Anxiety and overcoming drug cravings

[Jaz_B]

I am struggling.
i'm 6-7 months clean and sober from any substance but im in physical pain from my anxiety with the cravings I have to numb myself and I don't know how to escape it "anxiety".
I've done exercise and online yoga class and walked the dogs heaps, called 3 different helplines.
I have personality disorder, I have C-PTSD "Complex post traumatic stress disorder" and I have an anxiety disorder which is pretty much inclusive of my clinical diagnosis.
im having those cravings "self-sabotage" that I get when I really wanna use and numb myself its come out of know where and im snuggling to shake it off. im feeling so sick from my literal anxiety. im scared. I think im in need to abuse myself again.

[Sophie_M]

Hey Jaz B,

Welcome to Beyond Blue forums, we're glad you decided to join us!
We're so sorry to hear about the overwhelming feelings you've been experiencing lately, it sounds like you're working really hard to avoid giving in to these cravings. You should be proud that you've been able to avoid them for over 6 months and that your here reaching out for further support. Please know that our community is here to work through this difficult time with you. We also want to let you know that we are checking in with you via email. Keep checking back in and let us know how you are going when you feel up to it.    

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Jaz B,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for joining us! I'm glad that you're here. It sounds like you are having a really tough time at the moment so it's good that you reached out.

A big kudos to you for being 6-7 months clean. That's really something to be proud of.

Hearing that you want to abuse yourself; I'm wondering if you can think about how you've come this far? I have no doubt in my mind that even though I don't know you, these last 6-7 months can't have been easy. So just hitting this milestone shows me that you do have some skills and coping tools there.

While drug cravings haven't been my thing, self-harm has and in a way drug abuse is a kind of self-harm. If you were to make the decision to take some drugs again, what would that mean for you? I can see from your post there's a huge benefit there to taking it - maybe to numb out, but numbing out from the drugs will wear off eventually. Everything that you are looking for here in drugs is only temporary. I know that you know this already - but it is so important to remind yourself of why it's so important to step back and say no - or if no is too hard, maybe "not today", or "not at this very minute".

I hope this helps a little and you're able to find some support from these forums. I hope that you can remind yourself that you have gotten through yesterday and you can get through today.

rt