KCI The Anti_Meth Site

Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth

little heaven	Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth Hi, I'm new here. I have been clean for 4 yrs this April but sometimes I feel like I am going crazy. I don't crave it anymore but ever since I got clean I have been having really bad anxiety attacks. My life is going really good right now so I don't understand where this anxiety is coming from. Sometimes I feel like my heart is going to explode out of my chest. It is causing problems in my relationship too, because with this anxiety comes extreme paranoia. I feel like since everything is going so great that something bad is going to happen. Has anyone else recovering from meth addiction felt similar to how I do or is it unrelated? I didn't go through rehab or attend meetings or anything, I just did it on my own. It may be because there are a lot of things in my past (when I was using) that I haven't dealt with. Any input is appreciated.
Replies...
danimal 55	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth Congratulations for 4/FOUR years! THAT IS KULE! As for the objects in the rearview mirror, they are closer than they appear, and they are likely the source of your anxiety. If we don't identify and clean up the wreckage of our past we end up dragging it around on a leash, and if it's not barking at our heels.... it's biting us in the azz. Until we let go of it. Letting go of dope is one thing, one very difficult thing. Letting go of our past can be even more difficult, but also very essential, when it was our past that led into our addiction. IMO we need to clean it ALL up or risk trashing the present with replays from our past. Thoughts > Become > Things and it's perfectly alright if things to continue to go "great" for you. In my world every time I thought "something bad is going to happen".....it did. Dump the past or continue to be haunted by it. Because right here, right now, it is the present...and we don't need no stinking past! OK? OK!
TerryCa	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth Little Heaven Congrats' on your clean time and welcome!! For your anxiety have you tried antidepressants or meditation? Are you always feeling this way or does it seem to be just cyclical with the hormones? Hugs to you!
little heaven	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth It does seem to get worse around time for my cycle.. but its almost all the time. I have thought about getting an anti depressant but I am so scared to try anything for fear that it will make me feel wired up ( I cannot handle that feeling). I am hesitant to take any medicine for fear of how it will make me feel. I know Hydrocodones speed me up so I cant take those for pain. I tried Wellbutrin once to quit smoking but I felt like I had snorted a line every time I took one! Any suggestions on a good one that maybe I could take at bedtime? Thanks!
Loraura	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth Talk to your doctor and tell him how those other meds effected you!
vctry7	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth I am 4 years clean, too. I just got put on meds about 6 months ago. I fought it, but I finally had to give in because of my blood pressure. Hydrocodone and Wellbutrin effected me the same way. There's lot of meds out there. Just be honest with your doctor. And you know what is working for you and what isn't.
little heaven	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth Thanks, everyone, I am going to call my dr. and make an appointment. I don't have to feel this way anymore!
LLounge	Re: Recovery and anxiety after quitting meth Hey little heaven... I suffered pretty badly from post-partum depression and was prescribed first Prozac, then Zoloft, after the Prozac ceased to work, and now I'm on Effexor. All three of those seemed to work well for me with no anxious after effects. But yes, talk to your Dr. and see which one will be the best fit for you. I too fought this for a long time before realizing I couldn't "fix" the seratonin level in my brain just by willing it to happen. I'm sure you'll find some help soon... just keep at it! BTW, good for YOU!