You are right, it is common that individuals with panic can have substance abuse problems. This may be because they use the substance to cope with the anxiety. The hard part is now you will have to develop healthy coping mechanisms that will promote mental wellness. Although alcohol may seem to relax you temporarily, in the long run it can be making your panic and of course your overal health worse.
I am glad you came here to ask this question. There is a website, http://www.alcoholhelpcenter.net/. The AHC is very similar to this site and I highly recommend it. Additionally, I recommend going through both programs. They will help you to develop better coping strategies. Also, keep posting in both the forums!
Lets keep the suggestions coming. Anyone else have a similar issue?
Not sure if this is the most appropriate place on the forum for this question, but has/is anybody out there struggling with Panic Disorder AND alcoholism. From the reading I've done it seems that those of us with anxiety disorders are also statistically inclined to struggle with depression and/or substance abuse. Since my PD diagnosis earlier in the year I've been taking a hard look at how I got where I am (the thoughts and behaviours that fed into PD) and realized I probably needed to address the PD and alcohol abuse concurrently. I'm working on recovery strategies for the PD (meds, exercise, diet, meditation, etc) but am looking for effective strategies that might address both of these issues (I'm convinced that in the past they've fed into each other).
If anybody has experience with both PD and alcoholism I'd be interested in hearing about some of the successul strategies you may have employed (books, resources, activities, groups, websites, etc).
