The Realities of the Pink Cloud

You just became sober and now you need to watch out for the pink cloud. Congratulations! You have been given the gift of desperation and became willing to make one of the biggest changes of your life; getting sober. If you have any length of sobriety at this point then I’m sure you are aware that you are now feeling all of the emotions that you haven’t felt for the last, however many years you were abusing drugs, alcohol, food, relationships, etc. It kinda sucks right?

Don’t worry, it gets better! And for some of you, it may already be better, so good in fact, that it feels like you are riding a wonderful and blissful high on life. Well, that’s awesome! Enjoy it!

Now let me be the bearer of… bad and good news. Many people in early recovery find themselves in this position, and so it has been dubbed the “Pink Cloud”. Calm down, let me explain.

What is the Pink Cloud?

The pink cloud is a term for the first few days, weeks, even months of sobriety after the initial highs and lows of getting sober begin to even out. Some people begin to experience so much freedom and joy that they start to think “getting sober is easy! Maybe I never even had a problem in the first place!”

I myself have fallen victim to this thinking through 4 relapses.

Getting sober brings with it the gifts and joys of life that we have blocked ourselves off from for years. For example, getting an enjoyable job, finding a boat load of new friends and feeling like we are on top of the world. After a while, we can start to wonder if we really need our fellowship.

Getting Sober and the Pink Cloud

Getting sober can be easy, and is definitely more enjoyable than the way we were living. However, if you find that you are having thoughts or ideas that you may not need to be here anymore, I highly recommend voicing these thoughts to a trusted member of your fellowship who has more time than you do.

After the years of horror we have put ourselves through, I’m not saying we don’t deserve a little happiness and joy in our lives. What I’m saying is, there is a line between reality and delusion that, when newly sober, can be hard for us to distinguish.

In my own personal experience with the pink cloud, I would often find myself thinking things like “Okay I’ve gotten my life back together, thank you AA, but I don’t think I ever actually had a problem” meanwhile I was living in halfway, not paying any of my own bills, and working less than 20 hours a week at a Jersey Mikes. But for the first time in a long time, I was happy. I hadn’t started working any steps, and I romanticized my addiction and getting drunk and high almost constantly. Low and behold, I relapsed shortly after.

The danger of the Pink Cloud lies in its deception. It’s very subtle for many of us, and the problem comes once it starts to wear off. One bad thing can happen and all of a sudden we hit a low so hard that we are knocked right out of our elation, and are faced with the only remedy we’ve known for years.

But wait! There’s hope! Usually by this point, you have found a sponsor, whether by choice or by encouragement from your halfway. Regardless of how you got them, hopefully you have started your steps. If you haven’t, it’s not too late! We cannot hope to continue with the joys and blessings of our new life until we become willing to work the 12 steps of our new found fellowship.

These steps were not created to scare us or to add more rules and laws for us to feel weighed down by. On the contrary, the steps give us tools and a spiritual outlet that allows us to face all of the ups and downs that will come with our new way of living. They are absolutely crucial in maintaining any healthy, long term sobriety. And honestly, they can be completely eye-opening and enjoyable if you work them fully and thoroughly with a sponsor.

So if you find yourself floating around on this pink cloud of newfound sobriety, please, enjoy it, but be aware that life is not all sunshine and rainbows, and the time will come when you will need a solid groundwork of recovery to help you face and overcome any troubles you may encounter on your journey.

So How Can I Protect Myself From the Pink Cloud

Good question, the answer is simple and I’m sure you’ve probably heard it a hundred times in meetings by now. The best ways to protect yourself is to dive into your program.

• Get a Sponsor! Find someone whom you admire, who seems to really enjoy the program and is truly grateful to be in it.
• Work the Steps with your sponsor. They say it’s suggested, but it’s not. This is mandatory, don’t like it? Get over it. You’ll be glad you did.

• Find a home group, and get a commitment. Whether it’s greeting at the door, making coffee, or cleaning up afterward, you will become interlaced with the lives of others and I promise you will consider this meeting your home away from home.
• Practice calling sober supports. I know it’s a pain and we may feel weird opening up, but reaching out for help will save your butt when life becomes too heavy.
• Find a healthy outlet for stress. If you find something that benefits your life like writing, exercise, hiking, sports, whatever, you can turn to this in times of stress to help reset your brain. Think of it as an early practice of meditation.

And last but definitely not least,

• Begin to discover your higher power, and talk to them often! Worried people will think you’re crazy? So what? It probably won’t be the first time, and at least now it’s because you’re growing spiritually rather than because you blacked out and did some reckless stuff last night.

So if you find yourself wondering when the other shoe is going to drop, don’t worry. Just apply any of these tools daily and you will be safely carried by your fellowship into a healthy and happy sobriety!

Freedom From Alcohol Addiction

If you have found yourself suffering in addiction, you are not alone! If you are ready to change your life and live free of addiction, then FindAddictionRehabs.com can help. We offer inpatient and outpatient treatment services for men and women. Our program is unique in that it doesn’t just treat the addiction, it treats the whole person. For more information on our program, call 1-(877) 633-0053 today.

Anna M.( Senior Content Writer )

Anna M. joined Find Addiction Rehabs with extensive experience in the field of addiction treatment. As a former Nurse Practitioner in Miami, she found her passion for addiction treatment when a family member was lost to his disease. With each article and resource, she hopes to save other families from experiencing the anguish of a loved one’s passing due to drinking or drugs.