Anxiety and drinking alcohol

Adrian2014 · ‎28-10-2014

Hi all,

I have been having a hard time recently with anxiety and it has started to affect my daily life. I first suffered anxiety when I was around 24, I am now 30. It was after a fairly big life event, I was diagnosed with cancer although it was caught very early and I made a full recovery I had never really suffered from anxiety until after this, so I wonder if it was a trigger. I ended up taking CBT and it seemed to help and I got over it by changing jobs and doing something like stressful.

Anyway, I then emigrated to Australia from the UK and have been fine, until recently. I have never really been able to handle hangovers and often engage in 'hair of the dog' to quell my anxiety. The last two weeks though it's got pretty bad, I didn't go to work for 3 days as I couldn't leave the house to go to work. I'd end up drinking from 9am which makes me feel better temporarily. I went to the GP who prescribed me some medication, i took it for the first day but i felt horrible on it. I resolved to myself that I would try to get better naturally by eating well and exercising etc. So last week was really good, however I then ended up getting really drunk on friday, felt awful on saturday so drank all day. Then sunday was the same. It's now Tuesday and I haven't been to work as i'm stuck in a bad cycle. The thought of going to work in the morning feels me with dread. I obviously can't keep on like this as I will lose my job if I keep taking days off.

I know the alcohol is the root of the problems, I need to really moderate it and then I will be ok. Hopefully I can wean myself off today and get a good night sleep. Has anyone else been caught up in this self medicating with alcohol situation? I honestly don't think I am an alcoholic as I don't crave a drink when my anxiety is absent. It's just when it strikes, normally due to alcohol withdrawal I end up drinking again to make me feel better. I have hardly been eating the last few days and I have knots in my stomach. I woke up with terrible anxiety at like 4am and had to stop myself from reaching for some alcohol. I just don't now what's causing it. Anyway this is a good site!

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HA1 · ‎29-10-2014

Hi Adrian

I do understand how difficult it can be. I have been there.

Sounds like you saw a very unprofessional doctor. Are you happy with your regular one?

I am wondering whether a change in medication (dose or type) might help? You could also try medication to stop drinking - I have never tried it but I know a few on this forum who have.

I must be honest and say that I stopped drinking after my meltdown only (probably) because I was hospitalised for a while. That helped me along.

it could well be your job that is causing it. While it did not cause my illness, it as a long fused trigger that eventually made me crack. You health is more important than a job. So maybe a change in environment is really beckoning.

take care

K

dougall · ‎29-10-2014

Hi Adrian can you do your job on a part-time basis to get your anxiety under control or from home. My dad used to drink whilst working and he was a roofer, not the best thing to do. It sounds like the only friend you have at the moment is the drink, it doesn't tell you the obvious, it doesn't judge,it doesn't help just numbs. Next time you go for a drink try just not pouring it and staring at the bottle and ask yourself are you going to help or hinder, sounds silly. When I have a bottle of wine in the fridge it is like it teases me evertime I open the fridge door, like how you doing, want a drink, I'd like you to have a drink, I last maybe a day. It doesn't talk back to me when it is empty, it is inside me talking negative thoughts. You need to have another method to cope and at the moment no one has given you that method so you are using the only one you know. I hope you find someone who can teach you new methods of coping and still be able to have a social drink without making it the only method.

Adrian2014 · ‎29-10-2014

Thanks for your advice. My usual Doctor has been ok although i am still not sure if he is what i need. In saying that i have very rarely found any GPs who seem to really appreciate the inner turmoil you feel when you go to see them. I have not been taking medication as I didn't like the way it made me feel the first day I tried it. In hindsight maybe that was a mistake in stopping after just one day. However now I feel its probably the only option in the short term to get me feeling better. I am thinking of going back to the doctors this afternoon as my regular dr is in now and maybe he can talk me into taking the medication regularly. My anxiety is bad enough that I am even worried about taking medication. Ironic isn't it?

