IslaGirl31

I'm 19 days sober and feeling lost...
I read a reference about HALT recovery and was wondering if someone could tell me more about it?
I am all over the map right now....angry, tired, afraid and just a feeling of being lost and dead inside.

sugarbear1

It's an acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. Mine is PHALT and I add Pain to mine. Physical or mental can make me feel horrible.

It also means to Stop---halt when feeling depressed or out of control; take a look at where you are today and then take action to see what you can do to change your feelings.

I know it's hard if you're upset about something and want to be alone. It's OK to be alone to collect your thoughts. But be smart about it. If you need to be alone to calm down about something, go do it. But then pull yourself back together and make yourself get back to the business of living. We often treat loneliness with isolation and this is not the best idea, so limit your time away from others.

It is often said that action changes feelings.

Slow down, take a look at what is going on and then take action to change it.

Sobriety, to me, is action.

Boudicca

I am also newly sober(21 days.) Learning about this has made it easier for me to understand why I started to use alcohol as my coping mechanism in the first place. For me it has always been an inappropriate way to deal with normal feelings. Hunger, anger, etc.
In addition, chronic drinking has disrupted the way my body processes and deals with sucrose/glucose. (Most alcoholics have abnormal blood sugar regulation.) Esp. in the beginning, pay particular attention to this.
Keeping my blood sugar stable made the first few weeks easier for me.

IslaGirl31

Thanks guys - it's comforting to know my feelings are part if the recovery process...
The anger and frustration concern me the most - I am not normally a confrontational type but find myself lashing out at family and strangers (parking lot rage).
My goal today is to take my puppy to the dog park and hopefully enjoy it
I am grateful for the supportive people here on this site - please know that I am hugging you in my heart.

Nuudawn

Oh yaaa...a HUGE part.
We have been drinking our way through not dealing with our mental states a long, long time.
H.A.L.T...is so beneficial. It is important to take that pause and check in with yourself about what is happening with you.
Not knowing how to deal with our emotions is problematic. Our emotions in effect are a "problem" we have not yet learned the answers for (other than that ugly one in a bottle)
And the first stage of problem solving is IDENTIFYING the problem...
It's so very important to start checking in with yourself..and learning how to deal with effective new coping mechanisms.
And yes, thinks like
breathing
going for a walk with your puppy
If your hungry..eat
If your thirsty..drink water
If your lonely...connect with a friend or loved one
If your angry...punch pillows, journal, run, walk, listen to affirmations or music...

It's a whole new adventure.

PurpleKnight

19 Days is fantastic!!

HALT got me through many a day, just working out which I needed to sort out dealt with cravings!!

Boudicca

"Parking lot rage" I love it! So true! I am also not a confrontational person (anger being one emotion I was never able to deal with, thus I would just "drink it away.") I am also experiencing more anger and irritability than I can ever remember. I think it is PAWS and that just knowing there is a reason for it helps me get through it. Thank you for sharing with us.

IslaGirl31

Feeling accomplished - took the puppy to the beach and had a lot of people coming up to pet her so it forced me to make small talk and be nice lol
It was relatively painless too - kind of enjoyable even
Thank you to everyone "here".... It makes the loneliness bearable and I always come away with more insight and "tools" to work on my stuff...

Amester

Thank you so much for posting this, I forget about HALT sometimes and it's important that I keep it in mind. Angry and lonely are huge ones for me, any emotions are uncomfortable for me and definitely make me feel like finding a way to escape. And drugs/alcohol have always been my favorite ways to escape. I also use the A to mean Anxious because that's a feeling that prompted me to use or drink plenty of times.

I'm struggling tonight with cravings, I had a lot of triggers thrown my way today. I'm going to think about HALT for a bit now and see if part of the craving has something to do with any of those feelings.

FlyerFan

I love HALT. Any time that I feel one of those things i Need to step outside of myself and fix it. Hunger is the easy one of course, but if I don't eat, boy am i a bitch! LOL. The others can be a little bit tricky but there are always other people around to help you get through.

LadyinBC

I'm another that loves HALT too. I used it tons in the beginning and I still use it to this day.

Boudicca

So glad to hear it, Isla! Aren't animals wonderful? They take us out of our heads and out of ourselves. It is also good common ground for meeting people. I need to remind myself of this.

NoelleR

Let's remember............(HALT) Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired are normal/natural emotions; there's nothing inherently wrong with any of them.

H.A.L.T. only means that we, as recovering/recovered A's, need to be causious of becoming TOO hungry, or TOO angry or TOO lonely or TOO tired.

(o:
NoelleR