Stop Drinking

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This is a place to motivate each other to control or stop drinking. It is also a place for non drinkers to discuss and share.

We welcome anyone who wishes to join in by asking for advice, sharing our experiences and stories, or just encouraging someone who is trying to quit or cut down.

Please post only when sober; you’re welcome to read in the meanwhile.

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What do I do when it hurts too much to sleep? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I have struggles with PTSD. Some very terrible things have been done to me by people I loved and trusted.

I can be very distracted during the day. I have a very active mind, lots of coping mechanisms and most of the time I’m fine. But it’s trying to sleep that is impossible.

Weed can help, but there’s this pain that hits late at night. It’s crushing. Weed will quiet flashbacks, will help me get to the point that my parasympathetic nervous can kick in and I don’t feel afraid and hyper vigilant, but it can only sometimes help the pain.

Drinking helps. It’s making me sick at this point but I don’t know how else to cope with the black pit of despair. Doomscrolling and drinking all night at least stops the rumination.

And so I pay for help with this and see the therapists I can. There’s barely any options for therapy and I try to journal and do all of the things but it just doesn’t help when I feel like my heart is bleeding out and I need to sleep.

It feels almost physical, a gaping wound that needs a beer to hold it together.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I used to blackout drink every night for similar reasons. It took a while but I developed the stupidest coping mechanism, but it works - When I'm in bed and start ruminating, I stop myself and visualize "swiping left" on the thought as if on a dating site, throwing the memory away. Then I visualize a fun fantasy adventure, like putting myself into the shoes of a character in a book I'm reading or a game I'm playing. It takes a lot of effort to focus on, and the bad memories try to come back but I just repeatedly toss them aside and focus on my epic quest. I manage to fall asleep within 30 min with this strategy.

I know this is really stupid and probably only works because I'm such a visual thinker, but figured I'd share in case anyone finds it helpful.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

I know this is really stupid and probably only works because I’m such a visual thinker, but figured I’d share in case anyone finds it helpful.

how does it go? "If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid." 😁

I would caveat with "if it's stupid, it works and it's not dangerous, then it's not stupid."

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