SeeingWhatIs
11-01-06, 04:14
Hello everyone. I've met you all before. My name is Philip and I was off the forum for a bit over a month to quit smoking. Well, everyone is different I suppose but I don't think in general quitting smoking is a three week affair and then you're done. I'm going to give myself a year. I have been diagnosed bipolar, ocd, ptsd, and panic disorder. Joy!
Has quitting smoking helped my anxiety? Yes, I think so. When I smoked, I experienced anxiety as high peaks throughout the day, but now when I experience anxiety it's of lesser intensity, longer, and more stable (if that makes sense). It's easier to cope with. But I also feel very trippy, things sometimes appear like they're happening in slow motion and distorted (probably due to the cut off of dopamine). Quitting has also completely changed my life. Anyway, I'm still in the middle of it.
Second on my list is drinking. I have been self-medicating for years now with alcohol. Fortunately, I had my liver function tested and it just slightly above normal, and far, far below the danger mark. Now, thinking it would be a good idea to get to work on this drinking problem, I've been steadily cutting down every night. It's been rough, but I've been OK. Until last night. I laid in bed, my stomach in knots, and had hallucination after hallucination of grotesque and sometimes terrifying images. I finally got up, cried and prayed for about a half hour, and drank some more.
So I wonder what people here feel about this? I don't care. [V] I decided just to stop worrying about the before bed drinking until I'm done with quitting smoking. It's not like I'm drinking a fifth of scotch a night or anything. I'm drinking 6-10 units (yes, too much!). Anyway, for now I'll curtail where I can and when I feel comfortable as I get used to my new life as a non-smoker (quitting is a wonderful experience by the way, the actual abstinence itself nowhere near as hard as I imagined, although it does affect your whole life and urges continue for longer than I imagined).
My third issue is my addiction to klonopin (clonazepam). 2.5 mgs a day for the past three and a half years. Sometimes 3 or 3.5. But that's the last substance issue I'm going to deal with. I'm sorry- I don't (except in really bad cases) believe in dealing with multiple addictions at once. It was starting to set my head on fire!
Sorry this got long and thanks for reading.
Philip
Has quitting smoking helped my anxiety? Yes, I think so. When I smoked, I experienced anxiety as high peaks throughout the day, but now when I experience anxiety it's of lesser intensity, longer, and more stable (if that makes sense). It's easier to cope with. But I also feel very trippy, things sometimes appear like they're happening in slow motion and distorted (probably due to the cut off of dopamine). Quitting has also completely changed my life. Anyway, I'm still in the middle of it.
Second on my list is drinking. I have been self-medicating for years now with alcohol. Fortunately, I had my liver function tested and it just slightly above normal, and far, far below the danger mark. Now, thinking it would be a good idea to get to work on this drinking problem, I've been steadily cutting down every night. It's been rough, but I've been OK. Until last night. I laid in bed, my stomach in knots, and had hallucination after hallucination of grotesque and sometimes terrifying images. I finally got up, cried and prayed for about a half hour, and drank some more.
So I wonder what people here feel about this? I don't care. [V] I decided just to stop worrying about the before bed drinking until I'm done with quitting smoking. It's not like I'm drinking a fifth of scotch a night or anything. I'm drinking 6-10 units (yes, too much!). Anyway, for now I'll curtail where I can and when I feel comfortable as I get used to my new life as a non-smoker (quitting is a wonderful experience by the way, the actual abstinence itself nowhere near as hard as I imagined, although it does affect your whole life and urges continue for longer than I imagined).
My third issue is my addiction to klonopin (clonazepam). 2.5 mgs a day for the past three and a half years. Sometimes 3 or 3.5. But that's the last substance issue I'm going to deal with. I'm sorry- I don't (except in really bad cases) believe in dealing with multiple addictions at once. It was starting to set my head on fire!
Sorry this got long and thanks for reading.
Philip