Recovered alcoholic since 2017.
One of the trippiest parts about getting sober was experiencing something called “REM rebound” where you dream intensely and vividly all night long, night after night. The way it was explained to me is that alcohol inhibits REM sleep to such a degree that it’s like it has to catch up for lost time. It’s exhausting but also an interesting experience, I’ll say that much.
It took quite some time to feel like I got a restful sleep, but oh man, what a difference when I did! Reflecting on my drunken decade, I don’t think I knew what a good night’s sleep was. I felt like I was sleeping, but it’s more like I was passing out from alcohol overdose day after day. It’s no wonder I was constantly depressed and suicidal all those years.
That and the “pink cloud” phase (which I wish could’ve lasted forever) were the most interesting parts about becoming sober.
This is very interesting, and thank you for sharing your story. I am unfamiliar with the “pink cloud” phase; do you mind elaborating?
Not at all. I don’t know the exact mechanism, but a lot of people experience a period of intense unbridled happiness while becoming sober. It only lasts a couple of weeks to a month, but it’s so great when it happens. I’d dance by myself listening to music and just be happy as a kid on a snow day. Some people have described it as having “rainbows shooting out your asshole.” I wish I could feel like that all the time.
It’s like your receptors lighting back up and realizing that they can experience all of this unbridled and uninhibited again. That feeling of “the joy is coming from inside!”. Personally, it’s like your body waking back up and coming out of a deep fog.
