The Pink Cloud Becomes Reality

The pink cloud is so beautiful. Everything is going perfectly, feeling better, relationships better, sleep better, money is rolling in because we are actually working, court cases are vanishing into thin air, meeting amazing people, miracles are happening all around.

And then….

The harshness of reality bursts the pink cloud. Maybe it’s just one bad day, maybe it’s a fender bender or a job loss or a fight with a parent or a spouse.

Sooner or later things are not so Pink anymore. The dark clouds start to gather and the thunder starts to roll. The challenges of life and early recovery set in and we have to deal with our issues.

Look, early recovery is hard, hell it’s all hard but early days are filled with anxiety and worry and new experiences that should be old experiences. We find ourselves in the middle of experiencing things for the first time without using and it’s overwhelming at times.

How we navigate this early time is critical. Too much stress and we run right back out there. Too little going on and we get bored. Seeking the harmony of life on life’s terms while holding on to not taking things so seriously is hard to do.

Here are some strategies to help you maintain that emotional stability.

1. Make sure you have all of the legal issues you might have in front of you or behind you sorted out. If you don’t have them sorted out, then get them sorted. The last thing you need is to have a surprise that totally throws you into a tailspin.
2. Build the team of trusted advisors around you so that whatever comes at you there are resources you have that can help you solve the problems logically and with a good strategy.
3. Stay in the moment. Recognizing that thoughts are only thoughts and they don’t have to turn into anything else. You are Okay as long as you are doing what you are suppose to do in the day. Future tripping and ruminating about the past are where our anxiety and resentment and fear live. When we are mindful of when we are out of the present moment can help us change the narrative.
4. Work the steps. Here is where you get solution and reprieve. If you want to learn how to manage your life and navigate those rough waters here is how you do it.

Above all else – Help someone else. This is the surest way to get out of your head and feel like you are accomplishing something.

And one last thing. What you think you need is probably not what you need. In fact you are probably hearing that from some people that know a little bit more than you do about recovery and life. But you are probably fighting it, telling them all the reasons why your idea about what you want or need is so necessary.

If you can sit still long enough to change and see things as they truly are instead of how you think they should be might just save your life. It will also help those so close and dear to you to actually begin to heal and not continue to be consumed and exhausted by the addictive behaviors that have brought them to their emotional and financial knees.

Recovery Is Not An Accident But It Is Possible With Change