Adrian2014 · ‎29-10-2014

Yes you are spot on. Alcohol is my coping mechanism and at the moment its the only one I know. What I need to do is eradicate the source of my anxiety and whilst alcohol is a complicator I feel the real issue is my job. At the end of the day though I dont really know what is causing it. I need to stop drinking first of all. Just go a few days with no drink. Easier said than done. If I don't drink I feel like I am going to lose my mind and can't control my anxiety. Its a pretty horrible situation. Just wish I could he normal. I feel so detached from society at the moment. Cant work. Cant exercise. Just drinking all day.

dougall · ‎29-10-2014

Hi Adrian I don't think you can eradicate anxiety totally as we do have it normally. It is just when we are stressed it gets exaggerated. Sometimes we look at the most obvious thing and miss the little thing that might be causing the problem. My example would be obvious was husband. not so obvious my inability to see abuse for what it was, not the physical type, emotional and mental type. Sometimes we need to step back and look at ourselves in a different way, maybe like a stranger meeting us for the first time, what would they think of us? We all think bad of ourselves and see the things that are wrong we don't stop and think okay what is my uniqueness, what do I have, I know, there is only one of me and I am unique to everyone else which makes me special. I feel detached from society but then I would think most people do with there mobile phones. My daughter and her boyfriend used to txt each other whilst sitting in the same room, could not understand that he would also txt from the bedroom for her to make him a coffee. People spend too much time on portable machines and don't interact socially. Maybe that is why so many young people drink because they do not know how to be sociable, what do you think?

HA1 · ‎30-10-2014

Hi Adrian

I agree with your comment about doctors. I still have not found a GP that I feel comfortable with. Working on it ....

Good idea to go back on the meds - careful about negating their effect though by overdoing the booze. Small doses are ok.

How did you go? Did you end up seeing a GP?

Take care

k

geoff · ‎30-10-2014

dear Adrian, this topic is always a huge one, so I have mentioned on many other posts saying that when I was depressed and with this anxiety was included as they all fall under the umbrella of this illness, anyway, I was classified as an alcoholic, because my depressive mind became anxious as I was thinking so I drank.

Some people deem being an alcoholic as someone who who can't go through a day without needing a drink, but there are also other definitions as well, so I'll let you decide, and I'm not saying this to upset you, but now I am only a social drinker, but I am still referred to as being an alcoholic, so what, that doesn't worry me one bit.

Doctors the first question they ask you is 'how much do you drink', well as if you are going to tell them, but they always say 'you need to stop' and that's it.

'Alcohol was my coping mechanism', and I had to hide it simply because my wife (ex) and 2 sons would tip it down the drain, but as our sons turned 18 they moved down to Melbourne, 2 hours away, and my wife moved out and then finally divorced me saying that 'she couldn't help me any more with my depression' and she hated me drinking.

At this stage I hadn't been working for a number of years as I couldn't with being depressed and secondly I had been in a car accident and had operations on my hip.

There is so much more I would like to talk about and if we were together then maybe a few hours wouldn't do it, but there's one point I would like to finish on at the moment is that I am worried that if you resign from your job then this may open the door for you to drink everyday.

Hope the you and the others can get back to me, and ask what ever you like. Geoff.

dougall · ‎30-10-2014

Hi Adrian how are you doing today?

Adrian2014 · ‎30-10-2014

Hi guys

Thanks for your support it means alot. I went to see my regular GP in the afternoon and as he really understand my situation it helped alot. We talked through how I feel and he said he would give me meds to help with the anxiety and the alcohol withdrawal. He wants me to go back in a week. He said dont mix the meds and drink but if I do drink dont take the meds that day. I felt better but also I felt down from all the booze I had consumed.went home and my mind kept saying have another drink but I knew that would not help. So I went for a swim and jacuzzi for half an hour which helped. I came back and felt anxious again so I just put music on laid down and shut my eyes. Laid there for 2 hours and felt much better. I then made dinner and went to bed and took the med. Slept really well and woke up and went to work early. I felt spaced out and my anxiety was there but more silenced than usual. If it wasnt for the meds I probably would have cracked again! I feel a bit spaced and a slight headache. A bit on edge maybe from the meds or just because ive felt crap for days but its been 20 hours since my last drink and now just about to get a smoothie and sit in the sun! At times this morning it was hard I was tempted to crack and get a drink but I kept saying it wont help me. As soonas 12pm came I fslt better. Its weird its like my mind panics about.not being able to drink and as soon as the pubs open and I can have a drink.. I dont care. To manage my drinking I know now I cant overdo it. I am fine with 2 glasses of wine in the evening but its the getting so drunk I have a hangover which leads me into problems. How is everyone else today?

Gomez · ‎30-10-2014

i know where your coming from. I used to suffer the same thing. Wouldn't necessarily drink often but extreme anxiety when i woke up the next day. Even though I miss the fun I ended up giving up the booze. It took me a while to get the message...# days of suffering for a few hours of fun. Hang in there...it will pass soon