3 months sober and struggling with social anxiety

[[Ol...]]

I have been a little over 3 months sober now. I have been on and off on wellbutrin because i have tried to self medicate myself with tramadol to make my anxiety go away. It developed into a minor problem so i took one and a half weeks off to show myself how easy it was without and it was until my anxiety worsened a few days ago and i couldnt handle it it was just too much, yesterday i took it again  i dont know what caused the anxiety tho. I have lost my friends because of drinking too much and being socially akward. I have also been realizing alot of things going around me which i havent before. Sometimes i get a good feeling for a day and i clean my house etc. The reason why i started using any substances in the first place was my social anxiety, life has been so damn hard after stopping benzos. I still have a girlfriend of 3 and a half years and she is amazing but struggling because of my problems and i hate being a burden to her. Also i have caught my girlfriend holding hands with someone in our beginning of relationship and some other stuff and i find it hard to trust her, something i have thinked about alot more after stopping benzos. Also big issue with self esteem lately.

[[ma...]]

Hello Olohuone22   Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

I am glad you  joined, congratulations on being 3 months benzofree.  You are early off, you will get better, many of us suffered some loss because of these drugs, some financially and some loss of friends, even some family members turned their back on me.  If you caught your g/f holding hands with someone before, then Its understandable you’ve lost trust, especially with benzos.  One of the symptoms is paranoia, we think the worst possible.  My anxiety was through the roof, benzos made it 100 times worse.  Withdrawal symptoms will go away but unfortunately it does take time.  We are here for you, take a look around the forum,  ask questions, you’ll get plenty of support and encouragement here.

 

We have a dedicated board dealing with Anxiety. You might get some tips/ideas from others struggling.

 

Anxiety

 

Members can respond with the best information if they know your medication history.  Go to the top of the page and select PROFILE then choose forum profile then insert drug history into the text box and remember to click change profile

 

Welcome aboard

Magrita

 

[[ma...]]

I'd be careful of tramadol and its  addiction potential.  Are you still drinking?  I would try to avoid alcohol, it can make withdrawal worse.

 

From the wikipedia on benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome (bolded my emphasis)

 

"Benzodiazepines or cross tolerant drugs (like alcohol) should be avoided after discontinuation, even occasionally. These include the nonbenzodiazepines Z-drugs, which have a similar mechanism of action. This is because tolerance to benzodiazepines has been demonstrated to be still present at four months to two years after withdrawal depending on personal biochemistry. Re-exposures to benzodiazepines typically resulted in a reactivation of the tolerance and benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome"

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome#Medications

 

Magrita 

[[Ho...]]

You've probably already done this, but social anxiety is way common. There are lots of books, blogs, tips and more about how to handle it.

 

The thing that helped me the most was hearing, "Everyone is a little bit lonely." It's true. I mean, people have their defenses up and would rarely say so, but it helps me find people a little more approachable to think they're a bit lonely, maybe I can help!

 

Another thing that always helped me was learning that if you want to be a great conversationalist, ask questions and listen to the answers. People need to be heard and understood; we all have that need. And we all love to talk about ourselves if we think it's safe!!

 

Anyway, many congratulations!  This is a tough row to hoe, but you're doing it. Listen to all the advice you can. It will help you get where you want to go!