I’m 9 months sober today. Not drinking is easy, but not doing anything else, is really hard. I don’t enjoy being sober all of the time. I hate it really.
I was a much happier person when i drank. My depression and anger have gotten so much worse. I’ve seen my doctor several times for help, but we never get anywhere when it comes to medicine. Depression and anxiety medicines just aren’t helping and I don’t know what else to do. I’m so miserable all of the time. Any tips?
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Welcome to the group and congratulating on 9 months sober!
Have you picked up any other hobbies since you stopped drinking? Recovery is a whole lifestyle change, sobriety is just stopping your doc. Have you gone to any soberiety meetings? Building a social network of other like minded people is a good idea.
I hope you find this place helpful, there are a lot of great people here. Best wishes to you 
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Amber we are sober twins! Im 9 months today too!! Being on this site has helped me tremendously right from the beginning…be here…read around…you need other sober people to help you along, i couldnt have stayed sober without it so good on you for getting this far…welcome to this amazing community 
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Welcome and congratulations on your 9 months!!!
I know what you mean about anxiety…I went thru a similar adjustment earlier in my recovery…after not having any major anxiety in sobriety, my anxiety went thru the roof. It took some work for sure, and one of the first things I realized was that all those years of using had suppressed my emotions and my ability to self soothe and self regulate. So for me, I needed to learn how to be okay with not always feeling okay and also how to soothe my anxiety without the alcohol or drugs. I still definitely struggle at times, but I am aware and have tools. I use physical activity (running works for me), meditation, yin yoga (very meditative and calming), breathing techniques, getting out in nature is also extremely healing for me. Warm baths, soothing music, furious dancing, bicycle riding, journaling, venting here…all this and more helps me express my inner workings (anxiety) so it doesn’t linger in my cells. I also utilize somatic + talk therapy and find it very helpful…getting emotions out is key IMHO.
It was huge for me to understand that all that anxiety I had over the years was still trapped in my body because I had always drank at it. So learning to release it, along with other emotions was and is really important for my recovery. And also learning that my feelings are normal, we are meant to feel all our feelings, not just the ones we label good. It is okay to not feel okay all the time.
I am also not averse to prescribed medications if needed … but my goal is to self soothe and be medication free. For your depression, you may need to continue looking for a medication that assists.
I think it boiled down to working my recovery…once sobriety was achieved, I needed to dig into the why’s and how’s of living my new drug and alcohol free life.
Hope this resonates a little!! It has been a long and worthwhile process.
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Hang in there You got this 
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