Becoming sober is great. You begin to feel better, as you break free from the clutches of alcoholism. Everything around you feels wonderful. You start seeing life “all pink and roses.”
Now here’s where experts warn to be cautious of the “pink cloud.”
What’s the pink cloud in AA meetings?
Experts generally observe a combination of pink clouds and recovery in meetings. This may sound good but is not.
Pink cloud, according to experts of AA meetings in Pennsylvania, is a state of mind in which a person feels everything going great. This, in spite of the fact that their life has problems.
People under-recovery often display an attitude of “walking on air” or “floating in a pink cloud” where everything seems all rosy. But life is not a bed of roses. Recovering addicts must understand that.
Feeling better when quitting alcohol is one thing. Staying in the pink cloud stage is another. It’s like seeing life with rose-tinted glasses, where everything seems okay but, in reality, may not be.
And, when the bubble breaks and the person comes face-to-face with reality it becomes difficult to cope. This could lead to relapse.
Finding a balance in life
The “pink cloud syndrome” makes a recovering addict believe that the world (or life) is black and white. So now, with their newfound sobriety, their life is white. Earlier it was black.
But life isn’t so.
Life is all shades of colors.
You must understand each color. Accept a few. Change a few, if you can. Act accordingly.
According to experts of an AA meeting, a pink cloud state of mind is usually observed in people with emotional instability. That’s why experts emphasize working on your emotional side during recovery.
This helps you address the problems in your life, not turn a blind eye to them. Dealing with your own emotional self and with life’s problems is a part of healthy recovery. It paves way for long-term sobriety.
How to avoid riding the pink cloud during recovery?
People usually feel better during the recovering process. Some people begin to feel good at the very idea of quitting alcohol. As they search for an “AA meeting locator”, they look forward to a beautiful life sans alcohol, a life on which they have control.
So far so good.
The alarm bell rings when these feelings turn into a state wherein you are on a pink cloud. The cloud makes you deny your life’s problems. You deny you have any emotional problem that made you an addict in the first place. You expect only the good from now on.
Life doesn’t happen this way.
So when the cloud perishes, you fall hard and hurt yourselves. And then you don’t know how to cope.
Don’t let this happen to you.
See life with optimism, but do not ride on a pink cloud.
Tips from American Psychological Association:
● Attend your meetings regularly
● Use tools like Sobriety Calculator
● Work with an experienced counselor
● Write a journal
● Indulge in your hobbies
● Sleep well
● Eat healthy food
● Exercise regularly
Looking for a meeting near you? Visit https://www.aa-meetings.com/ for more information.
