[darkandempty]

i have been using drugs and alcohol my whole life to self medicate my social phobia. ive been sober 23 days, and since i stopped the anxiety has become debilitating. i cant go to work, i cant even leave the house alone. i have panic attacks just thinking about having to talk to people. i take meds and i am in therapy, but nothing seems to help. how can i get over this?

Congrad's on your sobriety.
i too suffer from the same things,
but not as bad as you.
I don't know what meds you are taking,
but mine took 6-7 weeks to kick-in.
Hopefully, the Dr. can prescribe something
to settle you down. Xanax?
I'm sorry that your therapy hasn't been going well.
I don;'t know how long you've been goin or how many times,
but continue w/ some other therapist.
I quit my therapist after just 3-4 sessions.
Took 2 months away, but then went back.
I'm glad i did, and gave it more of a try.

Have you discussed this with your therapist? Can you talk to her by phone?

i really don't know what to say, but
i wanted to reply.
I know there are others on this site that could help you more than me.

As messed up as I am, I shouldn't be givin any advice..

hang in there, there is always help available...

[darkandempty]

i went to see my therapist last week and she told me this was all because of post acute withdrawal syndrome, which is ridiculous because ive been anxious since before i started using. i really dont think she takes my problems seriously.

im seeing pdoc on wednesday and i am going to ask him for a benzo, but i dont know if he will give it to me given my history of abuse.

Please let us know how it all goes..



~~~~~~"Dont' you forget about me"~~~~~

[Moraganal]

You just need to retrain your mind. Everyone has a coping method of dealing with things and yours was alcohol. Now that you don't use your coping method you need to find a new one. It might take awhile but you'll definitely find one. Since being sober I still have a hard time but it gets better after awhile the first year is always the worst. Then from there it gets better. Make sure to find hobbies to distract your mind and try finding ways to relax yourself around other people. People and crowds are my biggest thing. Still a panic mess but always trying to look up

[Will29]

Hello there I'm new to PC I just wanted to tell you that I experience the same social phobia. My anxiety gets so bad around people I just clam up and feel so scared. I also have used drugs and alcohol as a coping strategy but that just makes me worse I think. I'm trying to quit drinking too and I feel so anxious trying to interact with people sobre. I'm sorry I haven't offered any advice but I thought if you knew someone else was experiencing kinda the same thing you might feel a bit better.

[Hope1212]

Are you seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist? He/she can help you make goals for yourself and then set about to address each goal. Try exercise to help (walking/yoga). It's great that you aren't self-medicating. That is such a big step and you should be proud of yourself. Significant anxiety can take a while to overcome, so please try to stick with the therapy.