Emotional Sobriety/Emotional Hangover
Hey friends. Karrie here-alcoholic.
This week’s topic is on the solution for emotional hangovers–emotional sobriety. Step 10 in the twelves and twelve says this:
“When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday’s and sometimes today’s excesses of negative emotion–anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers. This doesn’t mean we need to wander morbidly around in the past. It requires an admission and correction of errors now. Our inventory enables us to settle with the past. When this is done, we are really able to leave it behind us. When our inventory is carefully taken, and we have made peace with ourselves, the conviction follows that tomorrow’s challenges can be met as they come.”
I seem to get more of these emotional hangovers then I would care to. The good news is, that today I can see them faster and am willing to do something about my emotional state sooner. Granted I still have a ways to go. But I have discovered that the answer is in workings the steps. That’s how I get some emotional sobriety. BUT that’s not always easy to do when I’m feeling sorry for myself. My sponsor always says “poor me, poor me, POUR me another drink”. It always irritates me when she says that but it’s the truth. When I wallow in self pity, anger, resentments, etc etc…I head down into a deep hole. It’s a place that leads me to a drink. We are either moving towards a drink or moving away from one.
The meeting is now open for discussion on emotional sobriety/emotional hangovers or anything else that will keep you from taking a drink today.