I for one, am very interested in your continued progress.

Another graph lover here. That curve tells a story and is so helpful in keeping perspective. For those who struggle with doctors and spouses over the general issue of progress it could also be a valuable discussion point.

Another successful week goes by...

The anxiety I had years ago that caused the alcoholism in the first place is resurfacing again. I have to figure out a way to treat it effectively without making things more difficult as a result of whatever the treatment turns out to be. I don't want to treat it with alcohol obviously. I don't want to treat it with more diazepam. I tried Nitrous (an anxiolytic) twice in small amounts, which worked surprisingly well plus the added benefit of no high/buzz, because of my persistent prescription benzo usage. However, I discovered afterward it is illegal where I live (I did not know that when I bought it at a store). Plus, it is habit forming just as alcohol is, so it is not a permanent solution. Abandoned the nitrous yesterday. Still a conundrum as to what to do. Thankfully, it is now impossible to go back to alcohol. Wondering where to go from here as my AL usage continues to decay.

Bob

Bob, I love your graphs!! They are awesome. I really love the way you have allotted your units and linear progress. Are you a science person? Because this is the sort of thing my teachers used to want all the time. Lol . I say 5 gold stars for effort and display! *****

Hi Bob,

I find it very interesting what you have said above. It has always been a concern of mine ever since first starting TSM that a reduction in alcohol (and benzos) may ultimately result in turning back to alcohol because of the brain's lack of GABA. That's why I have recently taken an interest in good diet and nutrition. It's also the reason why I have been actively working with my therapist to address the underlying causes of my anxiety. I am of the view that, if we don't do this, anxiety will always come back to haunt and plague us.

All my best.

V.

Thanks for the kudos!

I'm an engineer, and we use graphs quite a lot for analysis. Others here on this site have helped me get the correct type of curve to fit the raw data to.

Bob

Unfortunately my anxiety is chronic and untriggered. My hypomania creates it. There is nothing I can do about it except take my meds. They help make life generally tolerable. I can increase the meds and have everyday life become entirely tolerable, but I have no zest for life, my memory becomes poor and I just exist. So, I try to strike a balance and guess at the correct dosage. Alcohol made this very difficult. Now that AL is virtually gone, I have to start tweaking my dosages until I achieve a balance and to be the person I want to be.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the explanation. As an anxiety sufferer myself for many, many years, I have read extensively on the subject. But, you have opened my eyes to an aspect of anxiety that is new to me. My heart goes out to you. I can only begin to imagine what you are facing. Are there no non-medication ways of dealing with hypomania, i.e. psychotherapy? I guess the answer is 'no' - otherwise, I presume you would have tried them.

Stay strong.

V.

Slight uptick in weekly drinking this week. But the total for the week doesn't tell the whole story. I had just 3 beers each time, once on Monday, once on Thursday and once on Sunday. I would say that was fairly moderate. It's just that the days that I had something to drink fit perfectly into my statistical week. If the week had been shifted by one day either way, the total for the week would have been 6 instead of 9. Anyway, I'm not concerned about it. This week probably will be lower than average, I suspect.

I also completed Month 7, which I am posting the graph for it too.




Bob

Call me inspired. Hope to join you soon. Glad to see you still posting as we need to track you cured people too.
Thanks a lot.