Will quitting help my mental health ? Advice please

[vb123x]

So . Iv been drinking every single day at night time for the past 6 months . Full bottle of wine plus abit more 45+ units a week

My mental health is terrible , I suffer with anxiety . And now I feel really really depressed . I'm struggling to clean my home , look after myself ( brush hair , teeth etc etc ) all in all Iv really let myself go . My mum and partner have noticed how down I am . So my question is has stopping drinking helped your metal health ? How do you feel now ? Or does anyone have any advice , positive stories please to help me be determined. I believe stopping will really help me but I'm unsure !

I'm also only 23

Alcohol is a depressant. The short answer to your question is yes.
Giving up alcohol will be the essential first step in dealing with your problems. Alcohol is never the solution. Good luck. My life has been transformed since I stopped drinking.

PS. You won't know till you try stopping. Stopping won't harm you and you always have the freedom to drink again.

@invisibleoldwoman thank you . I really can't wait to see the change . I really hope my mental health improves x

Well done for working it out. It sounds like you might have an underlying MH issue and you have been trying to self medicate. The issue, as others have said, is that alcohol is a depressant. It also heightens anxiety for days after consumption because it buggers up your biochemistry. If I'm even slightly wobbly (history of depression/anxiety), I stop drinking altogether for a period of 6-12 months. It doesn't mean there won't be an underlying problem or problems to deal with, but you won't be compounding it by pouring in something which makes it worse. Please get help if you need it, and stop. For good if you need to.

TryDry is a great app if you want to just treat it as an experiment. I initially stopped for a month, then kept going to three, then six. Now I can have a beer once or twice a week and it's not a big deal. But if the stress levels go up, I stop again. I have other friends who have decided that booze is not their friend and decided to stop for good. Both are good results.

The trick (for me) was to work out when and why I drank and have something ready and waiting to fill it's place do there was no decision to make in the moment. So you have a plan like: "When I..." (come in from work/want to relax/feel angry, upset or deprived) "I will...." (go for a bath with this lovely new bath oil/make myself a mocktail with this fab new non-alcoholic spirit in a 1950s vintage cocktail glass/have a really luxurious hot chocolate/go for a run". Whatever. But the substitute has to be easy, not depend on anyone else and feel like a genuine treat. Give yourself a really nice new habit to settle into. It was hard at first, but got easier with practice.

Hi OP not drinking has definitely improved my anxiety.

Yes, almost certainly.
Really recommend reading Alcohol Explained’ by William Porter - you can read the first few chapters for free here.
www.alcoholexplained.com/
Chapter 2 explains exactly how alcohol affects your body and creates anxiety and depression after drinking.
Once I understood that I found it much easier not to drink - the benefits were so much clearer. Also, alcohol affects your sleep which makes you feel tired and low…without it you will have much more energy. Wishing you all the best.

Yes, it will help massively. Even if it is not the root cause of all your current challenges it will be worsening them as well as being a problem in its own right. Don't try solve for everything at once. Start by tackling the drinking and the rest will follow

Take it one day at a time and keep it in the day. You can always do it for one day. Don't start worrying about doing it forever.

Yes it will help massively!!! I quit two years ago and my mental health is so so so much better. I honestly never thought it would make such a difference but I feel a thousand times better. I was similar to you, drank a similar amount and I was really anxious/depressed at times. The first stretch (month or two?) were hard work but oh my god I feel like a new person now. I highly recommend quitting, I never even miss it now.

In short, yes. Alcohol inhibits REM sleep, which is the part of sleep that process stressful events, this means that we do not store them as a narrative and therefore they remain anxiety inducing, these events can then pile up and lead to panic attacks etc. Matthew Walker's excellent book 'Why we sleep' has a much better explanation of this.

@vb123x There is a strong link between alcohol and anxiety. You feel anxious so you drink then you feel anxious about drinking so drink to stop the anxiety. The thing that causes the anxiety (alcohol) solves the anxiety (having a drink). But it is possible to break this cycle. It just might feel uncomfortable at first.

My general anxiety has pretty much disappeared since I stopped drinking.

@onedayiwillflyaway1
that’s the dream

I think stopping drinking could get rid of your anxiety or the drinking is you self medicating and what causes your anxiety will still be there.

You won’t know till you stop.

Just be prepared that what remains after stopping drinking might still need to be worked on

Drinking might be the cause or just a symptom

I've only stopped for a week so far. I'm less anxious and less depressed. I've still got a long way to go but for me to notice improvements this early on is making me more determined to stay AF for good.
I use audio books that I love and have listened to multiple times to get to sleep. I set the sleep timer function for an hour or so.
My sleep has improved and I'm about £30 better off this week.

JesusSufferingFuck22

Congratulations. It is often amazing how quickly things improve once we stop. Keep at it! Give yourself non-drinking rewards with the money you save.

@invisibleoldwoman thanks
I'm keeping a tally of how much I'm saving. I've already had a splurge on Vinted 😂
I'm day 11 now and still going strong. I've never felt this determined before. These alcohol support threads are really helpful. Just knowing there are other people going through similar and having the same thoughts.

You might find this site helpful. I followed her blog for a long time. There's a lot of support groups for women online now.

livingsober.org.nz

Yes, it will help you.

I think you know that though. Doing it is the hard part and you need to reach out for some support in real life.

You should pop down to your GP and see what support they can offer you. It can really make a difference to have a group or just someone to talk to and help you make a plan.

I was amazed how my anxiety disappeared when I stopped drinking.

I’m on Day 8 and I haven’t noticed big changes to MH yet but am very much looking forward to that as I’m convinced being sober will help