Depression And the Urge to Self-Medicate: Part 8 of 12
I hope this series of blog posts will enable you to recognize some symptoms of relapse. I meant well and tried hard, but I kept relapsing anyway. There was often a nagging little voice telling me to go ahead and try a drink. Maybe this series of blog posts will help you or a loved one break out of the relapse pattern sooner and easier than I did.
Terence T. Gorski, co-author of Staying Sober, identified 11 phases of relapse in his book Staying Sober (https://www.amazon.com/Terence-T.-Gorski/e/B001JSA9K8). I hope you will find this series helpful enough to review again and again -- at once or in parts. An idea might be to checkmark symptoms in the 11 phases to see if you or a loved one is in danger of relapsing. Then take action.
Gorski's research involved 118 recovering patients who had four things in common:
They completed a 21- or 28-day rehab program;
They recognized they could never again safely use alcohol;
They intended to remain sober forever through A.A. and outpatient counseling;
They had eventually relapsed to drinking despite 1-3.
Phase 7: Depression. During this phase you feel so sad you can't do things you would normally do. You consider drinking or even suicide. The depression is so severe that those around you see that something is wrong.
These signs of depression, perhaps, led to me relapsing. But it was the symptoms below that led me to drink in the first place, and then to drink more and more often. I knew alcohol was a depressant and made my depression worse. But self-medicating made me feel numb for a while. False relief! Heed these warning signs.
Irregular eating habits. You either overeat or eat very little. You stop eating at regular times, skip meals, and eat junk food.
Lack of desire to take action. You can't get much accomplished. You can't concentrate. You feel anxious, fearful, uneasy, and like there is no way out.
Difficulty sleeping restfully. You lie awake at night. When you can sleep, you have disturbing dreams and awaken often. At times you stay up late and then oversleep. Other times you sleep for long periods of time, maybe even around the clock.
Loss of daily structure. Your usual routines become haphazard. It's hard to keep appointments or plan social activities. Sometimes you feel you have too much to do and other times feel you have nothing to do. You feel tension, frustration, fear, or anxiety, which keeps you from doing what you know needs done.
Periods of deep depression. And I mean DEEP depression! The depression feels worse than ever, lasts longer, and interferes with living. It's so bad that others notice and you can't deny it. You keep to yourself and become irritable and angry. You sense no one cares or understands what you are going through.
Next Up: Phase 8: Behavioral loss of control.
Terence T. Gorski, co-author of Staying Sober, identified 11 phases of relapse in his book Staying Sober (https://www.amazon.com/Terence-T.-Gorski/e/B001JSA9K8). I hope you will find this series helpful enough to review again and again -- at once or in parts. An idea might be to checkmark symptoms in the 11 phases to see if you or a loved one is in danger of relapsing. Then take action.Gorski's research involved 118 recovering patients who had four things in common:
They completed a 21- or 28-day rehab program;
They recognized they could never again safely use alcohol;
They intended to remain sober forever through A.A. and outpatient counseling;
They had eventually relapsed to drinking despite 1-3.
Symptoms and Warning Signs of Relapse
These signs of depression, perhaps, led to me relapsing. But it was the symptoms below that led me to drink in the first place, and then to drink more and more often. I knew alcohol was a depressant and made my depression worse. But self-medicating made me feel numb for a while. False relief! Heed these warning signs.
Irregular eating habits. You either overeat or eat very little. You stop eating at regular times, skip meals, and eat junk food.
Lack of desire to take action. You can't get much accomplished. You can't concentrate. You feel anxious, fearful, uneasy, and like there is no way out.
Difficulty sleeping restfully. You lie awake at night. When you can sleep, you have disturbing dreams and awaken often. At times you stay up late and then oversleep. Other times you sleep for long periods of time, maybe even around the clock.
Loss of daily structure. Your usual routines become haphazard. It's hard to keep appointments or plan social activities. Sometimes you feel you have too much to do and other times feel you have nothing to do. You feel tension, frustration, fear, or anxiety, which keeps you from doing what you know needs done.
Periods of deep depression. And I mean DEEP depression! The depression feels worse than ever, lasts longer, and interferes with living. It's so bad that others notice and you can't deny it. You keep to yourself and become irritable and angry. You sense no one cares or understands what you are going through.
Next Up: Phase 8: Behavioral loss of control.
Comments
Post a Comment