Contact us today to learn more about treatment programs that can work well for your situation. The early days of recovery can be challenging due to the uncomfortable process of withdrawal. If you’re in the early days of recovery, it’s important to understand pink clouding and learn what you can do to protect yourself from its side effects.
- We will also discuss how to navigate the arrival and disappearance of the pink cloud, and how to stay steady through the ups and downs of sobriety.
- This can help avoid a relapse, which can happen because of significant emotional changes.
- Find out how our professional addiction treatment plans can help and take the first step toward a healthier future.
- On the other hand, if the feeling of euphoria lasts for a while, and the person believes they can manage their recovery on their own, they may stop participating in treatment.
- There will be plenty of time to tackle other self-improvement projects in the future.
Staying engaged in these services for an adequate length of time is essential. If you or a loved one recently got sober and is looking for additional support in recovery, Eudaimonia Recovery Homes can provide can you mix tylenol and alcohol ongoing care in a safe and comfortable group living environment. With sober living homes in Austin, Houston, and Colorado Springs, we offer enriching living spaces for people in all stages of recovery.
Although it can affect the recovery process, pink cloud syndrome can help many people continue to stay sober. When “pink clouding,” you may be tricked into believing that you no longer need support. However, disconnecting during this period can leave you very vulnerable once the positive feelings subside and the dark clouds come rolling back in.
How to Recognize the Pink Cloud Stage of Sobriety
This can lead to extreme feelings of disappointment, which may lead to a potential setback. Although the pink cloud may seem like a positive experience because it is linked to optimism and euphoria, the truth is that it can be detrimental to a person’s recovery. People can feel invincible while pink clouding, and they may convince themselves that recovery is easy or that life will always be perfect. Unfortunately, the positive moods that come along with pink clouding tend to last only over the short term.
She goes on to explain this often happens when people don’t experience as much change as they did early on, or when the reality of having to make consistent small decisions begins to overwhelm them. You may even wonder what’s the point when it comes to your sobriety, which can make it easier to fall back on old habits. In most cases, you’ve just come through on the other side of withdrawal, which probably involved quite a bit of physical and emotional distress. Think of it as a honeymoon phase, says Cyndi Turner, LCSW, LSATP, MAC, the co-founder and clinical director of Insight Into Action Therapy in Virginia.
If you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol or other drugs, call us now to speak with a Recovery Advocate. A mental health professional can also help you with this down the line (more on this later). Call Eudaimonia Recovery Homes today to learn more about our sober living homes, IOP, and MAP Support Program for men and women in recovery. This can help avoid a relapse, which can happen because of significant emotional changes.
Why it’s helpful
If you haven’t felt optimistic or excited about life in a long time, you might feel even more enticed by this vision of what life can look like. Addiction can create a lot of distress in your life and relationships with others. It can also numb or mute your emotional experience, making it tough to get much enjoyment from anything at all. Your eyes open to the great things in life, and you look forward to every day with enthusiasm and hope. “Rates and predictors of relapse after na[…]lcohol use disorders.” Addiction, February 2006. Try to enjoy this phase while it lasts, and use the boost to your mood to prepare yourself for the road ahead.
It might help to also come up with some loose plans of how you’ll deal with future urges to drink or use substances. “Many people return to substance use in the first 90 days of abstinence,” Turner says. As part of recovery, you’ll begin getting back in touch with the challenges of daily life. As this stage ends, Turner explains, the reality of recovery work begins to set in.
As the logic goes, people experiencing this must be extra cautious of relapse, since the feeling is only temporary. Each person’s recovery journey is unique, so it is impossible to give an exact timeline for the pink cloud. Some people start to experience pink cloud syndrome within a few days of starting recovery, while others may not show symptoms until a few weeks after they begin their recovery journey.
Focus on small, manageable goals
In short, the pink cloud is nice while it lasts, but it can also hinder long-term recovery, especially if it goes on for an extended period of time. Although the pink cloud sounds like a very positive thing (and it certainly can be), the term is often used in a negative way. Typically, people in long-term recovery are more aware of the potential dangers of the pink cloud than those who have less experience in sobriety.
Some people even say the pink cloud comes at goes at various points throughout their life in recovery. The pink cloud, also sometimes referred to as the “honeymoon phase” of sobriety, is often short-lived. During this time, a person may feel happy, confident, and successful. Essentially, they feel like they’re floating in the clouds (hence the name). The pink cloud is said to be the result of the fog finally lifting after years of substance abuse. The person can finally see clearly and enjoy a life that is free of drug and alcohol abuse.
If a setback happens, it is best to examine the circumstances that lead up to the setback and try to avoid them in the future. The high feeling of pink cloud syndrome may also cause people in recovery to avoid real-life challenges, thinking that everything will be fine because they are feeling so good. However, when the pink cloud fades, the person may be left feeling hopeless and discouraged with their treatment progress. Rather, they are a part of the recovery process and should not keep them from seeking outside help and support in recovery.
What Is the “Pink Cloud,” and Does It Really Exist?
Many people who enter recovery benefit from a combination of individual and group counseling. In individual counseling sessions, you can process your emotions and work with a therapist to develop a relapse prevention plan. Group sessions provide an additional layer of support and a safe setting for discussing the difficulty of early recovery.
According to most sources, the term “pink cloud” originates with AA. They explain that once the high wears off, the challenge dmt: side effects withdrawal overdose and treatment of addiction returns. It is uncommon for someone to make it through a treatment program without making a few mistakes.
What is Pink Clouding?
It often comes with increased self-esteem and confidence after a person has experienced a period of sobriety. This happens because drugs and alcohol affect the central nervous system (CNS) by numbing emotions. Here, we’ll discuss the pink alcohol and aging effects cloud experience, what it feels like, how long it lasts, its benefits, and its dangers. We will also discuss how to navigate the arrival and disappearance of the pink cloud, and how to stay steady through the ups and downs of sobriety.
