A Better Today

Your Loved One’s
Emotions

Why are my Loved One’s Emotions so Unstable During Treatment?

Nothing affects the mind and emotions of individuals like addiction. For those early in sobriety, the reemergence of emotions and neural chemical instability can combine to create some spectacularly unstable emotional states.

There is really nothing like it. Words do little justice to the insanity and craze of the early sobriety roller coaster. What you can expect is many dramatic mood swings.

First, there is the daze that comes with the first month of sobriety. For many, there is also a profound awe at the realization that he or she is still alive despite whatever happened. The overdose, near miss or whatever situation that may have tipped the scale enough for the individual to ask for help.

During treatment, one of the hardest challenges involve feeling shame, remorse, guilt and anxiety.

Feeling Emotions After Active Addiction: Your Loved One’s Struggle is Both Physical & Mental

After the shock of survival begins to wear off, the questions and realizations may begin to surface. These may surround the realization of immense loss of time while out using, as well as missed opportunities and failures that wouldn’t normally have happened.

The emotions are suppressed by mood and mind-altering substances, so when they surface the days may become much more interesting. Without drugs or alcohol, these emotions cannot be controlled or manipulated as easily.

The individual must learn to cope with them in a healthy and productive manner, which takes time. Until the healthy coping skills are mastered, the intermittent emotions may feel similar to being hit by a wrecking ball.

There are some things that, if kept in mind will help ease the amount of disturbance experienced. Remember that your emotions are not fact and they are not you. That is to say that they are simply a part of you and are information your body sends you to better understand things.

They do not control you and they are not necessarily correctly associated to an event. Breathe and think about the facts and whether your emotions are leading you away from what is healthy and sane.