EDHARLEY

I was feeling better, but today on day 14 I am feeling down.. Not sure why.. quality of life is better I dont have so much anxiety and I have lost weight.. I dont feel like drinking I just feel sad. Has anyone else experienced this, why do I feel this way after such a major accomplishment?

sugarbear1

It's old sadness coming out that you stuffed inside of you. That's how I view it. I did have reasons for numbing my emotions. Helping a newcomer or doing something might help.

Congratulations on 14 days!

least

Early recovery is a time of ups and downs, physically and mentally. For one reason we weren't dealing with our feelings while drinking, we were just trying to drown them, but they come back when we get sober. For another, your body and brain are readjusting to normal functioning and it gets a bit rough sometimes. Give yourself more time to adjust. I'd say at least three months. If you're still feeling really down after three months then see your doctor to look for a cause, either physical or mental.

My early recovery was pretty rough, on and off, but I gave myself time (and started practicing gratitude every day) and eventually it all smoothed out. Give yourself time, good food and rest, and see how it goes. Two weeks is still very early in recovery. It took us longer than two weeks to get addicted, it'll take longer than two weeks to get straightened out.

Opivotal

Congratulations EdHarley! The first month of my sobriety was a roller coaster of emotions. Try to stay in the positive and accept that some days will be sad ones. Just like everyday life. If you start feeling that way a lot , maybe a visit to the Doctor is in order. He/She can address your issues and help you come up with a solution.



Best Wishes To You!

alchy

I agree. It is par for the course. Just a down day, no big deal. Keep in mind you probably drank beforehand whether you were happy, sad, mad, whatever, and it probably leveled off your mood to a standard drunkeness. Now you have emotions, good days and bad days. Most of my bad days before were bad because of a hangover. Now I just have random bad days for no reason. Just a bad day.
Congrats on 14 days. That's great!!

Deserto

Congrats on 14 days Ed! That's a huge accomplishment.

I agree with what others have said. Having sad days isn't part of sobriety per se, it's part of being human. When we go through life in the state of "standard drunkenness", we forget that.

EDHARLEY

I kind of set myself in cruise.. I just woke up really sad today.. thought about drinking but did not.. I was really confused.. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

alchy

Don't worry about it man. Think about it this way. Do you think if you had been drunk last night you would have woken up cheery and ready to attack the day? No, you'd be as un happy as you are now, only hung over as well.

soberwingz

ED

Day 14 here as well. If it helps, I feel the exact same way. Just taking it one day at a time. I have faith that it will get better with time. Working on recovery every day keeps me going and gets me through the rough spots.

Keep us posted. Thanks for sharing.

SomethingBetter

I've relapsed on day 14 few times, that and the 30 day mark were the ones I had to hold on tight to keep the bumps in the road from throwing me off.

I seemed to always quit on Sunday, including the last time I quit nearly 8 months ago, I think the first several weekends will always be that way for those who quit on the weekends.

Hang in there, your doing great!

simplenoteasy

ED, I have now 14 days sober as well. In my case it seems that after quiting drinking I am just feeling sadness that I would have always felt if I was sober. Life isnt always happy, happy. But what is amazing is that my non drinking self is attractive to others. I have experienced that. Looking forward to another day sober. Wish you the best.

eJoshua

Congrats on 14 days, Ed! That's awesome. Some days just happen to be sad, but generally your mood will probably improve in the next few months.

Dee74

Congratualtions on 14 days Ed

I dunno about anyone else but my emotions were all over the place still on day 14.
I don't think there necessarily needs to be a reason beyond that

D

Revielle1980

Ed congratulations!!!
Im gonna be at 14 days in about five hours
I can completely relate to the down days and agree with what everyone else has said.

Not drinking means living life on life's terms, something as alcoholics we did our best to totally avoid.
Its gonna take us some time to just re-learn how real life works.

I try and look at the rough days and how I get through them as putting another tool in my recovery toolbox, that way when another rough day comes along im better suited to deal with it.

Something else that helps me is praying and turning over my problems and frustrations to God.
Best of luck to you and everyone learning how to live again!!

Hevyn

Hi Ed - you're doing great, & congrats on your hard-earned sober time. I think what you're feeling is perfectly normal - maybe a sort of anti-climax. Being sober is still new to you - you're adjusting to life without alcohol & at times your emotions are raw. Maybe you feel as I did - that something's missing, even though you know that's irrational.

I think I went through a grieving process when I first gave it up. Even though I knew alcohol was destroying me, I still had a little nostagia for my old way of life - the early years of drinking before it became a living hell. I had to keep reminding myself that it all ended in chaos and misery - there was no fun or enjoyment in the end. Finally I got past that phase and began to love my new life.

I'm glad you brought this up - you don't have to suffer alone. We all understand. It'll keep getting better Ed.

sadsoul2011

Ed - Congratulations! You're doing really great! You've gotten so much good advice from everyone already.

I'm concerned about once I get that far along too. In early sobriety we're so busy with withdrawal and then the first hard weekend etc... Seems to me that once we start to get good at being sober the routine may get kinda mundane unless we start to fill the void. (At least this is what I envisioin may happen at this point.). One of my triggers was boredom so I have to stay alert.

Anyway, I'm planning that this may happen. So, each week I'm going to add something back into my life that requires me to take action and think about new things; i.e., this week I'm planning better nutrition and meals - trying to do prep ahead for each day. I used to love to cook so I'm trying to get back to that hobby a bit. I'm hoping it will keep my life interesting and my mind engaged.

Do you have hobbies that you'd get interested in again or try something new? Make sure to keep coming back to our October class to post how you're doing. I'd love to learn from you as you go through the different stages. You have double my sober time!

csim

Ed

I know what you mean exactly. Today is my day 8. Over the weekend I've been extremely depressed and have been crying and just feel sort of worthless. I let myself feel like that for awhile but then i realized what i was doing and that i needed to stop. I didn't even know why i was crying or felt the way i did. I was just really down. So i remembered something my grandma always says. She says when you get like that just ask yourself why and remember that there is someone out there who has it way worse than you can even imagine. It doesn't make you feel good to think about that but it kinda make you stop feeling like you've got it bad. I hope it gets better for you soon. I also watch funny movies or comedy stand up and it gets me laughing again.

Also, when you said you woke up that way... (i hope this isn't redundant!) My grandpa tells me all the time that first thing in the morning when you open your eyes, its your choice whether its gonna be a good day or bad. Even if something gets a little off its your choice how you handle it and how you let it effect yourself. Its easier said than done but it makes sense.