Thanks for sharing Who, that was a great read. Keep up the sobriety bud!

Sorry, I had a relapse, again I think that this is related to the “Staying busy” thing, at one point I was making minor corrections to my re sanding of some patio brickwork outside my house at 11:30 in the evening to try and keep my mind off things, I don’t think that this is a long term winning strategy. But as always, it may work for others.

I find, for me, it always trying to get the right balance.

Staying busy all the time is great, but not sustainable. At some point you need to 'come down' and relax, and our top go-to way of doing that? I think it's crucial to find good ways of doing this (I'll hypocritically recommend mediation).

On the other hand, being bored or unproductive obviously has it's own pitfalls.

I agree. I, personally found that the whole "staying busy" routine only lasts for a number of weeks.

When you ride that out it went away for me, and I relaxed into daily life. Maybe I was one of the lucky ones but I enjoy not having to be busy etc. Alcohol is just never on my mind any more.

Don't get me wrong, I was talking to work colleagues yesterday and I had mentioned I would love a pint of Guiness, but alas it is not meant to be for me.

I like the acronym HALT - hungry angry lonely tired

While not necessary triggers themselves, I found when I relapse/thought about I'm in one or more of those general states. Now I actively try to keep my self out of of those 'danger zones', as, even if I'm feeling fine, one thing will turn me and I'm ****ed.

I think that you have to navigate the limits of your comfort zone. If you go to far outside the anxiety monster kicks in and causes you to drink to shut it up, staying too far in and you just think “Well I’m just having a few drinks “

That is the trap that a lot of people fall into.

Of course we know that alcohol only masks the issue around anxiety. If you suffer from anxiety you need to deal with that, as it is an important foundation for quitting alcohol altogether.

^^I had crippling anxiety for a long time that within a cpl years of sobriety had morphed into a completely manageable form. I think my brain never really learned how to cope with stress properly because of always “managing” it by drinking it away, which ofc just led to even more extreme anxiety after temporarily sobering up

Just another benefit of sticking to it

also, meds.

lmao

Meds I am on for generalised anxiety disorder saved my life.

I am now able to put anxieties into categories on a scale of seriousness. 99% being in the who ****ing cares category now.

Previously I was an entirely different person. I'm surprised I was able to cope, but I was struggling to get by on a day to day basis.

Also, if you are on meds for anxiety, never drink on them. Whilst I personally haven't, I know of people who have and said anxiety goes through the roof following drinking. Hardly surprising but there you go..

I'm all for meds if they make sense for your individual situation, but long-term benzo withdrawal can be worse than with alcohol and potentially fatal. Certainly, do whatever you need to do to get off alcohol, but take that into account when weighing your options.

I have general anxiety disorder and the first ~2-3 weeks I was an absolute wreck (especially in the evenings) but each day got easier and easier. Additionally, part of the anxiety comes from the fact that you've typically used alcohol to avoid thoughts or feelings that "normal" people just deal with. It's going to take some time to work out how to do that sober.

If you're in this thread, and your doctor knows your history then prescribes benzos, get a new doctor!

Minor problem, when I was doing the referral for the detox and was just about to get my card out to pay the fee the guy said in an attempt to be helpful “The waiting list isn’t that long, you could probably get this for free if you contact your alcohol support team “
This left me with a decision to make, I am not currently capable of making any decisions so this threw me into a state of complete confusion.

Typical treatment for anxiety disorders are not benzos. SSRI’s are standard. They only really prescribe xanax for severe panic attack issues and even then tend to give a very small amount of it, intended for emergencies.

This is correct.

I am on Sertraline, which is known as Zoloft in the US.

yeah no benzos here. just mood stabilizers and whatever

I did Sertraline and Mirtazapine but came off the high doses because of nasty side-effects (worst being shaking and loss of balance). Now take a tiny dose of Mirtazapine at night to help me sleep. Makes me feel a little groggy the next day, but beats insomnia.

Couple of detox stories.
When my brother was waiting to pick me up from the unit he saw a man drinking vodka straight out of the bottle before one of the nurses gently beckoned him in saying “We need to get things started “
A woman who could have been 25 at most was on her 22nd detox

Couple more detox stories.
We managed to convince a young woman to detach herself from a toxic relationship with a man who was obviously trying to drag her back into alcoholism. Since this involved Richard, a sturdy young man who obviously loved her and could kill the guy with one hand while he was thinking about his lunch order this was an obvious success.

I found out that even at the age of 60 I still have significant table tennis skills. During the match I found out that the guy I was playing against was going to the mental health unit after he had been sobered up, this was mainly due to his sister committing suicide because she couldn’t cope with the facts about his girlfriend’s disability.
A joke about this(“Well at least you can just wheel her through the car wash”) didn’t go down very well, creating a tense period until the next morning when everyone involved apologised profusely to each other.

So, what did you learn?

That telling a joke about a mans girlfriends disability when it caused his sister to commit suicide is probably not a great idea.

.

Just waiting for the doctor to give me the all clear before I go in, looking forward to it especially the properly prepared toast, a large damp mass of soggy bread rather than the crispy delicate flavoured stuff that people have become used to.

Please refrain from posting unsupportive material in this thread

Really wish you the best but it's like you treat this thread as a trip report