bobcat1234

I have been sober since Tuesday morning and received my 24 hour coin on Wednesday. I keep having these mood swings that are really making it difficult to get through the day. Maybe I am actually feeling all of the pain that I pushed away when I drank. Or maybe I miss my best friend, alcohol, which seemed to make me feel better, if only for the short term.

I know that I have to quit drinking, and all my AA members keep encouraging me, but I am tired of my mood going up and down. One hour, I feel like I can do it, and a few hours later I am crying my eyes out and feel lost. Is this normal?

Who am I kiddin

Hi Bobcat,

I'm new too, on day 8 today and I can tell you from my experience that there will be an end to the massive mood swings. I was crying and ashamed and sleepy and every other negative emotion for about the first 36-48 hours and I've been okay ever since. I really do believe that it's your body (and to some degree, your mind) getting rid of all the substance and it's just not nearly as painless coming out as it was going in.

I also felt very foggy in my thinking on about day 3 and that was very hard to take. Please stick with it! I promise you it will get better - perhaps not all at once but it will get better. "Luckily" my husband and I were not speaking for about five days when I was first giving up booze and I honestly believe that the silence did me good as far as making the mood swings less. Be with friends, certainly, if that doesn't lead you into temptation, but also use this as a time to think just about you and your life and where it's been going and what you are going to do to change that.

Please stick with it!!!!

CarolD

...you are in de tox. Who just gave you great advice.

Mood swings are Yucky vut so is drunk. Check out the top sticky in Alcoholism amd you mmight be pleased that your withdrawal is mot worse.

Glad to see you here and more importantly..still sober.


You are a true miracle!

Dan

Hi again bobcat.

Grieving alcohol is an ongoing thing for me, even after a little time away from it.
But at first, it was like having my best friend moving away.

A week, ten days... Or less; it's what we have to go through. It all depends.
But the payoff is worth it. Oh so sweet.

michski

Yes, the payoff is ohsovery sweet!

I never gave myself enough time to completely detox the first few times I tried to get sober. I needed more sober time to be able to replace booze as my solution, my reward, my celebration, my being able to think assistant and my company for when I had an evening alone to watch TV. Somewhere around 8 months sober I stopped needing it for any solution. By that time I had enough program in me to have other more viable solutions, ideas and comforts pop into my head and my heart. I'm ever so grateful for white knuckling it through times I thought I couldn't make it without a drink because the payoff is HUGE!

I wish you the best!

2dayzmuse

I can tell you this I never once regretted not drinking. I've regretted drinking a thousand times. Yes, sobriety is oh so sweet and it will get better. I promise.

jbm125

Hi Bobcat and welcome. You've made a decision to get and stay sober and that is great. You'll never be sorry. You'd be surprised at just how much most of the people here know about you already. For example; the last year or so of your life has probably been filled with 'bad luck'. You don't enjoy drinking the way you used to. You probably were having your last drinks just to keep from shaking and being sick. You didn't come here or to AA cuz everything in your life was going great. I came to AA cuz I was beat into it
by booze and drugs. My life was unmanageable and I was powerless over alcohol.
Your mood swings are typical because you probably haven't felt any emotions in a while. Now they will come flooding back and you'll be reacting and overreacting to everything. Don't let it get to you. The urge to go back to that 'old friend' that gave you such comfort also gave you a lot of pain.
We drunks and junkies have selective memories. We'll remember the times we felt good and forget the mornings we didn't have a 'wake up' or the nights or mornings we'd be puking till we could keep some booze in our stomach.
We forget how we couldn't eat or enjoy much of anything.
You're 100% normal. Share what you're going thru in a meeting and you'll feel better when others share they went thru the same stuff. Good luck and God bless.

Chy

Hi bobcat, your right where your supposed to be, you going through the normal grieving process as well as the emotional uncertainty. It does get better, stick with it!

2dayzmuse

Come to find out...alcohol wasn't my friend at all. You guessed it, it was my worst enemy. Nothing but the devil in disguise.

MNGirlyGirl

2days - this really resonated with me. Thanks!

Bobcat,
You're emotional rollcoaster is normal. I feel strong one moment and am white knuckling it the next. Keep it up -- just get through today. My thoughts will be with you.

kathy

Greatful2004

Oh yeah, the roller coaster is normal. For me, it is getting better slowly. The first week or 10 days, I would cry during the day at times, and feel extremely happy at other times.

Now, with 20 days sober the roller coaster of emotions is still taking me for a ride. But I find that the highs and lows aren't nearly as severe.

Please hang in there. And like someone else said, count your lucky stars that you are functioning so well on day one. All of my Day 1's in the past were filled with uncontrollable shaking, dry heaves, racing heart and other detox symptoms.

It will get better, it just takes TIME.

lulu70

Just wanted to say welcome and also assure you that what you are experiencing is completely normal! And, as others have said, it will get better. I was lucky to be in a treatment center for my first 40 days or so, and protected from myself. It was good for me to be surrounded by people who were going through the same thing as me and professionals who knew how to deal with it. If you don't pick up a drink, you will never have to go through these initial days again.

Hang in there!

bobcat1234

Thanks for your encouragement everyone. Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon last night. I had a fabulous sober weekend with my husband, but he had to leave town. I was overcome with sadness and turned to my usual coping technique, alcohol. I couldn't even make it one week!!!

I think a part of me also wanted to test myself and try to exert my power over alcohol. I kept telling myself that I was strong enough to have "just one." Well, that didn't happen, so I failed the test. Luckily, I didn't do anything too damaging so that I would have to make apologies this morning, but I still felt like a failure.

I didn't want to go to my AA meeting today because I was so ashamed, but I knew I had to go and face my sponsor. It was difficult, but I think the accountability factor makes it more difficult for me to drink in the future. Suprisingly, I feel better this evening, as if I am finally ready to give in and say that I am truly powerless over alcohol. Today is a new day and I plan on making it through the next 24 hours without a drink.

CarolD

I had many false starts on my way to sobriety!

The only failure is to quit trying!

2tough2die

Then perhaps it's not a complete failure. Sometimes false starts help convince the brain what you already know. One is always too many.

Change the sentence above, removing "as if", and I think you'll be on your way

- Greg