I expected the same thing...I was sure that after dousing my brain with alcohol and benzos for close to a decade I would be doing cartwheels within a few weeks. I envisioned myself posing for a Nike ad "Just Do It". Posing for an ad for adult food bibs seemed to be more likely as two months into it I just didn't have the energy to do anything except shovel Doritos into my gullet while posting here.
I kept beating myself up about it, sure that it was all in my head, and it was but not in the way I thought. Looking back now, and it hasn't been that long, there was nothing I could do to get out from under that weight. And that's ok. Early sobriety is hard work, and a lot of us get tripped up by having unrealistic expectations, hence the term, easy does it. For years I ran on adrenaline, when the adrenaline ran out I propped myself up with substances.
In hindsight, those first four months of learning to just be, while frustrating, were as valuable as any "activity" I could have engaged in. Slowing down, and listening to what my body is telling me has been really really useful to me when I feel the longing for a drink. When I run through the mental checklist;hungry, angry, lonely, tired...almost always at least one applies.
I hung on even when I got discouraged because I knew it was the quick fix that got me into this mess in the first place. I saw patches of energy (I didn't work out nearly as much as I should have and my eating was deplorable), but around week 14 I really started to feel amazing. And it is consistent, not like when I was drinking where I would have 4 hour random unpredictable bursts of energy that I would frantically try to capitalize upon because I knew I would be useless again for a while. And my sleep has improved so much.
We alcoholics are not known for our patience
, and I know I was shocked to not feel amazing immediately. Give it time, it truly does get better!