PTSD and Alcohol

[stacey.lane]

Does anyone here use alcohol too much? I have been drinking far too much for me, not all day, but at night when i seem to get sad I drink, sometimes one or two glasses sometimes a bottle or two. Just fed up of trying to escape. I am 27 and a student so it kinda goes with the lifestyle, but i am scared it will develope into more as a way of escapism. Has anyone else leant on something as a crutch before?

 

[midi]

Hey there Stacey,

Nice to meet you. There is a whole section on our PTSD maladaptive behaviours right below the regular part of the forum. You'll find booze, drugs, etc... all in there... Hope that helps.

 

[BrownEyes]

Hi Stacey,

I have definitely used alcohol as an escape in the past. I don't use it anymore but there was a time when I used it heavily. And I did notice that I was wanting and needing to use it more and more.

I used it to put myself in a "happy place", and to avoid anxiety symptoms. However I eventually got to a point where I was having anxiety and panic attacks all the time and knew that I couldn't continue to keep drinking ing order to escape. The problem was that all the issues that I was trying to avoid were still there after I returned from my escape.

So I got some councelling for anxiety and panic, and learned some coping skills. That's helped me, and I rarely have a full blown panic attack any more, but there are still times that I think how nice it would be to just avoid everything and drink to escape. But I know it's counterproductive to my healing, so I don't do it. I now try to find other ways to cope.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

PTSD and alcohol don't mix. I used to drink to escape from the world. Now that I am serious about healing, I don't even consider drinking. One drink, and I have a major meltdown....not pretty at all.

 

[Gingercat]

Hi Stacy,

After the main incident that caused my PTSD, I drank heavily as a way to escape. I was also in college at the time and I just wanted my life to go back to normal.

For me, drinking masked my PTSD symptoms. When I was drunk I would have episodes, and everyone just assumed I "couldn't hold my liquor." When I stopped drinking all together and I still had the episodes I realized that it had just been masking my symptoms.

I don't drink at all anymore, but I certainly understand feeling the need to escape. A few months ago, I had a bad counciling session and I came home and told my husband that I was going to go out and get sh*tfaced drunk. He sat me down and said "No...you can't run from this you have to fight it."
I cried and screamed and hemmed and hawed and demanded that he let me have "my f*cking crutch!" In the end, I calmed down and got through it without drinking, but it was really hard.

For me, learning to deal with my issues without using alcohol has been tough, but it has also been really rewarding.

 

[stacey.lane]

Thanks for the repsonses, helps to hear advice and makes things make a bit more sense.

 

[Blues in NYC]

PTSD and alcohol don't mix. I used to drink to escape from the world. Now that I am serious about healing, I don't even consider drinking. One drink, and I have a major meltdown....not pretty at all.

This right here.

I never drank all that much. But just the same I've been advised to simply stay away from it. With summer settling in here and being further into recovery, I asked my doc about having a cold beer on the occasional hot day or a glass of sangria.

She said it's my choice, but I may notice a marked flare up in symptoms with even one drink. The advice was give it at least six months, but that I may want to consider giving up any alcohol for the rest of my life. Considering how severe my symptoms got this past year, I think it's a trade off I'll gladly make to help keep those bastards at bay!

 

[pianogirl]

I drink. I started drinking more regularly when my PTSD symptoms became really bad. I especially started depending on drinking because it helped me control my urges to self-harm, which was my coping mechanism to help with the body memories.

I haven't figured out a healthy balance of drinking and healthy coping with my PTSD symptoms. Now, after having PTSD for about...11 years, I drink more out of habit. But I will admit that when my symptoms were really bad, I found drinking helped me. It helped the dissociating and easing the spaciness. It helped the knots in my back from my startle or panic attacks. It really did. It's sad, too, because I wasn't really much of a drinker (except for parties) until I resorted to drinking to help me deal with the PTSD symptoms.

It doesn't help much now, especially with my depression issues. Actually, my doctor wants me to work on reducing my drinking (3-6 beers a night). It's compromising the medications and making them not as affective. I am trying to figure a way to work it out with my therapist (there's a load of issues I'm trying to prioritize).

What I have to work on is coping without resorting to drinking as well as working on dealing with the possibility (probability) of my PTSD symptoms flaring up because I'm not drinking as much or at all. That prospect scares the crap out of me.

I don't know if this helps. I just wanted to share my own dilemmas with drinking with PTSD and all. Thank you for letting me do so.

With healing,

pianogirl

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

I have to really keep an eye on this. I used to not hardly drink at all, and then I would have "periods" of times where I would drink more. At the time I didn't realize it was my PTSD springing up again. I do drink a little on the weekends (socially), but as my symptoms have increased recently - I really have to watch it - because I find myself wanting to drink more on the weekends and occassionally during the week - so far I've done ok - but it is a struggle. I do know that when I have drank too much - my depression is significantly worse the next day.

 

[clare]

Hi guys,

Stacey, I'm really glad you posted this. I've been thinking about writing a success story thread about PTSD and alcoholism and now I'm sure I will.
I do beleive that the way alcohol works its way into our lives as PTSD sufferers in very insideous. Please be careful!

Thinking of you all,

clare

 

[Lobo]

Hi Stacey
I've used booze as well as other drugs to try and "keep my sanity"....none worked.
While the VA was trying to see what kind of drugs worked on me I was a zombie. But I didn't drink for those 6 yrs. I'm one of the few that the VA drugs don't work on. My body builds up a resistance to them.

After they told me that there was nothing (as far as drugs go) they could give me I went back to booze. Well like most people here will tell you it didn't work either.

Somewhere in my little feeble mind I decided that "speed" would do the trick, because if I could stay awake I wouldn't have the nightmares. What a laugh....lol.

Just goes to show you I wasn't thinking. I mean how many nights can a person stay awake before they crash. Looking back I was real stupid. lol Anyway what I'm trying to say is that yes I've done booze and drugs to help me get thru my ptsd. None worked. The only thing that seems to be working for me is my T and this site.

There a lot of good people here. Even if all you do is read what they have to say. When you post it's even better cause you get honest answers.

Didn't mean to ramble...sorry
Lobo

 

[TLight]

Looking back, I used a lot of drugs in alcohol, but I guess I thought about it as more of mind expansion and spirituality back then.

Then, when I got out of school and into the school of hard knocks, I really wasn't coping in reality and did a lot of heavy drinking, coke, pot, etc..........I didn't have any idea I was masking my feelings at that point. I had no idea that there was anything wrong with me..........but I knew I was lonely and didn't understand why my family treated me so poorly.

Then, I stopped all drinking and drugs and became a work-a-holic. Then, after several years of that and being an extreme overachiever at the expense of my physical health, I finally broke............nervous breakdown at 29........seems I've been detoriorating ever since, psychotic, raging.......triggered all the time.

Then another major breakdown and went for help.......no one would treat me without hospitalization. Managed to talk my current therapist into outpatient.

Now, I'm not using anything to mask......although I still pressure myself with the work thing, but I'm not ready for work in any way shape or form. Funny how I've become more fragile as I heal.........someday hopefully I'll be back in form.

Now, I hide........its nice to feel safe and calm while I"m doing the healing work. I'm not covering my feelings, but I am on some pretty powerful meds. I need them or else I wouldn't sleep, couldn't go to the store probably..........sad. Seems I was so functional earlier on, but that was just running from the traumas.........I can see that now.

I still smoke a little pot now and then........just for kicks. Reminds me of the good ole days of college, the only good ole days I've ever had. I don't think it hurts...........I get to laugh again.