Originally Posted by
cracked 
I feel stupid even asking this question... but what are non-addict coping skills?
This is an
excellent question, cracked. Many, many recoveries are fundamentally ill-equipped to cope with the everyday stresses of life. I suppose it's academic whether this deficiency pre-dates alcoholism or is the direct results of years/decades spent primarily in pursuit of drunk oblivion.
"Working" on sobriety is a somewhat nebulous term that means different things to different people. For an alcoholic like myself, a major component of this work has been to develop healthy, mature coping skills.
Having said that, I should note that early sobriety is itself a an emotional time for many. Good God, I was weepy for the first few weeks...mostly in a good way, but nonetheless weepy and emotionally raw.