They taught us in therapy to learn to tolerate uncertainty. You can't control others or outside events...but you can control how you react. Prayer is a very effective way to handle distress. So is comparison...like I sure do have it better than some who are suffering due to famine or natural disasters. Self soothing is good with the 5 senses..(leave out alcohol and illegal drugs of course)..like a warm bubble bath, cooking your favorite meal and eating it one mindfully (enjoying each morsel and every time your thoughts wander taking them back to enjoying the meal one bite at a time) and understanding that the pain you may be feeling is GOOD healthy pain. Like the pain of working out. Build mastery with doing challenging activities like puzzles,play games online, read an intriguing novel.

You learn how to get thru the day moment by moment and let the past moments stay in the past ...don't worry about tommorrows worries. You only have this moment..that is all you have to concern yourself with. That is a relief.

You can use imagery like big red X's over alcohol thoughts. And you can also remind yourself that a thought is just a thought and that is all it is.

What was hard for me to learn is that feeling "bad" didnt always mean that something was wrong either with me or my recovery. Sometimes life throws things at us that it is completely appropriate to have "bad" feelings about. When I felt less than happy early in my recovery I was always questioning what is wrong? What do I do about it? How do I change it? What is wrong with my program , why isnt it working? Sometimes there was something that I should have been doing or letting go of that i wasnt but often times it was just the ebb and flow of life that I was experiencing for the first time.

A very valuable lesson to learn that a solid and positive recovery does not mean we are going to be happy all the time.

There can be moments when life can be very scary and frightening in recovery. The happiness and the joy of recovery becomes the every day norm. Then all of a sudden the mind is thrown into a state of confusion, negativity creeps in , past resentments that were dealt with reappear and takes hold . The feeling of not being able to cope, feeling depressed and lethargic, brings everything to a stand still. Alarm bells start ringing as a quick solution to change the mental mood is sought out, but theres no quick fix.

Its a very uncomfortable state of mind and thats when action is needed to break the cycle of self pitying. The mind is the most dangerous place for a Alcoholic to be , when they are feeling down they can wonder alone and get trapped or decide to stay in there. Recovery isnt easy but if the new tools that are picked up in sobriety are used, the Alcoholic will know that this grey cold phase is only temporary and tomorrow will be a new different day.

Remembering you are not alone is a great help, knowing you can pick up the phone and let your feeling out to another understanding recovering Alcoholic, can change your outlook on life instantly.

There will always be day when we feel very fragile or tired with life , but we have a choice we can sit with it and wallow in self pity or take the appropriate action and utilise our support networks.

Recovery is a beautiful thing but our Alcoholic mind can make us feel Ugly and Dirty

The way I look at it is that life doesn't always feel good. Sometimes it is not easy. But when I stop and think for a minute, I realize that even the tough parts of life are better sober. Drinking just made everything so much worse.

I'm wondering why we would think life would be great all the time, just 'cause we are doing the next *right* thing and abstaining from alcohol? I've also thought that now that I'm sober, life will be / should be perfect. But really, we are just doing the bare minimum in staying sober. That bare minimum beats the crap out of anything I did while drinking or god knows hung over.....but its still the bare minimum.
In order to really enjoy life I've found I've had to accept life on life's terms. Then I'm also grateful. Gratitude == serenity == a wonderful life for this alcoholic:)
Life doesnt have to be perfect to be wonderful and full.

Nods head.

Yep, and they are all 'doable' (my current word). Some days it feel like I am not moving forward yet I am progressing along the sober journey of life and I never know when my today's experience will come in handy.

Peace to you :)