Sobriety Sucks

This vice has become my saving grace lately. I hesitated for awhile because it still has a small amount of alcohol, but after doing research, I decided to give it a try. At less than half a percent of alcohol, one of these beers has the same alcohol content as Kombucha. I don’t drink one every day.

It’s not uncommon to feel like you’re running on a treadmill, getting nowhere, but feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. It’s hard to face that stuff when you’re newly sober and it has hurled a lot of strong, well-intending people back into relapse. But if you know it’s coming, you can plan for it and increase your odds of getting through it. The people in our lives have a limited threshold for bad behavior, even when we’re truly sorry.

How To Effectively Manage Emotional Triggers in Sobriety

I lie in bed and whip myself like some cruel slave driver. Of course all of this is a shock. Now that I don’t drink, I’ve been stripped of my alcohol-induced intelligence and infallibility. I used to be right all the time. That’s why I talked so loud and repeated myself so often. I had a lot to say, and I was proud to bestow on everyone within earshot my slobbery wit and careless observations.

So maybe a lot of people don’t say it and maybe I’m the only one who feels it, but sometimes sobriety sucks. As someone who writes a self-help blog, I struggle with the self-help world. I used to binge on self-help books with a similar tenacity that I binged on Jack Daniels. I was reading book after book (and following motivational Instagram accounts), trying to change every aspect of myself. I started to project my newfound “enlightenment” onto others, trying to change them. And another thing about sobriety…who would want to know what his spouse thinks of him?

thoughts on “When Sobriety Sucks”

Instead of reaching out for help, giving AA a shot, or opening up to friends and family, I tried to Google my way to emotional stability. Building resilience and training the voice inside your head to be less negative is a lifelong process. It takes time to get good at it. Hell, it takes time to get just sort of okay at it.

And escape isn’t easy when you have a family to support. Probably a bit of everything there all cranked up to 11. It’s hard not to worry about it all. I’ve let the clock tick way too much the past few years.

Your AllMusic Account

It’s like walking outside on a sunny day and adjusting to the brightness. It’s because I woke up and realize I’m stuck at a job that’s awful. It doesn’t challenge sobriety sucks me, it doesn’t give me pride, it doesn’t use my skills to their full potential. My soul is literally stagnant and festering each day for the five hours I’m there.

I’m Alicia, the creator of Soberish. I’ve spent the last six years researching and understanding alcoholism, addiction, and how people get sober. I took my last drink on December 19, 2016.