I am on day 5 of being sober and I had an anxiety attack yesterday and today. Is this normal when you stop drinking? Thankfully I have medicine because I've had anxiety for years but it's been a long time since I've had attacks. The anxiety attacks are bad enough that the medicine takes 30 minutes or longer to make it stop. There is nothing in particular that set them off that I can tell.
Yes, they can be because you are feeling signs of withdrawl... and your mind can run.
Try this excersize when you start to feel anxiety comming on, when you start having negative reactions...
Say aloud, I am fine, I can beat this addiction, I will not be a prisoner in my own mind, Addiction is evil, anxiety is evil, I do not want to be in bondage to them,
I chose to live as a free person!
Doing this on a regular basis will help you reprogram your mind from the negative to the positive....Sort of a form of cognative therapy.
Journal your daily thoughts, keep a list of goals to work towards and focus on them...
Congrats on Day 5..Sweeeet!! sorry to hear about the anxiety attacks. from my experience I would say def yes as far as stopping drinking. I have discovered a main issue with my drinking and drug use has been to deal with feelings I cant deal with and when I put down the substances..It all begins to emerge..my work in sobreity includes learning new ways to recognize than deal with situations and feelings I'd much rather check out of..I need and have been building support through AA and anything I can bring myself to find thats different than my previous ill attempts at facing myself and life..sorry to be getting a bit long winded..hope that helps a bit. Marc
J B, I am so sorry that you are experiencing anxiety attacks, but I can imagine that your body is going through a major adjustment at this time with your sobriety. Have you ever tried deep breathing exercises or taking a walk in the fresh air and breathing it in deeply? These are things that work for me. Please stay strong and on this positive path that you are on. And please know that we are here for you always.
During the the last year and a half I had a ton of anxiety from recovering from it. This might sound stupid but it works. A few times a day sit down in room
By yourself. Turn the lights down. What you are going to do is flex you body musles individually on at a time from you feet to you head. Hold muscle flex for 10 or so seconds. Then relax for same time as you flex. Start by curling toes, then flexing calf muscle, thigh, stomach arm muscle, chest neck, etc. This training your brain the different bettween
Relax and not relaxed eventually more and more oxygen and blood goes to brain. I though it was stupid but I was willing to try anything. Medication does just the opposite. Brain needs medicine. Can't decide on own.