I began drinking at age 17-18, and I pretty much hit the ground running, and never stopped. I went from having had one or two beers in my life, to drinking a 12 pack a day within one year. Or course that was in college, and I have since slowed down considerably since then. I am now a 4-6 drinks a day self-proclaimed functioning alcoholic. I bought the Cure for Alcoholism and am trying to read it as fast as I can, but my life is very hectic right now, and I will not have insurance for the Nal drugs for at least another month. So I am "locked and loaded" for getting on the Sinclair Method just as soon as I can get the finances/insurance situation under control.

My problem is this however... At the age of around 11, I was hospitalized for intense "Anxiety attacks". Now, this was before panic attacks, or anxiety attacks were on the tip of everyone's tongue as they are today. Now, Dr. Phil, Oprah, and the army of self-help books have brought Anxiety Attacks to the front page of every magazine or newspaper coast to coast. But back then, the doctors kept me for a week on an EKG, and did all kinds of test for heart problems, etc. and then finally released me with no real diagnosis, other than, "We're sorry Mrs. Xxxxxxx. I guess your son had an anxiety attack." No one in my family knew what that was. I was released from the hospital on Halloween of that year, so I was just excited to get back to playing with my friends and going trick-or-treating... so I didn't even give it much thought.

But from 11 until around 15, I had reoccurring panic attacks. I would wake my mother up in the middle of the night at least 2-3 times a month with "that feeling" again. It was as if cold ice water was running in my veins. My head felt separated from my body and was floating. I felt dizzy. I felt like my heart was skipping beats. I felt all the classic symptoms of a run of the mill panic attack. Except I was 12 years old, and was in a house with no one who knew what to do with me.

And then without any prompting, help, or intervention, they just went away with time. By the time I was in high school, I don't remember a single incident. And then, I started drinking heavily literally the day after graduation... and that continued until I was 20 years old. I was at work during college, and I was severely hung over after an insane night of drinking the night before... and WHAM, that ice water just surged through my veins, I got dizzy. I wanted to throw up, faint, or just die. I was sure I was having a heart attack or something. I felt so weird, all of the sudden.

I left work, ended up dropping all my classes, and basically dropped out of school. But not before going to psych services for what I had self-diagnosed as panic attacks. On the psych forms, they asked me how many alcoholic drinks I have in a day. When I wrote down roughly 75-80 drinks a week (10-12 beers a day), the alarm bell went off, and she told me that it was all my drinking that was causing the panic attacks.

So I immediately STOPPED drinking. Overnight. The shock of those panic attacks shook my entire world over night. It was as if I had been living in the fast lane for 2 years... and then had a sudden head on collision with a light pole. Everything stopped. School. My friends. My family. My drinking. And I became an absolute hermit. Didn't leave the house except for groceries for at least 9 months. Sometimes having 24 hour panic attacks, and just wanting to sleep all day.

And then, slowly but surely I reemerged. I got up the courage to go to Germany for a study abroad, and I met a girl. She didn't drink at all, and was my absolute saving grace. I know that she saved my life. She took me in. She showed me how to live my life without alcohol, not with preaching or actual help. She just didn't drink, and offered me an example of how life can be without drinking and my so called "fast lane".

So I married her, and stayed with her for 10 years. I only stayed 100% sober for about a year and half. Then, in Germany I began to drink "here and there". It eventually got to be where I was drinking 2-3 beers a night, but it NEVER has gotten anywhere near the 12+ beers a night that it was when I was 20. And then I went cold turkey again 2 years ago, and was able to drink nothing for 4-5 months.

Anyway... I began drinking to sort of "self-medicate" against the panic attacks I was having. And they slowly but surely became less and less. But now for the past 2 years I have been drinking up to 5 or 6 drinks a night. I am 6 ft. 4 in. tall and 280 lbs. with a high tolerance, so trust me when I say that 6 beers is NOT "a lot" for me as far as "getting a buzz" in concerned.

Anyway... my main point of this post is to ask how the Sinclair Method addresses self-medicating. Sure... I can remove the neurological connection in the endorphin release of drinking through endorphin antagonist drugs. But am I just going to flop back down into panic attacks? Because if that's the case, then I just as soon keep drinking. I may be ruining my body as a functioning alcoholic, but I am at least "functioning". Ten years ago, when I quit drinking I'd have a panic attack just going outside to smoke a cigarette. That ain't functioning.

What does The Sinclair Method say about self-medication?

Google this: panic attacks carbon dioxide scrubber

I heard Dr. Sinclair do an interview with Robert Rappelean in which he described a study where they issued carbon dioxide scrubbers to people who suffered from panic attacks. Apparently, panic attacks are caused by high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood and breathing through one alleviates symptoms immediately. It worked so well some of the patients in the study refused to give them back at the end. US Patent 6432172 - Method of treating symptoms of panic attacks.

pisces,
Although I don't have full blown panic attacks, I can relate too. I have certain things I avoid such as writing my signature in front of someone, eating in front of people if it is something that requires good control of my hand such as eating soup, or taking communion at church, I know that sounds weird!, but unless I have AL on board, I avoid these things (and more) because my hand shakes or I am in dire dread that it will. Ok I don't drink in the morning, so on the first Sunday of the month, I just don't go because I know they will have communion., (Maybe I should go to a Catholic Church, doesn't the Priest put the communion in your mouth for you?) In fact, I was on benzo's because of those issues, but when I went on the Sinclair Method I heard that it interfered with it so I gradually went off. So I don't know what my point really is except that I can relate to your pain. I just got a call at work today that my husband and I were invited to someone's house for dinner. Now I happen to know that these people will serve alcohol, so I had no problem saying yes. However, if I knew they were not drinkers the circumstance would make me very nervous and I would likely cancel the event. Anyway I am curious as to what others on the board will have to say. Thanks for posting.

Hi, and welcome to the board. I too have anxiety,the disorder. Do you take meds for the condition? Virgil would be the person to speak with. He was on meds and has tapered off and is doing this method. I understand your concern but drinking is just not the answer. A good therapist or shrink could most definitely help you with your problem. I did purchase a series of tapes years ago, when I was much worse, couldn't move out of the house, didn't drive, non=functional, my life was a mess. Google Lucinda Bassett, she developed a program it is not cheap but worth your life! You will learn so much about yourself and how to cope with the anxiety. Don't think that the program is just for women considering the author, there are many men using this system. Lucinda is a survivor who used meds and alcohol too for this very reason. Good luck.

Hi pisces,

I have been practicing The Sinclair Method (TSM) for a long time (34 weeks) but I don't think I've ever seen a statement made by either Dr Sinclair or Dr Eskapa specifically addressing the issue of self-medication. If you have the book The Cure for Alcoholism, you may want to confirm that it makes no specific reference to self-medication. However, on reading the experiences of others on this forum, it will be immediately clear that some members (including myself) are aware that alcohol can be used to self-medicate, often against anxiety.

I have been using alcohol to self-medicate for more years than I care to remember but it's not the answer as it ultimately takes a toll on our bodies. There is a limit to how much the body can take. And, of course, it's not just our bodies - but this has been a major factor in forcing me to look at the alternatives. That's why I turned to TSM but, to date, I have had little (if any) success with the method. But, it is working wonders for others.

So, I believe that my saviours will be a combination of therapy and healthy living. As the anxiety is what is driving me to drink, it makes complete sense to deal with the anxiety and its root causes. I am convinced that's my best hope for the future and that's what I am currently doing.

BTW, a warm welcome to our community!

All the very best to you.

V.