Anxiety and alcohol

[GolfGuyCali]

My anxiety is moderate and I take lexapro and have a CBT therapist. My problem is when I go out and golf mostly is when it happens I feel the need for alcohol to relax me. This causes me to feel good then binge drink.

I don’t know if I think I need more medication and counseling to counter this, I know it will help, but I have to stop.

I don’t drink at home or when we go to dinner or anything like that. So mostly when I am with people doing other social things to relax and calm down.

Thanks for taking a moment to read

[Agora1]

GolfGuyCali, Welcome to a caring supportive community.

I will tell you that mixing alcohol with lexapro or any other

SSRI is asking for kick backs of side effects.

It's important to talk with your prescribing physician regarding

this need to reduce anxiety in social situations.

The doctor knows your health history and can advise you to

take precautions while on medication. Whether it be a raise in

your dosage or adding another med, that is the medical professional's

decision to address. I'm glad you are here with us. We keep each other

safe. xx

[GolfGuyCali in reply to Agora1]

Thanks so much. My anxiety has been around a while and like I said I don’t drink much, but the need to stop totally is at hand for relationship reasons mostly.

I just made the realization more today then before that the anxiety is why I drink in those settings. I don’t drink at home or when we go to dinner or lunches with the guys or anything. We have alcohol in the house and this is also no issue.

So something I need to discuss with my therapist is other coping mechanisms at those times.

Thanks for the words and encouragement

[Agora1 in reply to GolfGuyCali]

You're more than welcome GolfGuyCali... I had Anxiety as well as

Agoraphobia for years. I was put on medication as well as having

therapy. I didn't realize at the time that those things were just a

band-aid until I found something that truly reduced my fear and

stress levels. After researching and trying many different modalities

I discovered some methods that can reverse my nervousness within

moments. I still use them to this day and they are Meditation &

Breathing exercises. That was the key to my success which has

worked for me. It provides me with good quality sleep, good

nourishment and a positive mindset.

By your coming onto this forum, you will hear from others as we

learn from each other. I'm glad you are here with us. Keep us updated

on your therapist's recommendation for coping skills. Good Luck xx

[GolfGuyCali in reply to Agora1]

Thanks for the insight again.

Never much into the breathing stuff but am willing to give it a try with some yoga at home. There are some free VA things I can use and maybe that will help get me into a rhythm that helps.

Large loss of weight lately too and so going to start some extra exercises to maybe help keep me level.

Obviously some already talked about with and recommend by my therapist.

Thanks for keeping it real and helping with some way ahead. Not easy for me to talk to people so besides my therapist I don’t really have anyone and this being mostly anonymous makes me feel safe to do so.

🙂

[RustCollector in reply to GolfGuyCali]

I ignored breathing things for years because I felt like it made no sense and also because I was actually still hoping that external factors beyond my control would change and that *then* my mental health would get better and that this was therefore the correct solution. But I wasn't really conscious of these thoughts. But through my asthma and yoga I've learned that breathing is central to our nervous system modes. Did you know that the reason diaphragmatic breathing works is because when we suck down air forcefully using our chest, throat and accessory muscles we actually hyper ventilate because the density of the parts of the lungs that capture the oxygen are much much lower down in our lungs. The top of our lungs has a lot of dead space and when we breathe incorrectly we actually have to breathe more, and therefore hyper ventilate. This can be why people experience so much tension in their shoulders, necks etc.

Learning this changed a lot for me. 4 7 8 breathing helps me to reduce the mix of co2 and oxygen in my blood (or something or other, I cant remember the specifics) which then slowly does my heart rate, therefore lowering my anxiety.

Wish you the best.

[GolfGuyCali in reply to RustCollector]

Thanks for that. I get the breathing would help, my slight asthma also. Just one of those things for me where it is hard to shut down the brain. If I just sit quietly and breathe then I overhear my tinnitus and then can’t concentrate on the breathing or even the quietness.

Still exploring what will work for me.

[RustCollector in reply to GolfGuyCali]

god I hate that for you. it took me a long time to accept my tinnitus. it gets worse with stress. I'm fortunate that mine is primarily my left ear. yeh, I understand. a little noise can be quite useful I those situations, noise you control.

[PoSt1MaNPaT1 in reply to Agora1]

You always give good structured advice.

[Agora1 in reply to PoSt1MaNPaT1]

Thank you, I try. xx

[Hachipoppy55]

I would try to find a different form of exercise until you feel you can golf without drinking. I would try to golf with sober people before you add more medication. The right therapist can really help. My daughter was on 3 medications and is much better now on just one. I have previously been on multiple medications and am better now on one. The extra meds only succeeded in making me more zombie like and more willing to accept unacceptable behavior from an ex partner who I wish (for my children’s sake) I had left much sooner. Even though binging a couple times a month may not be classified as alcoholism it’s a problem that you have recognized and wouldn’t want to escalate. Hope you can find some resolution to your social anxiety. I have suffered with this over 50 years and still spend most of my time at home, so you are not alone!