Just posted something on the pink cloud. 54 days. Woke up feeling great and optimistic today again and then at the end of the day, the cloud definitely broke and dumped me on my rear end, for no specific reason and despite everything otherwise going well, into depression anxiety. I don’t get it. Alcohol is a terrible thing. Decided just to come home, take a deep breadth, call my sponsor, take some melatonin, and watch some mindless stuff on TV to distract me. Any of you post-pink cloud folks have any suggestions of dealing I guess to the return to reality of ups and downs of early recovery? I thought that I was done with this.
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Sorry the evening turned out rough! Ah yes, when we come off that pink cloud, can be hard. What really helped me was the one day at a time approach for a while, living in the present and not thinking too much on what COULD happen in my life. Also, even though I knew it already, really understanding that there will be good days, there will be bad days, and there will just be days, in my life. That is a part of life, not every day has to be an event, not every day is going to be a happy day, that is unrealistic. Knowing, believing and living these facts makes me a more well rounded person overall, helps me cope through, face head on, and handle the tougher times in my life. Sobriety is not just about sticking to it when times are great. It's about knowing yourself, developing coping skills, and using your tools when times are hard. You've got this!
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Thanks Jason. I agree with everything you say. The toughest part to me is learning patience, but I was able to slow my mind down through various distraction and mindfulness techniques, talking to my sponsor, and reminding myself this is only temporary. Not out of the woods yet, but I am at least focused on having a productive day tomorrow and not on the past and about things in the future that may never happen.
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It all good, not the end of happy sobriety. I’m my experience it’s just time to suit up and do the work to fill your toolbox to build your structure of sobriety. It sounds as if you have a good foundation. Time to work the steps and it will change your life. Your worth the work for happy sobriety
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Congratulations you're back to Earth remember the pink cloud is a made-up term if you could only see the pink Cloud as part of being sober and coming down as part of being sober then you start to understand Life On Life's terms not my terms anymore
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Bro it comes, it lessens as you progress but it happens. My suggestion is turn to AA/recovery more. Go to more meetings, listen to podcasts or speaker tapes on the steps and emotional sobriety. Call alcoholics with less time than you and ask them how they are doing, most importantly don’t believe what you head is telling you. Pray for opportunities to be of service and believe me they will come. Someone out there is newer than you and is just starting to feel the pink cloud, share your experience. I drank for 30 years, the stinking thinking takes years to unlearn. Keep going, stay out of your head. What you experiencing is life, we just can’t use alcohol to escape it now. Breathe, pause and do some things you really don’t want to do. That’s the crazy thing about this program, the more you give up control, the more control you experience.
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