lgalbreath02

I am 23 days sober. I've been feeling "down in the dumps" in the last week. Prior to that, I had been feeling great and happy. Are these mood changes normal?

Mizz

Congrats on your sober time! You are doing great work.

I do think the mood changes are normal. A lot of us are all over the place initially. The "newness" and feeling like we are on cloud nine wears off and then we get down to the real work of day to day living. Some people say that it takes around 3 months to level out and feel like we have our sober living legs moving in the right direction. Keep moving forward! You got this.

nez

Mood changes are very normal but they were new to me in early recovery because for years I had numbed my moods with alcohol, so I was like a rookie when it came to mood changes. Living sober was hands on practice for me in learning how to coexist with mood changes. As with most new things, it got easier the more I did it because I learn through repetition.

Hawkeye13

Your brain is used to the artificial stimulation of alcohol--it takes time to start working on its own again, and that may be sporadic with lots of ups and downs in early days. For me, it stabilized and my sleep also improved quite a bit by 4-6 weeks.

Treat yourself well--eat good food, take walks in nature, get lots of rest and positive input, and know you will feel so much better and soon

fishkiller

Yep
You will come around

advbike

Yes, as others have said, these mood swings are very normal in early recovery, especially once the alcohol is gone and some semblance of normalcy returns. Some of it is from the brain recovering function after years of chemical abuse, but you may also be experiencing a sense of loss (of being able to use alcohol). Believe me there can be depression associated with that once the initial high of sobriety wears off. But it will lift.

Also once you get clearheaded then many realities set in, such as the work that needs to be done to make amends or repair damaged relationships, if applicable. It can seem overwhelming. Hopefully an appreciation of all you are capable of now will offset any sadness at losing your drug of choice. All of these effects will diminish over time in my experience.

least

Yes, mood swings are normal in the beginning. With continued sobriety, it will get better.

PS, I love your user name.

Dee74

welcome lgalbreath02

yeah mood swings are very common and I certainly had them for a while. Things can do and will get better tho - if you're like me and you drank for years, it might take a little longer than 23 days tho

D

Hodd

Very normal, and next week you’ll probably be back to great again. You’re doing well so keep going.

travelbug

I am on day 68 and still moody as heck, just ask my husband

lgalbreath02

This isn't my first rodeo, but the recovery is a lot more challenging this time around.

Dee74

It gets that way - but there's an end to it - hang in there

D

GroundhogDay

Congrats on 23 days lgalbreath! I also was moody in the first several weeks.