ultravioletlt

Quick background: My husband is 55 and started drinking over a decade ago..and it became really heavy the past two years. He had no intention of stopping his drinking but got really sick and slipped into withdrawals.

He was admitted to the hospital about two weeks ago with severe alcohol withdrawals. He was then transfered to an in-patient rehab center...which makes it about day six as I write this. I have to say that I am baffled at how happy my husband is now after only one week in rehab. He almost seems elated. He started behaving that way about day three. I talk to him on the phone once daily and, as I said, see him each evening for one hour. He is very motivated about life now and truly believes he has "seen the light" and is a changed man. I have never seen him this happy. The rehab center allows most patients to leave when they want..and my husband has decided to check himself out in a few days...much to my shock. But he will be doing an out-patient program from this point.

Now...I shouldn't complain about his attitude, right?!! But I think it is very odd that he is so happy and so inspired all of a sudden after years of depression and alc abuse. Now...he does still speak slowly and has trouble finding his words sometimes. (He was like that when he first went in due to high ammonia levels but those have gone down to normal now..yet he still speaks differently than he used to.)

My question is:
Is this "elation" and joy a normal part of recovery that many people go through? Should I expect a big drop in this at some point? Or perhaps he has truly healed in a short amount of time? I hate to be negative...but I'm very skeptical of this and quite honestly I'm afraid he'll get a rude awakening when he returns to the stressors of home (two children, juggling schedules, bills, etc.) I have remained very positive and supportive when we speak but inside I'm really worried about his behavior.

Can anyone offer me some insight into what might be happening with my husband at this point in rehab?

keithj

Normal? I can say that it is very common. Whether or not it's a part of recovery or merely the natural result of feeling better physically and mentally, it's difficult to say.

In my observation, this feeling and reaction is indicative of nothing. Many will take this feeling and it motivates them to jump into doing what is required to recover. And many will take this feeling and think they've got it all figured out and perhaps they were making too big a deal of the whole thing.

Which way your husband goes makes the difference between recovery or heart-breaking relapse.

Boleo

Some call it the "Pink Cloud" effect because it wears off within a few days but my experience is that it is the start of what are known as the Big Book Promises.

Some believe that the promises are only experienced as a result of completing the first 9 steps in 12 step recovery but I have met a few people that have experienced them as early as step 1. I myself had to go through the steps a second time to see the extra promises in the first 5 steps.

The key to keeping them from fading away, is to go forward and experience more before the Pink Cloud gets a chance to wear off. Most people don't move forward quickly enough to see the pattern that there are promise in nearly every step.

My advice is to encourage him to find a sponsor who will work him through the steps quickly - as it was done in the 1940's.

Murray4x5

Thanks for the heads up!

I've been almost euphoric at times, so relieved to have stepped out of the vortex, and so optimistic about my future. Your post ran a chill of recognition through my heart. Think I'll focus on plan A

Murray

artsoul

hi ultra! I think it's a really good thing that your husband is feeling happy about sobriety. It's often a huge relief to finally admit our addiction and get help for it. We get used to waking up with a hangover, lying and sneaking drinks, living with anxiety and depression, worrying about our health, and feeling alot of guilt for failing ourselves and those around us. So, when we start to live sober, it's really liberating in so many ways.

Ultimately, he's responsible for keeping his sobriety moving forward, and there will be times when the excitement begins to fade. But there's no reason he can't get through those times, too, with some support. Is he planning to go to AA?

I know you're probably in shock over all this, so you need a kind of recovery yourself. There's a Family and Friends forum at SR, and there's also AlAnon. I wish you all the best!!

justbrian

I think the BB refers to it as being "rocketed into a (4th or 5th?)dimension. It's a great feeling to be free from the bondage of alcohol. As keithj said, it can lead to the start of an awesome new life, or a very hard fall. I'll bet I fell 5 or 6 times before I finally used that feeling to "go all in." I would say to him "hang on to it as long as you can, because eventually life starts to creep back in and that's when the tough must get going." He has a great opportunity to learn how to live life sober and enjoy it happy, joyous, and free!

Brian