Is it normal to feel like you’re going to lose your mind if you don’t drink? I honestly don’t want to leave work and go home. I get stressed at home and I feel like the first thing that I get frustrated at I’m going to give up.
5 Likes
That’s pretty accurate @Kathy!
It depends upon how long you’ve been drinking, how much you drink, all of that sort of stuff, but yes, that’s how most of us usually start!
Hallucinations, the biggest, longest headache of my entire life, red hot and freezing cold sweats were my introduction to sobriety. Best thing I’ve ever done!
Get as much rest as you can, lots of water, lots of treats, no beating yourself up, one hour at a time, then one day at a time.
And get back on the forum and shout if you feel you’re slipping!
You CAN do this.
4 Likes
Yep I experienced similar. No physical withdrawal but that voice in my head screaming at me constantly ‘just one’ I felt like I was going crazy!
But the more I pushed past and ignored it, the weaker it got.
Now it’s just a very occasional whisper.
Stay strong, stay busy and don’t give into it!!
And as @Charlesfreck said keep checking in here.
You CAN get through this! 
5 Likes
Definitely @Kathy! I seriously thought I was headed for the funny farm! Since I drank myself into blackouts all the time, I had severe memory loss. Having people tell me what I did and said nearly drove me out of my mind. I’m on day 24 and still hear the voice quietly talking to me, saying ‘see - you don’t have a problem, just have one’. When the voice gets to me, I usually come out here and read some posts. I make a few replies and I tend to get out of my own head. Sometimes I immerse myself in manual labor like household chores or working in the yard. Anything to take my mind off it.
I work from home so I don’t know what it’s like to be at work and not want to go home for fear of the voices and drinking. You may want to try and make some new routines at home that keep your mind off drinking. This forum is a great support. Have you tried any other programs or support, like AA? @Charlesfreck has some great advice too. It’s time to take care of yourself!
3 Likes
No I’m not ready to go out in the public for fear ill fail and have to deal with telling them. The less who know the better it is for now.i almost feel like this is temporary and it will fix itself but I know it won’t. I just wish I was normal. 
1 Like
It sounds like it isn’t the alcohol that makes you lose your mind. You just need new coping mechanisms for the stress.
BUT having said that, I used to drive home from work every day and say “I’m not drinking tonight” only to open a bottle within 5 minutes because the kids were driving me nuts already. It wasn’t their fault…they were being kids. I just didn’t have the skills to deal with them. I still don’t 
but I don’t let the wine be my answer anymore.
4 Likes
Yes! It helps with my anxiety
1 Like
I can tell you around day 30 the anxiety I lived with my whole adult life began to go away! It’s feeling amazing.ive been a slave to it so long. Now at day 53 I literally feel no anxiety anymore…i promise you ,it gets better!
10 Likes
God I hope my depression and anxiety goes away at some point…
5 Likes
I agree @Marcus. I’m on day 24 and my anxiety is at an all time low. I think I never gave myself a chance to get this far before. I’d get to about day 10 and couldn’t deal with stress of any kind and I’d pick up again.
The hardest part was getting through the stress and give my mind and body a chance to start healing. It hasn’t been easy but it’s definitely worth it.
2 Likes
Thank you! I needed to hear this. By far the most difficult thing I’ve ever tried to do. I’m not a very strong person.
2 Likes
@Kathy your strong enough to be here! There’s a lot of bravery there in itself. In many cases we let our addiction run our life for so long we forget how to gain control of our own feelings, emotions and thinking. Since you don’t want to take the leap in AA. Try this coping mechanism, this has helped a tremendous amount.
2 Likes
I feel this exact way!! You are not alone
Depression here has been at an all time HIGH today
Hope you doing ok!!
1 Like
Do you have good days And bad days? My mood takes over. Ugghh
1 Like
I do have good days and think oh I’m ok today i can handle a drink…fucks that up completely then today really bad day where I’m so depressed I don’t even feel like a drink then like over the weekend I had a panic attack and nothing BUT a beer helped and then anxiety and depression took over!
Warm teas have helped all different kinds from herbal kavakava tea to bedtime tea to green ginger…kind of gives me something to sip on instead of alcohol and distracts my mind
My moods are are over the place we (my GP) are looking into bipolar 2 disorder a little different than regular bipolar it’s more of an irritated manic depressive state
1 Like
Ugh I’ve been so down all day!!! And I just want to get over this funk!!! There’s so much worry and stress and there’s so much up in the air about my life! But it’s good being able to talk to people about it. It makes it easier.
1 Like
Thank you! I learned a lot. I’m going to try this.
The anxiety will definitely subside. It is an amazing feeling once it does. During the roughest times, I tried to stay constantly busy. For instance, I played a new app game at night with the TV on some interesting show or movie at the same time, while cooking, overworking my brain. On another note, I had a slight cold for a few days, no biggie, but the symptoms I felt in the morning with the cold felt very similar to being hungover. It really makes me wonder why one would put oneself through that voluntarily.
1 Like
How long does it take for alcohol to leave your system?