30 days and never felt so bad

I am just over 30 days alcohol sober now… ive been watching so many youtube videos of sobriety and expectstion timelines. I have never felt so down and anxious in my life. Aparf from getting made redundant, the way that i feel is causing great anxiety and depression. I have no motivation and feel lost. I just dont know what i am doing wrong and when i will start to feel like i am normal. I dont even remember what it feels like to be normal anymore

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Be patient with yourself, time takes time. Maybe find yourself some meetings so you can find people to connect with in person. Don’t give up before the miracle. Life without alcohol can be wonderful but you have to do the work to make it that way, it just doesn’t happen overnight. Start journaling, start taking inventory of your emotions, you behaviors and learn about the sober you. Start writing a gratitude list EVERYDAY. I wish you luck on your journey, and congratulations on 30 some days now.

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Congratulations on 30 days sober, an amazing achievement!

There is NO situation related to mental health which alcohol will make better, do not be fooled into thinking there is. For a split second you’ll be able to forget your anxiety and depression then they will come back worse than before when you’re not consuming alcohol.

Often we use alcohol to avoid facing anxious or depressive thoughts, like a blanket to cover them up. Now that you’re sober they’re right there for you to see. I’d speak with your doctor and see if they feel you’d benefit from medication or talking therapy to heal from those thoughts.

Whatever you do, don’t touch that bottle

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Unfortunately without booze as our toxic friend, life reaches up and gives us a big 'ol reality smack right in the face…but only for a while.

What I’ve learned is to move from task to task in a day. Confront your fears. Those things you’ve been running from or avoiding.

By and by you will find your fighting spirit returning and confidence. The alcoholic voice will diminish in time.

Keep doing what you’re doing and hang in there. Well done on 30 days!!!

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How long have you been drinking for? I drank every day for 5-6 years. Then I’d have weeks/months sober, some longer than others. But it took me a long time to get back to a certain kind of “normal” but I’d grown and changed even during those years so, I never really “went back” to normal. I just have a new normal. I’m only on day one of my last relapse but from previous experience its taken me a couple months before I’d start feeling like the sun was shining and I wanted to get out of bed and get stuff done.

As it is right now for me, I have good and bad days while sober. Some days I feel really positive and have plenty of energy, others I feel down and depressed for no reason I can identify. If I were you, I’d focus less on timelines and expectations, and start forcing myself to do something productive for myself. I don’t know what you mean by “made redundant” but if there’s some work or relationship conflict, that will just be something you’ll need to sort out. But it’s always best to do it sober anyway.

Don’t dwell too much on when you’re gonna feel good again. It’ll come on gradually until one day you feel great and stop to think “hell this is wonderful, I feel amazing today”. When things get overwhelming just stop and appreciate how much you’ve already accomplished. The first few days are the hardest. Good luck.

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I think stop watching the videos etc and analysing so much on how u feel and when your gonna feel better because it will only add to the anxiety and put pressure on yourself, youl feel better when u feel better. A couple of things that did help me at this stage were allen cars easy way to stop drinking… for mindset about drinking and also the Stutz documentary on netflix is great for helping you with the lost feeling and what to do to start to feel better…his triangle drawing in it is brilliant for that…i urge you to watch that. 30 days is brilliant…your doing great :+1:

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Get some labs done, your testosterone might be low low…I was feeling the same and got labs it was at 106 when it should of been 1000+… After a couple weeks on it I started feeling normal again, I think the booze and drugs kills it. Emergency packets of vitamin c gave me a few hours break to feel a tad better might try that. A multi vitamin maybe? U got this!!! Everything passes, see past the clouds and if u can’t understand that every storm runs out of rain.

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Come on champ. Keep it going. Keep checking in mate

:muscle:

It can be challenging for sure when we remove the numbing effect of alcohol. Do you have some physical outlets like walks or hikes and such? Sometimes getting my body moving can help my mind settle. Proud of you for your 30 days and reaching out here.

And like others mentioned, maybe let up on the videos. We all follow our own timeline and path. :people_hugging:

Hey buddy! 30 days is excellent, congratulations!!! I would maybe stop watching those videos. Keep in mind that everyone’s sobriety journey is different, and it certainly isn’t a race or a contest. For me, some of my anxiety/depression spirals can come down to the same type of thing: piling on expectations and activities or whatever that I think will make me feel better until I’m overwhelmed and frustrated and disappointed. Like, I’m trying so hard to feel good about myself and have a fulfilling life, when is my life going to look like one of the tampon advertisements with laughing and having friends and being happy doing activities?? My dude people using tampons are probably not having that much fun, and people with addictions don’t have a single path to building their own sober lives so it is no use trying to use that as a baseline for expectations. Focus on what’s working for you right now, and what you’re grateful for right now. Take time to celebrate your progress on your timeline, and to remember that progress is progress whether it’s big or little, and I guarantee that there are people on here who have felt the same and will celebrate even the smallest bit of success along with you.

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How are you?

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