Photo by meredith hunter on Unsplash

When I quit drinking, I expected to end up a sparkly eyed, dewy skinned, shiny haired ball of energy.

Today I feel more like a foggy headed, grey skinned, grumpy faced bag of wet leaves.

I googled “feeling crappy after quitting drinking” and, after a bit of digging, found this on health24.com:

Your mood might take a hit. It’s important to understand that there will be times when you feel like you’re missing out – and it can make you pretty testy, Dr Raskin says.

“People often use alcohol as a lubricant for emotions, and when they stop drinking they may feel agitated and restless,” he adds.

So I’m wondering whether I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning because, despite feeling like I nailed yesterday, I took a little psychological hit and it was still lurking today. I know I’m prone to a bit of emotional hangover so it’s not impossible.

Then again, there could be all sorts of alternative explanations. A cold. Peri-menopause (am I the only 40-something female who didn’t know that was a thing until I was diagnosed with it?!). All kinds of things. So yeah, I won’t get too carried away just yet but it’s probably worth seeing what happens after the next social gathering.

Now, to deliver on some of that compassion and acceptance I promised only two days ago.