On day 82. Every morning when i wake up i still feel super panicked and anxious. I used to feel this way for so many years when i was drinking when i woke up id think oh shit do i have any alcohol i need a drink now! What happened last night? How can i get to the store with no alcohol in me? Just complete panic until i have alcohol in me and with me. I dont crave a drink when i wake up now but i still wake up panicked and anxious. Is this common? If so does it fade
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From my experience, your anxiety is common in recovery. Though painkillers are my DOC, I woke up every morning wanting to crawl out of my own skin. Those who I went through rehab with had similar experiences especially those who had been drinking daily for decades. It was more than 4 months before I woke up without my heart pounding and my blood pressure high. I eventually had to do things to focus on anything but my anxiety. I would run, take a walk or listen to meditation clips on YouTube. Simply sitting on the floor and slowly breathing in and out did wonders for me. In the meetings I go to there are people that struggle with anxiety more than 6 months later. In my case it didn’t help that was was taking klonopin for anxiety when i went into rehab. Though I didn’t abuse benzos, being cut off of everything at once made my life miserable. Do anything you can that’ll get your mind off of your anxious feelings. You will get better and the further along you go in your recovery, the less the symptoms will get.
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Thats good to hear. Thanks so much for the advice. Yeah benzos are tough too.
Hi Sean…I used to be the same way. I’m only 55 days clean but still have the pressing feeling that I need to reach for the bottle when I wake up as I was completely and totally physically addicted. Couldn’t function without it. So I feel you. From what I’ve been experiencing it’s your body and it’s ptsd. It was so common for you to do such a thing day in and out that it’s just what your body is used to at this point. Depending on how long you drank yourself into oblivion for (mine was 12 years) depends on how long your body needs to recover. They say 2 years. You’ll begin to feel a sense of relief, I promise. Congrats on your 80+ days, that truly is something x
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Perhaps you are just conditioned to waking up with a start. I know when I was in the Corps and was terrified of over sleeping and being late, I would jolt awake. Even today, when I travel for work, I jolt awake a couple of times a night.
You might want to look at one of those wake up lights/alarms. Supposed to help wake up in a more controlled manner. Regardless, as long as you are sober, at least the panicked wake-up isn’t because you actually drank.
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