Dealing with Loneliness

In this time, you may find that your circle evolves. You may not fill it with other alcohol-free people right away, but you may notice that the people you begin connecting with are on a similar path of growth. Be open to this vibrational change; some relationships may fall away because they are no longer a good match, but new relationships with folks seeking out the same personal development will likely fall into place. Pay attention to the person who smiles at you in yoga, or the mom at the playground reading a personal development book, or the other person sipping sparkling water at a party. These are your people.

If you don’t already have a care team assembled, this is a great time to build one. A care team is a group of medical, mental health, and/or holistic healing professionals you can turn to. A trusted doctor, therapist, nutritionist, massage therapist; whoever it is, add them to your list of connections. Often, we find ourselves able to share things with these professionals that we can’t share with our loved ones, and they can be an integral piece of our healing path.

And finally, when all else fails, we learn to sit with and even lean into the loneliness. So much of removing alcohol from our lives is rediscovering who we are without the numbing effects of ethanol; take this time to try new hobbies, practice mindfulness and meditation, try a new Youtube workout, read a book that’s been sitting on the shelf forever. If we know that loneliness is a trigger for us and puts us at risk for alcohol use, make sure to have your Prevention Plan handy for a quick reference. Time alone is a great time to begin practicing some of our new coping mechanisms and tools; the more we practice, the stronger we become.