That's how I think of early sobriety. You've jumped off the Boozy Cliff into a ginormous field of Thick Sludgy Mud and you have to wade your way through it to get to Peaceful Sobriety Island.
It's hard bloody work. Your brain freaks the fuck out that you've taken away it's beloved drug … you brain also keeps bombarding you with all these hard-wired messages that alcohol is a necessary part of life, the golden ticket to fun and a harmless liquid to be imbibed at will. Most likely your friends and family will also (subtly or overtly) bombard you with those messages, as will clever advertisers.
So you're fighting against your own brain and the entire world (it feels like) and you're stuck in Thick Sludgy Mud of early sobriety feeling raw, emotional, drained, obsessed, confused… aaarrrggghhh! Jeepers it's no worry so many people stop-and-start all the time.
But this is why we need all of the folks in recovery hanging out happily on Peaceful Sobriety Island to stand up and wave out. "Keep Going!!" we cry… "keep going, you can do it, you're doing so great, go gently, treat yourself kindly, keep going.. it's going to be ok, look at us we're over here never touching alcohol ever and we're feeling great!!!!".
I'm doing one of those double arm waves as I shout out.
I've been dancing around this online recovery world for nearly 3 years now talking to people in all stages of recovery, commenting on blogs, responding to emails etc, and those are the lines I most often type out. They may seem trite and overused but they're the simple powerful truth.
Keep Going.
You can do it.
You're doing so great.
Go gently.
Treat yourself kindly.
Keep Going.
It's going to be ok, look at us, we're over here never touching alcohol ever and we're feeling great.
This is why I'm hoping lots of people already in recovery join Living Sober to help promote Peaceful Sobriety Island (I warned you I'd be labouring metaphors in this post…!).. because those of you either still on Boozy Cliff or stuck in the Thick Sludgy Mud of early sobriety need to know that these are places you can get out of. They are stages that can be overcome. They will pass.
So long as you keep moving ahead.
Love, Mrs D xxx
