Are you trying to get sober but feeling a sense of loss over losing alcohol? You are struggling to see your life without it, wondering what you will do and how you will spend your time- how will it effect your friendships and how will you ever have fun again?!?

Been there, done that.

When you give up the substance and move into recovery, you are going through a grief and mourning process. You are closing one chapter of your life and moving into a new one and there is a sense of loss that comes with that.

It is hard to leave something behind that has become so important to you. Something that you have relied on, that has been a steady and dependable sidekick. Right up until it turned on you and started creating problems.

There is nothing strange about grieving the loss of alcohol from your life or having fear about what your future will look like without it.

It is no different than a break up or a divorce. All of a sudden you are facing a new future that looks very different than you thought it was going to. There are all of these behaviors you are used to doing a certain way with your person that you now have to figure out a new way to do them without that person. Without calling that person or relying on that person. You can’t take them to the holidays with your family anymore, you aren’t going to go to certain places anymore because that’s where you always went together or that’s where all your ‘couples’ friends are and you aren’t a couple anymore.

So let’s talk about these stages of grief and how we can manage them and understand them as it relates to our lifestyle choices.

Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”

Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”

Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”

Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”

Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what happened.”

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