Pink Cloud?
 

Hey guys (and gals), took a bit of time away from posting on the web for a few days, back at it again. Anyways, I was reading some old threads here plus some reading elsewhere. I came across a term called the "pink cloud."

I always took this term to mean someone who was new to sobriety, thought they had sobriety licked, thought they had the world by the tail and were ready to sally forth and crush evil. Only to relapse a few days later.

Am I close? I've been through this enough times that I should understand it, but don't. Please expound.

Ya, you are close.They are elevated good moods that happen early in recovery.

Would "over confidence" be a good way to describe it??

Overconfidence often follows from blurring the lines between fact and faction, between what I desire and what is real or available to me. Between mistaking activity for progress, and elevating what we say, think or feel to the same status as that which we actually do. It's a kind of self-deception of convenience that only superficially protects us from unwanted truths about ourselves; a defense that fails because playing make-believe only produces more stress and strain.

The distorted thinking we inherit from the way we drink and from what we think and do while we're drinking does not disappear by virtue of our putting down the drink, even though it's very seductive to believe that this is the case.

Everything takes time. And work. Attention must be paid.

I think everyone goes through ups and downs and most assume that is just a natural fact of life. Blaming them on sobriety/alcoholism is a surefire way to talk yourself in to giving up and drinking again, because you go "Well, I feel like **** anyway, why bother?"

I'm not sure if pink cloud and overconfidence are intertwined. I always felt that the "pink cloud" is a mix of emotions, like 1) happiness that one isn't drinking, 2) relief at getting past withdrawal, 3) euphoria that the beast is finally off one's back, and 4) hope that we can be the person we want to be.
I remember feeling just so dang happy that I could pass the days without drinking. I wasn't thinking about the future, or about relapse. I just felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

To me, the pink cloud was like Maudcat said--it was the stage where I felt like I was almost born again. It was almost euphoric and happy with a feeling of freedom; like bouncing out of hell to the opposite end of the spectrum for a while until reality set in with lifes' everyday problems and sometimes boringness.

Then the real work of recovery began where I learned to find balance in my life and to cope with living sober with some sense of contentment.

Not being grateful and taking sobriety for granted.
Everything is good and I need not keep an eye on the one in the mirror.
He would never fool me again.
M-Bob

And that is where we all needed to have a game plan in place, in my experience!

A lot of people feel on a "pink cloud" for the first few months, then kinda come back to Earth and realize that life still has ups and downs, and that quitting drinking doesn't necessarily mean life is always awesome all the time. I never really felt that way myself, but it's pretty common. I have yet to experience anything in sober life that remotely compares to how bad it would have been in drunken life. ;)

I've experienced the pink cloud. I believe it is a biological phenomenon brought about by higher than normal levels of dopamine following the termination of addictive substances. IMO an individuals physiology compensates for multiple brief withdrawals from substances by creating increased dopamine. When the withdrawal is extended the body continues to create this 'feel good' chemical for a period time, even when it's not needed. This results in higher than normal levels of it in a persons system for a period of time following acute withdrawal. This is just my pet theory, but I'd be willing to wager it's correct.

How this 'feel good' state is interpreted is largely dependent on psychological factors and beliefs. The euphoria is the result of a naturally created chemical(s), so enjoy the pink cloud while it lasts. It will slowly fade as your body chemistry eventually finds equilibrium.

I have always believed in enjoying the Pink Cloud when it's there because before long the Dark Cloud will come that's when we have to get serious with our thoughts of not drinking.
MM

Yep, it's pretty common Steve. All the more reason to concentrate on what your plan will be. How's that coming along by the way?

I experienced something of a pink cloud the first time around. No cravings and no desire to drink. A sense of freedom I'd never known. Along with the obligatory insomnia and anxiety, both generalized and in social situations.

The second time around, I experienced whatever the opposite of a pink cloud is. Purple rain? It was brutal, but also gave me my best chance to recover.

Great to see you posting again, Steve!

I hear a lot of new people mention being in a pink cloud and my sponsor has 26 years sober and he always says he's in a pink cloud, he's an older gentleman and jokester..

I do love to hear new folks say they're in the pink cloud and pray they stick with it and stay sober..

The man who repeatedly hits himself on the head with a hammer will feel pretty good when he stops. It's all relative. Compared to how I felt at the end of my drinking, I have been living in an extreme pink cloud for years.

My thought on it is that the pink cloud is really a free sample of God' grace. It is what it feels like to have a strong inner belief that one is on the right track at last. I took the opportunity to lock it in by starting work on the steps while I was feeling good about my direction. I could have just sat until it passed and the obsession returned. A lot of people seem to do that.

I'm actually in a camp like your sponsor, whether he's actually joking or not. The majority of my sobriety - just past 10 mo now- has been pink clouds. I think of it as my best kind of life and for me, AA has certainly meant seeing promises come true. Perfect life? Nope. Real? Yep. And I put a lot of effort into keeping it that way- keeping my perspective, new ways of handling life, and spiritual condition such that my life is as pink as possible as much of the time as it can be.

I have noticed some who try too hard- they think they should be over the moon- have a spiritual exp.- and invariably do not. What do you get when a drunken horse thief stops drinking? A sober one. The hard work bit does not occur to some where I then see relapse occurring the 'what is the point of it' thinking.

Not a big fan of some of the recovery "catch phrases" as they can be used to bring some people down. Some people may take my positive, upbeat attitude as me being on a "pink cloud". However, I consider it a by product of my getting sober and loving it. Instead of getting hung up on semantics, I find it much better to focus on results. If the peace of mind that I've found over the past seven and a half years is a "pink cloud", then color me pink:)

Coming along well. Had sometime to think about goals, intentions, etc. I have a rough outline in writing anyway.