) smile

jrzboy · Member

It's gonna take time to level out. Patience, my friend. You CAN do this!
-Jeff

moocher · Newbie

Hi Everyone and thanks for the replys, the thoughts Im Having are not of a drink related nature but I get so depressed I think that life is not worth living , I have a lot of pressure at the moment with money issues too and I wonder if it just everything coming to a head as Ive stopped drinking , I have been to the doctors and he has put me on anziety and anti depressents tablets , Im living in hope that one day at a time my life will be a normal happy one again as at the moment I am totally miserable most of the time,

-- Edited by moocher on Wednesday 11th of November 2009 04:07:21 AM

pinkchip · MIP Old Timer

Something will kick in shortly where you will just wake up one morning or realize all the sudden...Oh cool...I can choose to be happy again. That's how it worked for me. I get mood shifts now, but don't stay down as long and have greater ability to work out of it. Regarding money problems...these are bad times and at least know you aren't alone there. Also, most of us had a hell of a mess to clean up financially...my credit is still in the toilet...My car insurance is outrageous. Why? Cuz I was too drunk all the time to be bothered with bills. All you can do is try your best each day. Life isn't always easy so you need to switch over to the side that roots for you, cheers for you, and loves you cuz it's just harder to get through difficult things with an enemy trying to make you feel like crap all the time (that enemy would be your negative thoughts and depression). I recently started really answering back to some of my thoughts that tell me I'm a loser and blah blah blah...I had to almost say aloud "Who says?!" before realizing that um....it was nobody but me. Try and take a breather and be happy for the small things...This too shall pass.

Mark

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Hey Moocher, the reason that I mentioned diet and exercise is because the number one treatment for depression IS exercise, along with a healthy diet, vitamins, and proper sleep. Doing these in a daily routine at certain times of the day, like eating at 7am, 12pm, and 7pm, going for a jog at 8pm, and going to bed at 10pm, could, probably, eliminate most or all of your depression, give you way more energy and increase your self esteem. I know how it feels to contemplate taking these actions when I would rather sit around and feel sorry for myself and invite people to my "Pity Party". We can't think our way to better feelings, We must Act our way to better living, that will produce better fellings about ourself and life in general. We have to take action, Fill you life with so much activity that you don't have time to be depressed. Daily meetings for the first year really help, as does talking with your sponsor several times a week and sharing your problems in meetings to hear others feedback is invaluable. I never left a meeting without feeling uplifted, especially when I dragged my butt in there feelings down in the dumps. We all go through it, but "meeting makers Make it"!

-- Edited by StPeteDean on Wednesday 11th of November 2009 10:51:44 AM