Dear Gee, I suffer from anxiety and take LEXIPRO, and it certainly helps. I am off alcohol for the past three months and have not seen a change in my anxiety levels and really thought it would change my life completely. It has not. How do I reduce my anxiety? Should I get a therapist? I am 59 years old, and could it be hormonal? I am really trying not to drink again because it did cause problems at work for me and cannot go back there but I am disappointed that I still need to take tablets and feel anxiety without alcohol? Hi lovely lady, Firstly congratulation on your insight and recognising that alcohol will not serve you and your lifestyle. Lexipro is used to treat depression and anxiety. It works by helping to restore the balance of a certain natural substance (serotonin) in the brain. It’s great to hear that you feel like it is working for you. Drinking can counteract the benefits of your antidepressant medication, and that will make your symptoms more difficult to treat. The overall effect of alcohol increases the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Because alcohol is a depressant it slows your brain. When a person drinks heavily, frequently, or for prolonged periods, the brain compensates for the depressant effects by releasing more stimulating chemicals (compared to when a person does not drink). Overproduction becomes the brain’s new normal. When a person stops drinking, their brain is still producing extra chemicals, which can potentially cause the unpleasant alcohol withdrawal symptoms that are associated with overstimulation, the good news is your mind will readjust. Alcohol touches almost every neurotransmitter in the body. Your brain almost goes into hyperdrive for a while after you remove the alcohol and are no longer numbing it. Realistically it could take anything up to a full year to reach a baseline again and feel better. You are in the early stages of sobriety, so please remember you have done the hardest part, stay with it, it will a be worth it.
Neurot ransmi t t e r s , t ransmi t i nf orma t i on around your bra i n , change pr e t t y qu i ck l y when you s top dr i nk i ng . Al coho l par t i cu l ar l y a f f ec t s gama-ami no but yr i c ac i d (GABA) , wh i ch i nh i b i t s bra i n ac t i v i t y , and g l ut ama t e , wh i ch s t imu l a t es i t . When you dr i nk , Sansom exp l a i ns , g l ut ama t e i s l es s ab l e to s t imu l a t e the bra i n , and GABA i s be t t e r a t i nh i b i t i ng i t . Th i s i s why a l coho l makes you r e l axed and happy , and l owe r s your i nh i b i t i ons : I t s l ows some o f your bra i n ’ s s i gna l l i ng . When you s top dr i nk i ng , these changes r eve r se themse l ves . “ In mos t i nd i v i dua l s , these r eceptor s beg i n to r ese t themse l ves to a base l i ne l eve l , ” Dr . Dona l d Sansom, D.O. , as soc i a t e med i ca l d i r ec tor a t subs t ance abuse t r ea tment cent r e S i e r ra Tucson . wh i ch Now you have s topped dr i nk i ng f or thr ee months , the r e ’ s a t ime o f ad j us tment psycho l og i ca l l y . You ’ ve l e t go o f your sh i e l d and need to work through those i s sues and s t r es sor s be f or e you can move on . Al l the r easons you drank ar e s t i l l the r e . You j us t numbed them wi th the a l coho l . Now i t ’ s t ime to f i gur e out whe r e the anx i e t y and depr es s i on came f rom and how you ’ r e go i ng to dea l wi th i t wi thout the a l coho l . When you ’ r e us i ng a l coho l to du l l your emot i ons , and then you suddenl y s top do i ng tha t , you ’ r e l e f t to conf ront a l ot o f t ruths about your l i f e tha t you we r e choos i ng to i gnor e , some t imes f or year s a t a t ime . Tha t i s scary , and emot i ona l l y ve ry dra i n i ng . When you encount e r prob l ems i n sobr i e t y , you mi ght f ee l unab l e to cope as we l l as be f or e . The added s t r es s , comb i ned wi th any othe r event s you f ace when you qu i t a l coho l , can be ve ry confus i ng . Try to r emi nd your se l f tha t eve ry prob l em tha t you do f ace up to , and hand l e wi thout a l coho l , wi l l boos t your conf i dence . Try and f ace the sma l l e r cha l l enges f i r s t so you can and t ack l e the harde r ones when you have mor e conf i dence . Al so r emembe r you ar e i n a gr ea t p l ace ; thr ee months f r ee o f the wi ne wi t ch , sur rounded by women who know your t ruth and ar e ab l e to suppor t and mentor you shar i ng the i r expe r i ences . You ar e not a l one , you ar e i n f abu l ous company and you want to s t ay f r ee o f the po i son . The anx i e t y wi l l subs i de but be pa t i ent and ca l l on your s i s t e r s i n your moment s o f anx i e t y and need , they ’ r e wa i t i ng i n the wi ngs to ho l d you when t imes ge t tough . x
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker