As you are noticing your thoughts and what’s going on around you, it’s helpful to recognise that your feelings and emotions are just that; feelings and emotions. Speaking them out loud or writing them down can help to reduce the noise and detangle them from the spaghetti of thoughts inside your head, for example:
- “I am worried about how I will cope today.”
- “I can’t help but be anxious about seeing [insert name].”
- “I keep coming back to the same overwhelming thoughts.”
Once they are out, try and accept them as feelings that are happening right now. Sometimes the spaghetti of thinking in our heads happens because we are trying not to experience them at all. So take a deep breath and tell yourself:
“I am thinking this right now. It is just a thought and a feeling, nothing else. I can accept it, and I can let it go.”
Throughout alcohol recovery, we are encouraged to be honest, brave and kind to ourselves. Dealing with these emotions is both honest and brave, and letting go is an act of kindness to yourself.