[madisgram]

coping skills!!!! oh my gosh this was one of my greatest struggles in early recovery. "i don't do life well" i'd say. (instead of resolving the life problem, i'd rush to drink to numb those emotions and avoid the uncomfortable feelings that came with it.) i didn't know how to overcome the emotions. but it was fixable!!!

Early recovery is a time for readjusting to life without drugs or alcohol. Achieving and maintaining sobriety requires changes in your lifestyle, relationships, coping skills and every other area of your life. All of this change makes people in early recovery particularly vulnerable to relapse.
Here are 10 of the most common struggles addicts and alcoholics face in early recovery:
1. Being Around Others Who Use
Being around friends, family or co-workers who use drugs or alcohol can be difficult in early recovery. Certain sights, sounds and smells can trigger drug cravings and make it difficult to remain abstinent.
To protect yourself from temptation, remove all drugs and alcohol from your home and ask others who live with you or visit frequently to do the same. While you may be able to spend time with old friends, it is also beneficial to make new friends at 12-Step meetings or get involved in new activities or hobbies where you can meet sober friends.
2. Anger, Sadness and Irritability
Small irritations can trigger intense feelings of anger and sadness in early recovery, which may trigger relapse. Depression, anxiety and other difficult emotions may have always been there, but may have gone unnoticed because you used drugs and alcohol to self-medicate. In many cases, feelings of sadness or anger are a normal part of life that you must learn to accept and manage rather than try to escape.

http://www.ordrugtreatment.com/addicts-struggle.html

[gma45]

You got that right! I am figuring out that I have never ever learned any coping skills. I haven't gotten any, so it's not re-adjusting it is just adjusting period! That is why every time I quit the anxiety hits. How do you manage? I don't have a clue?

[madisgram]

Originally Posted by gma45

You got that right! I am figuring out that I have never ever learned any coping skills. I haven't gotten any, so it's not re-adjusting it is just adjusting period! That is why every time I quit the anxiety hits. How do you manage? I don't have a clue?

2. Anger, Sadness and Irritability
Small irritations can trigger intense feelings of anger and sadness in early recovery, which may trigger relapse. Depression, anxiety and other difficult emotions may have always been there, but may have gone unnoticed because you used drugs and alcohol to self-medicate. In many cases, feelings of sadness or anger are a normal part of life that you must learn to accept and manage rather than try to escape.

gma45, it's learning to work thru the anxiety. i used therapy and AA to learn new coping skills to change my way of dealing with it. afterall we always had the anxiety/normal part of life, but we self medicated to numb the feelings rather than change what we run to/alcohol and drugs.

Some experts believe that relapse happens in three stages – emotional, mental, and finally physical. During the first two stages, coping strategies can be instrumental in defusing relapse. Emotional relapse describes the typical emotions experienced by an individual who has not started using again but whose emotions are becoming unhealthy. Behaviors associated with emotional relapse may include anger, intolerance, impatience, anxiety, unhealthy eating or sleeping patterns, isolation, and mood swings. Emotional relapse is thought to be the first stage of relapse; because it is the first stage, it is also the best time to address the problem.
As the process of relapse gains momentum, it gets harder and harder to escape. A good way to subvert relapse at the emotional stage is to break isolation, reach out to others, and make a concerted effort at self-care. These actions reinforce healthy self-esteem and supportive connections. Self-esteem is a strong protective force against relapse because every recovering addict knows, deep down, that substance abuse is the opposite of self-love. http://www.drugalcoholaddictionrecovery.com/?p=56

reducing anxiety tips: http://www.emotionalfitness.net/articles/10anxiety.html

[gma45]

Thanks madisgram I will try some of these things and get my but to a meeting!