drinking to help calm the anxiety??

[scharley1973]

so lately ive been drinking alcohol to help calm my anxiety i know its not a good thing with my meds...anyone else do this?? idk what else to do. my meds dont work really anymore, i just have to take them or i go thru withdrawals. ive been on them for over 20 years. i need something to take the anxiety edge off... i try and stay busy around the house and in the yard but its getting cold now so outside work is going to disappear pretty soon, im not a winter person. i live on a lake so we kinda hibernate this time of year. its cutting my distractions off alot! soon ill be stuck in my house with nothing but my thoughts...anyone else have thoughts on this or help with any distractions during our long indiana winters coming up??

 

[triceps]

Alcohol is great. It, by far, for me, is the best medication for my anxiety. The problem is that the temporary relief is offset by the fact that it heightens your anxiety the next day. I started having one solid cocktail after work when I was in my 50's. Gradually the glasses got larger, the amount of mix got smaller and eventually I ended up sitting in my basement drinking vodka straight from the bottle. I had fallen into the cycle that I had to drink everyday to counter the horrible anxiety caused by the alcohol consumed the day before.
Ended up having to quit altogether when realizing I really couldn't control it and got into AA and have been sober for 9 years. The two positive things is that my weekly AA meeting gets me out of the house and that I survived the possible overdoses of the alcohol combined with benzos.
The winter coming is always a bummer. I don't leave my property much but I do distract myself with the outside work needed to keep up my 40 acre farm up in NW Wisconsin. You have winter but up here I have WINTER, many days getting below -20 degrees. Do folks x-country ski on your lake? I bomb around the trails on my farm when the weather allows and the exercise is definitely helpful.

 

[scharley1973]

Alcohol is great. It, by far, for me, is the best medication for my anxiety. The problem is that the temporary relief is offset by the fact that it heightens your anxiety the next day. I started having one solid cocktail after work when I was in my 50's. Gradually the glasses got larger, the amount of mix got smaller and eventually I ended up sitting in my basement drinking vodka straight from the bottle. I had fallen into the cycle that I had to drink everyday to counter the horrible anxiety caused by the alcohol consumed the day before.
Ended up having to quit altogether when realizing I really couldn't control it and got into AA and have been sober for 9 years. The two positive things is that my weekly AA meeting gets me out of the house and that I survived the possible overdoses of the alcohol combined with benzos.
The winter coming is always a bummer. I don't leave my property much but I do distract myself with the outside work needed to keep up my 40 acre farm up in NW Wisconsin. You have winter but up here I have WINTER, many days getting below -20 degrees. Do folks x-country ski on your lake? I bomb around the trails on my farm when the weather allows and the exercise is definitely helpful.

lol! im sorry triceps but i had to laugh at your line opener. Alcohol is great! it was comical until i read on and learned what ended up happening and what you had to go thru im sorry. i love the truthful feedback tho, i dont want this to get out of control and i can easily see it heading there now that im not working. you are right about the anxiety being so much worse tho the next day after a night of several cocktails. but dang it...i feel so much better when im throwin em back! i just hate this and yeah, youve got our winters beat, ill give you that! BRRRR!!! im just not an outdoorsy person in the winter, hate the cold. ill have to come up with some kind of indoor activities...besides drinking thanks triceps! i always enjoy reading your posts, they are very helpful to me!

 

[Cirqueme]

I've never really been a drinker....I've also never been drunk and I'm 25. I just don't like it. I feel like it would definitely make me worse lol

 

[cheri030]

Im new here, and dont know what i really doing do you have depressiom or that horrid anxity