I was speaking at a detox unit this morning and this topic came up. One guy was saying he just really wanted to FEEL better. Alcohol was killing him and he couldn't remember what it was like to feel good. Said the past four days had been wonderful because he was feeling better...... human.
I shared with him my experience; be prepared NOT to feel good.
Sure, sobriety will without question bring on better health, deeper presence, greater overall wellness. You'll feel a LOT better overall than you did overall while dependent on booze.
BUT - that first year can be really rough sometimes. We're faced with all sorts of physical weirdness as our bodies try to re-calibrate. We're faced with all sorts of emotional states that can be overwhelming and scary and depressing. for years we numbed all of our emotions out. Now we need learn to FEEL again. Some of that is going to mean NOT FEELING GOOD.
Turns out - BEING HUMAN means not feeling good sometimes.
But stick with it. Hold faith. Remember that not feeling good because you're anxious means you're now coming to a new layer of Self. Learn about that. Experience it. go to a counselor. Meditate. Deepen your self awareness and self knowledge and in so doing - your self LOVE.
You'll have good days, you'll bad days. You might even have bad weeks or months.
None of which will be anywhere near as bad as drinking would be for you or for your life.
And ALL of which will lead you more deeply into the actual, real, pure richness of life. Embrace it. Work with it. Don't fight it.....
You can do this.
