Hi,
I always used alcohol for sleeping on and off when I was at my 30s. Now I got a anxiety problem from a recent health problem. After that I used alcohol to calm me down. But I always tend to drink more and more gradually. I don’t like that. After my surgery I got antidepressor for my anxiety so I was drinking a lot less. But since 2 months I stopped it because I felt better. After 1 month anxiety came back. I tried to deal with it without anything but it’s really hard. I try not to take benzo too often to calm me down. But I don’t wanna take alcohol also…I feel stuck!
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So it sounds like you have to find other natural ways to cope instead of using substances. Even if they are prescribed. I know anxiety is real. But practice exercise, meditating and breathing when anxious, lavender always helps me but some people don’t like essential oils, read, journal. You know your body and when your starting to get those feelings of anxiety. Try a couple different things and figure out what works for you. Maybe go for a walk. Or do 30 jumping jacks to occupy your mind and get control back.
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I must say that when I am in anxiety high I feel paralisez. I don’t wanna do anything. I can’t concentrate at all. Even my husband ask my to come see what the cats are doing it’s an effort. It’s always between 6pm and 10pm. Everyday. If I drink it’s gone, if I take benzo it’s less worst but still there. I really tried to get rid of alcohol because it’s really bad for health. But If I take more benzo to feel good I will be addicted to that after. I will see my doctor next week. Maybe she will have a solution.
It sounds like the antidepressant was helping. Why not go back on it for now? It’s way, way better for you than alcohol or benzos, and doesn’t have that same potential for abuse. Though alcohol and benzos are different drugs with different effects, they chiefly reduce anxiety via the same mechanism and it’s not sustainable over the long term, your body adapts to it and you need more over time for the same effect. The antidepressant works a lot differently and doesn’t have this problem.
If you don’t want to stay on the antidepressant, you can try using therapy to work at managing your anxiety and developing effective coping strategies, so that when you stop taking it you’re better prepared to deal with the anxiety you experience. A combination of meds and therapy delivers the best outcome for anxiety anyways (says science), better than meds alone.
Also, from personal experience, my anxiety reduced quite a bit from just not drinking anymore, but it happened over a period of months, it was hard at the beginning.
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