"and not numbing my stress with any substance has greatly helped as well."
What do you do instead now? I don't love my current amount of consumption but It's one of the few ways I can quiet my head at the end of a long day.
What do you do instead now? I don't love my current amount of consumption but It's one of the few ways I can quiet my head at the end of a long day.
Also, possibly consider talking to a therapist about anxiety disorders. The self medication and your description of going to bed really resonated with me. Doing drugs just turned all that "off". I'm not a mental health professional, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. But anxiety was definitely a reason why I personally was self medicating so much. Either way, good luck on your journey.
Got off caffeine fully a year ago and that has helped some.
I've got a few diagnosed anxiety disorders. Those certainly contribute. I'm hesitant to try any actual medication though as I've seen it change friends significantly in the past.
I also focus on finding the source of my stress symptoms and resolving them. That's of course easier said than done. I decided to not pursue an advanced degree and currently work not a high amount of hours.
I notice I am becoming less anxious without alcohol as well after being sober for a year.