Anxiety

Salid

I think it's time I give up. I drink too much to often and then suffer terrible anxiety and fear and shame. Sometimes because I did something stupid, other times if I drank a bottle off wine alone at home I still get the fear something awful. I no longer want to feel like this and I want to get out of bed early on a Sunday morning!

Any advice for coping with the anxiety and shame? It drives me back into drinking and I can't seem to let anything go and move on.

iusedtoknow

One thing that has helped me immensely is "mindfulness" meditation - it is the sort of meditation you can do on the train/bus (not driving...obviously ) where you try to quieten down the thoughts in your brain, not by trying to silence them, but by acknowledging them and dealing with them.

I have mild social anxiety, which I used to medicate with alcohol - now I use mindfulness, especially before I go in a situation that by default makes me anxious (pretty much anything social). I breath in and out, recognize the thought pattern - ask my self what I want the evening/event to go like instead of listening to what my anxiety is telling me it will be like.

As for shame, i use it as a booster rather than weight. I know what I used to be like, how much of an arse I made of myself on too many occasions, now I am not that way - a lot of my friends now were my friends when I drank, they have seen a difference in me and I am now the "reliable" one.

It sounds trite...but...you have to forgive yourself - only then will you be able to rebuild your self confidence.