PTSD and Drinking

[Xenu]

I'm early in my treatment, and facing a serious dilemma that I hope doesn't offend anyone. I recently decided to quit drinking and attended my first couple of AA meetings. Here's the problem:

I need more control over my drinking before I begin memory work. My PTSD gives me numbing mechanisms that have pulled me through very stressful situations and I know the withdrawal is going to be intense. Should I attempt to use that same "ability" to get me through this? I don't know whether others have done this or my Superman Complex is acting up again. Do I need to feel emotion in order to stop drinking or can cognitive dissonance ironically help me prepare for memory work?

 

[BethRSA]

Hi Xenu!

"Sterkte"--Strength to you in trying to work on the drinking. Is there something healthy you can do when the urge strikes? When I was losing weight, I found that I had to have something to replace my emotional eating. If I just "zoned out", I'd go back to my default which was to eat.

Thinking of you!

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

Xenu -
I'm sorry your having to deal with both right now. There have been many times in my life - where I have self-medicated with drinking and hard drugs. It's unfortunately very common. The numbing mechanism is so tempting - and I will tell you that as I started my treatment - (even though I hadn't drank in over a year) - there have been times where I have come home from a session or stressful day where my first thought is - how much I would love a drink. But so far I haven't gone there. I know how easy it would be to just be numb all over again.

In my opinion - the two go hand and hand - you can't effectively treat your PTSD if your numbing yourself with alcohol - and you can't deal with a drinking problem without dealing with the root cause (which could be your PTSD).

My suggestion would be - to make sure you have a good counselor and a good sponsor for AA - either of which you can call whenever you feel out of control. I'm not going to lie and tell you it will be easy - but look how strong you already are for taking these steps.

I'll be thinking of you.

 

[becvan]

In my experience, quitting the drinking should come first. You need a bit of time to get your sobriety under your belt. I would suggest that you continue with AA, get a sponsor and seek therapy for coping skills. Once you have, say six months or a year then start looking at working directly on the memories.

Doing both at the same time, could just send you over the edge.

However, the truth is.. the only person that really knows what you can handle and what is best for you to do is you.

Keep us updated and congrats on being sober!

bec

 

[Marine0311]

Hell I'm drinking a few right now.... Just a few maybe 3 hard ones..... It doesn't help depression at all but its helping my physical pains. Have too many to mention and I hate pain meds. Its Friday Night, just having a few.... Does drinking alone make you a alcoholic? Just kidding.... If you can control your drinking to just a few, its good for your heart. I know I'm not helping I will STFU now.......

Good Luck!

 

[midi]

I saw it as an onion. I had a PTSD core that stemmed from violent trauma, covered in layers I had to get rid of first. So, outer layers included booze, drugs, overeating. Deeper layers included workaholic, self-harming, promiscuity... Once I faced the truth on all these issues, I was gradually able to think about admitting I had PTSD and this was my reality. One layer at a time, and at a pace that you can handle.

 

[Jagged Angel]

I saw it as an onion.

This is precisely what my partner and therapist said to me the other week - last year we dealt with the immediate problems of getting my anxiety and anti-social issues under some kind of control, and now we deal with other issues that have risen because the layer above has been peeled away. And thus, it is an onion....

 

[Lionheart]

For me, it was a matter of priorities. I was a problem drinker and was told that if I did not stop drinking before entering therapy that my brain would not be able to record the journey and thus, I would be wasting my time. I went to A.A., then to therapy. Been sober a long time, in therapy over 10 years. Just sharing my experience, don't know what will work best for you, however I do wish you much success!

 

[Cate]

I had to deal with both at the same time. I realized I was drinking too much so I stopped drinking, not realizing that I had PTSD. Once I realized I had PTSD I found that drinking at night helped me sleep and curbed the nightmares. And then, of course, when I started therapy for PTSD and had to speak openly about events which took place I didn't even consider not drinking. It was all some kind of vicious cycle.

I am now working with a therapist who specializes in PTSD and he works on the PTSD and the drug of choice at the same time.

I think everyone is different, though, in the sense that some have to work on the PTSD first, some on the dependency and some on both at the same time.

Thanks for your post. Once again, helps me remember I'm not the only one

Cate

 

[Hemels]

Hi Xenu,

When I gave up smoking I found that replacing it with something more possitive was a way to overcome the cravings. When I found I craved cigaretts I would chew some chewing gum or have some salad to eat :)

I would try to calm your drinking down before starting CBT. Drinking tends to numb you and your emotions and you need to learn how to control them, if your emotions are numbed how could you possibly learn how to control them?

Sorry if i sound like I'm babbling on, I do tend to over emphasise things sometimes,

All the best and Good Luck

Hemmy xXx

 

[Xenu]

I appreciate everyones suggestions. For now, I'm just working on moderating my drinking instead of trying to quit cold turkey. I've cut my intake by about %95 and thats enough for now.

 

[Dylan]

Hi Xenu and welcome to the forum.

My experience is that I tend to go toward that which has, historically, seemed to help with pain/distress. I've found that it's extrememly difficult to change habitual behavior under high stress - and dealing with the cause(s) of my PTSD increase(s) my stress. So, here I am, already having wired stress relief to alcohol, and now I'm going to increase my stress and NOT use alcohol? Really? For myself, without a sturdy support plan, that's an awfully tall order.

I, too, have a tendency toward "using" alcohol; I use it much like a medication. The only problem is, it isn't a helpful one in the long run (or even the short run, really - it's just very quick acting on my distress). Actually, it's a lot like a mental/emotional Pepto Bismol. Remember those commercials? - "For fast, fast relief". That's what alcohol does for me: gives me fast, fast (albeit temporary) relief from my distress. Being the amazing computer it is, my brain will automatically suggest (and the greater the pain the stronger the "suggestion") I obtain that which gives me the quickest, best, strongest pain relief.

So, since I'm not an alcoholic and don't need another program to follow (I'm engaged in a very intensive CBT type program), what I've done is go on Antabuse when I want to exclude alcohol from the equation. When I KNOW that I can't drink, because I'll become violently ill, it's just removed from the equation. Once my (dis)stress level goes down, and/or I become less habituated to turning to alcohol, I go off of it.

It's not a helper for everyone. For a true alcoholic who will "drink no matter what", whose mind is so tightly wired to the pain-to-alcohol connection, it wouldn't work; drinking while on Antabuse can actually be life-threatening. For me, it just helps me remove that particular method of pain relief from the equation so that I'm FORCED to look for an alternative....I'm then more apt to actually remember that I'm supposed to trying something else.

-Dylan