Now that i’m sober my depression and anxiety is really

Now that i’m sober my depression and anxiety is really bothering me and I talk to my therapist every week but it still doesn’t seem to help and it won’t go away.. like it’s gotten way worse since I got sober because I was using alcohol to make it go away. It just really sucks..

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Hey Jeremy. I totally feel you on this :pensive: have you noticed anything that has seemed to relieve your anxiety and depression in sobriety even just a bit?

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I'm sorry Jeremy….. Im struggling with heightened anxiety myself since I stopped. If you wanna chat I'm here.

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Well when I keep myself busy is when I notice it really dies down. It’s when i’m not busy that’s when all these depressing thoughts just fill my head and my anti depressants don’t even seem to be doi anything:/

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Anxiety really sucks right? Sometimes it ruins like my whole day.. but thanks and same to you i’m always up for chatting with you

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Hello Jeremy: For most of us, I've found, some depression is normal after getting clean/sober. My sponsor put it this way, “We're grieving the loss of a friend. It was a deadly friend but a friend nonetheless.”

For me personally, I remained depressed for a long time after. I noticed that the people I came in to recovery with had long since moved on. I was both puzzled and frustrated. After being clean and sober for over 7 years I decided to take my own life. Luckily I survived. After being hospitalized I was diagnosed with MDD (major depressive disorder). Today I take medication (as directed) and my symptoms are largely managed. I don't at all feel like I did years ago. I can't really speak to the “anxiety” aspect because that's not my story. It's taken me a lot of hard work to get to where I am today, but it's certainly been worth it. I did not do it alone, btw. I had a lot, and still do, of help from others both in and out of recovery. Thank-you.

PS: As well as weekly therapy visits, monthly psychiatric visits, antidepressants, I go to 12 Step meetings regularly. There, I talk about how I feel, what I'm going through, listen to others like myself. I also have a sponsor, a support group and work the 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous. That may sound like a lot, but it didn't happen overnight. It took me a while to realize that this is what I need in order to live a happy, healthy and productive life. I'm just sharing what I do for me. I'm not preaching. This is what I do and what works for me. Thank-you.

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You need to find a friend you can talk to anytime, i guess that will really help..

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Yeah, seems to be the same for me. When I’m totally engaged in what I’m doing, I forget all about my anxiety and depression. But it’s impossible to stay busy all the time :pensive: