Alcohol Was Not The Answer

[Robert]

In confusion prior to diagnosis I self medicated with alcohol, at first it helped with the anxiety and sleep but only for a couple of years. However when it no longer proved of any benefit I found that I had become alcohol dependant, the compulsion to drink took over my life. I was an alcoholic! I still am but gratefully a sober one since 17 March 2008. It appears that the alcohol trap is one that many of us fall into and in many cases it proves to be a fatal trap. If I have any advice for other sufferers it is to avoid self medicating on alcohol, any relief is very temporary and short lived yet the cost can be enormous emotionally/financialy and physically. Alcohol dependancy also built a barrier between myself and the limited help that may have been available to me otherwise. Fortunately that is no longer the case. The foregoing opinion is based only on my own experience
Would be interested to hear of others experience regarding alcohol/PTSD either good or bad.

Regards, Robert

 

[Jade-]

I thought alcohol was the answer too. I would drink as much as I possibly could as fast as I could. I loved that AHHHHH feeling. And even though I knew a few hours later I would be depressed, anxious, unable to sleep and doing and saying stupid things, I thought it was worth it.

It became a vicious cycle and only made everything worse. To make a long story short, yesterday made 5 weeks of being sober. It really isn't the answer and I'm glad I realized it.

 

[amethist]

My husband thought this was the answer too, unfortunately it led to a 10 day detox over 2 years ago. Best thing he ever did, still off the drink, a few very minor hiccups since, but still off it. It was much later after this event that he was diagnosed with PTSD. If he had not got this help at that time, the drink would have most probably killed him.

The threat of me burning his motorbike goes a long way to him staying sober, as well as his understanding of how ill he feels after just one pint of lager. Takes him a heck of a lot longer to recover form the effects of the drink, than it does for him to drink it.

So yep staying off it if you can, helps more than you would think possible. But when no one listens (Professionals who should), or takes notice of what you are trying to tell them, then drink does seem a good idea.

Amethist

 

[LSNP]

I am struggling with this now. Another reason I am seeking out help. "Fighting problems with bigger problems." I guess I don't have enough self-hatred going on... I have to throw in dependency and addiction to the mix, as well. Sigh. Big, fat, heavy sigh. :-(

 

[BloomInWinter]

I'm celebrating 20 years sobriety at the end of this month.

...and I had PTSD back then, when I first got sober. Before I got sober. Before I began drinking. I just didn't know it.

Sobriety has been wonderful for stabilizing my life, detaching from my abusers, and creating the environment for a life that is worth fighting for.

Alas, PTSD is one of those things sobriety just doesn't heal. But it makes healing possible.

It has been worth it.

 

[James B.]

Congratulations on your 20 year sobriety BloomInWinter. :clap:

I agree and identify with every word in your post. Thank you. Numbing my feelings, avoiding or self-medicating my feeling and emotions, didn't help me. Being clear and going through my trauma, did.

 

[AvoidanceRulez]

Congrats on the 20 yrs sobriety...i'm approaching my 2nd dry month
You say u had PTSD 'back then'...what made it a thing of the past? I hope i'm not being too personal..if so..u could always not reply. I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired..i know that sounds trite and the phrase is used a lot..but i dont know any better way to put it.
I tried finding dif treatments for it on the web, but havent found any treatment that sounds solid and effective. And I dont think I get coverage for that kind of stuff anyway, which is why I've read books. But I'm at a point now where I think I need to interact with a professional to address this

Meh..sorry bout the rant. Anyway, my name is Catharine.

Have a good one

 

[AvoidanceRulez]

PTSD sucks and it's totally understandable why someone would want to hit the bottle to *treat* it, but one of us PTSD'ers trying to treat ourselves is like a doctor doing heart surgery on him/her self--it doesnt work. It's my understanding that in order to treat probs effectively, its best to get an objective perspective..I know i'm not objective about myself.
I was a pretty hardcore drunk for 2 or 3 years--I would even outdrank a 30 somethin soldier I know--and I"m a chick LOL. I'd drink to the point of blacking out. I preferred vodka considering its a hard liquor and gets the job done quicker and you're not as likely to have hangovers as u would be with tequila. For some reason, I'd black out quicker on cheap vodkas and would never appreciate the temporary stupidity that comes with being drunk. The temporary stupidity is the reason why I first started really hittin the bottle, everything was amusing..and I figured that if a lil vodka makes stuff this entertaining..just imagine what a lot would do and fairly quickly became a drunk.
I've noticed that my vision is a bit on the blurry side now( i used to have 20/10) and I'm a tad more forgetful. As I like reading..I learned that drinking eats away at the hippocampus where memories are formed...having permanent damage on the short term memory.
I am an extremist in anything I do and am currently in a work out obsession. Working out also gets u high releasing endorphins..but its a more focused feel good high rather than a numb wtf kinda high. Another thing I learned is how temporal lobe damage affects the personality(i learned that tidbit from dr drew LOL)...and being the hippocampus is in the temp lobe, it not only can affect the memory, but personality as well

Sorry bout goin on..i'm home alone on a friday night..my bf is at work. Home alone on a friday night is kinda depressing IMO

Curious...u writing a book on alcohol/ptsd?

 

[Robert]

Hi, AvoidanceRulez, No not writing a book, just trying to make sense of the nonsensical ha ha! In hindsight I can now see that taking the alcohol course closed all other doors and it wasn't till I got sober that real help became available. Life is still bloody difficult but now back in fighting mode and determined to tackle this sober. No matter how bad it gets alcohol only makes everything worse in the long term in my experience/opinion. Thats all I can voice really opinion based on experience. I got nothing else.

Regards, Robert

 

[seraphimfelldown]

Oh God I remember the AHHHH feeling. 'Cept I was pills instead of alcohol. So I did stupid things and then fell asleep, all with my next prescription safely in my hand!

 

[Seneca]

Alcohol is an answer like "I don't know" is an answer.

Congratulations on sobriety, any amount of it. PTSD, in a way, is sobriety. It's an overdose of reality. It must have been hard to add more reality onto that.

 

[sfguy]

I get the AHH feeling from benzodiazapenes. They have their own issues, but definitely safer than alcohol I think.