What About the Bad Days?

It’s all well and good to talk about the successful recoveries and the improved health. We love the inspiration and motivation those stories can give us and when we taste a bit of freedom and sobriety for ourselves, it can be incredibly rewarding. But... what about the bad days?

What about the days where you’re sitting alone in the house, staring out the window or wandering about aimlessly because you can’t get your head right without a fix? What about the days you just hate yourself and everything else in the world, maybe you just feel like crawling into a ball and hiding from everyone in a dark closet in the basement? What about the guilt, rage, and sadness when you see your friends having a celebration drink or passing a joint at a party and it’s like looking through glass at a world you can’t be a part of anymore?

What about those days?

It’s no secret that there are demons haunting the road to sobriety and a better life. Some days are better than others and they can’t all be the same. When you break it down, the only way people have ever been able to overcome the adversity and hardship of a bad day was to know, beyond a doubt, that tomorrow would be different. Not necessarily better, because we can’t predict these things, just different. Sometimes that’s enough to see us through. Just suffer through today, just make it through, and tomorrow will bring something different. The possibility that it could be better is enough to hunker down and push forward. The idea of Tomorrow.

So many factors of life play into how a day will go for a recovering addict or alcoholic; mood, weather, work schedule, friends’ attitudes and activities, even what’s on TV or the Internet. Some of these factors can be influenced or controlled, others can’t and you just have to roll with it. When the bad days roll in, keep in mind that it’s like a cloudy day or a passing storm. These things come and go. In order to weather these fluctuations in cravings and mood and health, you have to have strong roots. 

The people in your life and the daily routine you put yourself through are the source of your strength on these more difficult days. 

Dig your feet in deep and build relationships that will support you.

And, on the bad days, always remind yourself: Tomorrow will be different. Maybe even better.