And here comes the infamous pink cloud...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 81
And here comes the infamous pink cloud...
Hey all,
I was awake in bed this morning feeling better than I have felt in over a year. Today marks 9 days sober for me and boy do I feel great! My mind is busy planning on how I'm going to conquer my next semester of classes. I'm going to finally move in with my girlfriend (maybe). I have cleaned my room through and through. I'm going to find a part time job and finally buy myself a car. I am invincible. I got this sobriety thing down. I own it. I am the ruler of my own destiny and nobody can get me down.
While all these ambitions are great... I know better. This is the period of time when my sobriety is still new and exciting. Music sounds better to my ears, food smells and tastes more delicious than ever before, sex is more crazy and amazing than I ever imagined. But, sadly, there is a balance to life. What goes down must come up. And what goes up, must come back down. Eventually, reality is going to rear its ugly head and I will be reminded of why I drank in the first place. But for now, I feel fantastic.
While I'm feeling idealistic, I'd like to say that if I can put forth a good solid plan for when I do start to feel down I can beat it, rather than find myself back in the bottle.
So how does everyone else deal with the pink cloud? And once the pink cloud disappears, how do you cope with the realization that life was still there all along, waiting for you?
I was awake in bed this morning feeling better than I have felt in over a year. Today marks 9 days sober for me and boy do I feel great! My mind is busy planning on how I'm going to conquer my next semester of classes. I'm going to finally move in with my girlfriend (maybe). I have cleaned my room through and through. I'm going to find a part time job and finally buy myself a car. I am invincible. I got this sobriety thing down. I own it. I am the ruler of my own destiny and nobody can get me down.
While all these ambitions are great... I know better. This is the period of time when my sobriety is still new and exciting. Music sounds better to my ears, food smells and tastes more delicious than ever before, sex is more crazy and amazing than I ever imagined. But, sadly, there is a balance to life. What goes down must come up. And what goes up, must come back down. Eventually, reality is going to rear its ugly head and I will be reminded of why I drank in the first place. But for now, I feel fantastic.
While I'm feeling idealistic, I'd like to say that if I can put forth a good solid plan for when I do start to feel down I can beat it, rather than find myself back in the bottle.
So how does everyone else deal with the pink cloud? And once the pink cloud disappears, how do you cope with the realization that life was still there all along, waiting for you?
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,071
I kind of think you should just relax and enjoy the ride. Sure, you still have problems. You can never, ever drink again. But maybe the pink cloud isn't such a bad thing. You worked hard for each of those 9 days. You quit so your life would get better, right? It's starting to do that!
Just don't ever forget what it was that messed it up to begin with. Take the first drink, all this goes down the toilet.
Just don't ever forget what it was that messed it up to begin with. Take the first drink, all this goes down the toilet.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,418
I never had a pink cloud experience so I'm not sure what I can offer as advice.
I think tho so long as we remind ourselves that things will get tough from time to time and we will be tested, we'll have our feet on the ground, no matter where our head is.
As long as you have a plan in place for those down times, I think you're in a good position Xyphen
I tend to agree tho - why not enjoy it?
D
I think tho so long as we remind ourselves that things will get tough from time to time and we will be tested, we'll have our feet on the ground, no matter where our head is.
As long as you have a plan in place for those down times, I think you're in a good position Xyphen
I tend to agree tho - why not enjoy it?
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 81
Thanks, GirlfromCO. That is some good advice. As long as I stay content and remember why I quit in the first place, I should get through it just fine. And of course keep in touch with everyone at SR. =)
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
I agree........ and I think you should enjoy every minute of it!
One thing you could do is write down how you're feeling today, the differences/changes you've noticed, even the little things. For example, I remember waking up one morning after being sober for a few days and hearing the birds chirping outside my window. That usually would have been a source of irritation or the beginning of dreading the day ahead, but that day it made me smile. And it was a different kind of smile, like my heart/soul was waking up. It was a wonderful moment.
No doubt the bad days will come - I felt kind of panicky at first when I had them and had to go back to doing things a minute/hour at a time. But after you get through a few, you realize they don't last forever and that you really can deal with life after all (and even grow from it!), and that's a good feeling, too.
Loved reading your post, and congrats on day 9!!!!
One thing you could do is write down how you're feeling today, the differences/changes you've noticed, even the little things. For example, I remember waking up one morning after being sober for a few days and hearing the birds chirping outside my window. That usually would have been a source of irritation or the beginning of dreading the day ahead, but that day it made me smile. And it was a different kind of smile, like my heart/soul was waking up. It was a wonderful moment.
No doubt the bad days will come - I felt kind of panicky at first when I had them and had to go back to doing things a minute/hour at a time. But after you get through a few, you realize they don't last forever and that you really can deal with life after all (and even grow from it!), and that's a good feeling, too.
Loved reading your post, and congrats on day 9!!!!
Encourager In Training
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: KS
Posts: 717
Originally Posted by Xyphen 
While I'm feeling idealistic, I'd like to say that if I can put forth a good solid plan for when I do start to feel down I can beat it, rather than find myself back in the bottle.
I agree with your thought above insofar as this "pink cloud" period is a convenient time to develop/bolster your sobriety plan. Around the farm we say one has to "make hay while the sun shines".
Well, the sun is shinin', Friend!
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