Emotional Hangovers
“When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday’s and sometimes today’s excesses of negative emotion–anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers. This doesn’t mean we need to wander morbidly around in the past. It requires an admission and correction of errors now. Our inventory enables us to settle with the past. When this is done, we are really able to leave it behind us. When our inventory is carefully taken, and we have made peace with ourselves, the conviction follows that tomorrow’s challenges can be met as they come.” - pg.88 in 12 Steaps and 12 Traditions
This has been an important concept in my recovery path. Many times I find myself in a depression or having anxiety after a bout with anger. It seems like unfounded and ungrouded fear but in truth it is an emotional hangover. What goes up must come down. When I indulge in the powerful feeling of anger I must eventually swing down to the helpless feeling of pure fear. Patient persistence with the daily rituals of meditation, meetings and continued step work have always brought me through these times and realizing when this was actually happening has also drastcally eased the turmoil. “Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.” - pg. 125 in 12 Steaps and 12 Traditions.