Question by jaybah: Is it normal to be this depressed after getting sober?
I just kicked a pretty bad opiate habbit. I am in the early stages of recovery with 3 weeks clean. I should be happy that Im sober but instead Im feeling very depressed about everything around me. Want to know if this is a normal feeling for someone in early recovery, and will it eventually go away. I just want to be happy.
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Answer by loco
i dont know read other answers
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u should understand ur inner peace!!!
ur happiness is in ur arms!
Yes u need to drink
Yes you’ll feel down. Your blood chemistry is reworking itself!
yes, you are going through alot of adjustments. To help yourself build up a foundation that can help you when you are depressed. Learn what affirmations are read “You can heal your life” by Louise Hay. Have good people around who can give you a lift. Inspiring tapes books whatever you can do it will take time to build this up but keeping going. You are strong. You can email me if I can help inspire you.
Chinese Proverb
FAKE medicine cannot cure ILLNESS.
REAL wine cannot cure SORROW.
Getting sober will make you more depress than ever.
To be happy, you need to have the will power to change yourself.
Depression is caused by expectations that are in error. You brain hates to erase false hopes.
Isn’t that the reason you were an addict in the first place? Most people who abuse drugs of any type are trying to fill a hole inside them (or so they say….I’m an alcoholic and I know why I drink: to numb myself). I think it’s very normal to feel depressed once the “filler” has been removed from that hole. What you have to do now is get a hobby. Do something to keep yourself busy and keep your mind off of your woes and worries. Maybe volunteer your time somewhere like a soup kitchen to help homeless people. Fill the hole with positive things and hope. Love yourself and others. Be positive. You’ll be fine.
You feel bad because opiate gave you joice in your life. Scientificly, opiate produced the hormones noradrenaline (and another one which i can recall). You have grown acustomed to this, but now that the opiate is gone so is the happy feeling.
Dont worry, the depression will go away in given time. In the mean time, dont do opiates to lose the depression! If things are getting bad, try out L-tryptophan.
Yes, it is very normal. We get used to chaos, peace can be unsettling at first. The best thing to do I have found is find a new playground. One with other sober people. It isn’t easy, and takes some mindset changes, but that is a welcome distraction. I joined a couple of local groups and at first it paled in comparrison to the crowd I used to hang around, but I made myself pay attention to all of the good there was about these people and the things we were doing, and learned to laugh and have fun again. If you are in rehab, just start planning. Get a phone book and look through it for local clubs (habitat for humanity, hiking clubs, whatever). Ask around. What do others do to occupy their time. I hope you have a support group. It really can not be done alone. I needed the experience of people who had been where I was. Congratulations, and welcome. The real world is pretty cool once you get used to it !
First off, congratulations!! From what I have heard that is no easy task, and you should feel good just for beating that monkey off your back. Being sober is great, but it does have the down side of forcing you do deal with issues. With time you will find that it is easier to deal with them up front, than your old way of getting high to avoid them for a while. I would think that as with every other aspect of your recovery, it will take some effort on your part, but you seem to be able to handle that! Perhaps you should see your Dr about getting some short term help, there are meds for what you are feeling, but over all I think that you have made a great choice in taking back your life. It is because of brave people like you that I enjoy Y/A. Good luck, and once again congrats!!
Congratulations on your 3wks. first off!!!!
It will take you time to truly notice a difference.But you need to work on it (recovery every single day for the rest of your life.Addiction interferes with the natural balance of chemicals within the brain.You might need to be on medication to aid in your depression issues.But I believe you can do it ,if you truly want to.Go to the groups you were refereed to attend.Knowing your not alone helps
tremendously!
Good Luck