Newly sober folks see what they’ve been missing for many years. They resume healthy, restorative sleep. They rebuild broken relationships. They start building savings in a checking account that otherwise stays in the red. The pleasure from these benefits is sometimes overwhelming — intense enough that we start focusing on it ahead of anything else.
The Pink Cloud is an AA saying that describes a temporary feeling of euphoria that new sobriety brings. It’s a joy at the newly gained benefits of recovery, but it often makes you ignore the problems you need to work on to maintain sobriety.
When Does The Pink Cloud Occur?
The pink cloud is most common in early sobriety, usually within the first year. It’s the first rush of a newcomer’s release from years of misery. However, it can occur during any stage of sobriety.
The main takeaway is that it exists and can happen to everyone, regardless of sober time. Newcomers frequently enter it because of the newness of sobriety and the sudden gifts it brings in their lives.
Who Is Affected
Anyone can experience a pink cloud. Even the staunchest stoics can find themselves in a pink cloud, and there’s not much protection against it in the way of personalities. Thankfully, the state isn’t something that you need to avoid at all costs.
It helps to be aware that anyone can be affected. You might think of yourself as very down-to-earth and balanced, but the cloud can sweep up anyone off their feet. The release from years of heavy drinking can feel exhilarating for anyone, which is natural. It’s normal to feel ecstasy when you are released from a miserable self-imposed prison, which can develop into a prolonged Pink Cloud experience.
What Are The Signs You’re in the Pink Cloud
Symptoms of the pink cloud are numerous, but they center on extreme feelings that resemble euphoria.
Some indications include:
- Feelings of invincibility
- The belief that we can conquer all of our problems in a short time (i.e., today)
- Frustration at others who may be struggling or unhappy
- Impatience with achieving long-term goals (we want them now)
- Ignoring responsibilities
- Jumping into new projects rashly, without regard for keeping them up long term
- Long stretches of happiness and contentment
- Refusal to focus on any uncomfortable problems
The pattern is that it makes you more self-focused and expansive towards the benefits of sobriety and achieving more of them. It’s a mania that the release of cleaning up brings you, opening your eyes to a world of happiness that was blind to you for so long.
The Main Downsides
I’ll relate a story about how cunning the pink cloud can be. It can make us so aloof to our behaviors that we might seem quite insane to others looking in.
One woman I knew swore God was calling to her personally. She kept conversing with her God and became enamored with religiosity, bouncing from one activity to the next. She then swore that God was telling her to attend AA less. She eventually found herself attending no meetings and in a cacoon of seeming religious euphoria.
She relapsed.
Afterward, she conceded that she got thoroughly carried away, and from then on, she touted the importance of staying close to a strong network of friends who can bring us back down to earth when we get swept away by radical ideas.
So the cloud has a way of making you very self-concerned. We can become irritated at any person who brings us down from the feelings of euphoria, even if their intentions are good. The good feelings often put us in a state of seeking out more good feelings and shunning any nagging thoughts that might be alerting us to danger.
Self-absorbed isolation
The pink cloud also has a way of making us avoid the recovery work. We may stop our progress on the steps, decrease contact with our sponsor, and cut back on authentic conversations about what’s going on with us. After all, when we feel like we’re on top of the world, we don’t see the need to improve. We’ve already “made it,” we think.
The danger is in veering so off course that we’re losing touch with recovery. We could be moving away from the work that protects us from relapse.
We start thinking we’ve got such a handle on sobriety that we don’t need to be as active. The false beliefs place us in a precarious situation, where we believe we’re protected based purely on our good feelings. Emotions don’t keep us sober. Taking action in the program and learning the tools keeps us sober.
In summary, the euphoric feelings have a way of distracting us from doing the work that matters. They also have a way of making us rely more on ourselves rather than reaching out to others for help and guidance.
Is The Pink Cloud Avoidable?
The pink cloud is a state of joy for being sober. It’s not detrimental and something you need to avoid. Most people don’t get into this mind frame at all.
However, it would help if you kept it in mind as a part of early sobriety. Know that it’s a common feature, temporary, and not something that should carry you away from the rest of your recovery program.
The Pink Cloud is a Natural Side Effect
I believe the pink cloud effect is a natural side effect of being sober for the first time in many years and getting our lives in order. It’s like going for vigorous exercise after we’ve been stuck inside for months (like in a pandemic). We have tortured ourselves so harshly for so long that our brains are joyous at any release.
The cloud is protective for many people as well. It can keep a newcomer out of a pit of despair when they first arrive as they reflect on the wreckage their drinking has created.
For some, the pink cloud gets them through the first few months sober more happily. Sure, the comedown will suck, but they’ll have a few months sober under their belts in which they have hopefully learned how to keep sober no matter the emotional state they face.
How To Avoid the Dangers of the Pink Cloud
As already mentioned, the pink cloud mindset has a way of drawing us away from our responsibilities. It gives a false sense of comfort and tends to make us more self-centered. We might start chasing ever more significant feelings of joy and empowerment when we’re already well into euphoria.
Another danger is the letdown when it inevitably fades. It’s usually sudden when we feel like we’re off the cloud and plopped right back to earth. We start feeling the difficult emotions again and falsely assume we’ve lost our joy forever.
The Pink Cloud Comedown Doesn’t Mean Recovery Doesn’t Work
Let’s not get too sad at the comedown. Many people think they must not be doing recovery right, or worse, recovery won’t work for them anymore. They can’t accept that they were caught up in an emotional whirlwind for a while, and real-life can’t possibly sustain those feelings forever if they want to be sane.
It would help if you didn’t construe the loss of a pink cloud as anything more than a passing of an emotion. It doesn’t mean that your sobriety has failed and will be miserable from now on. It doesn’t mean much of anything at all, except that you stayed sober through another learning experience.
How Long Does The Pink Cloud Last?
The duration of a pink cloud varies. However, it is not short-term, such as 24 hours or a week. It’s usually sustained over several weeks or months. Some have said they were in it a year or more.
The pink cloud lasts a while, so the damage is gradual. We slowly start letting recovery activities slide and become focused on our plans.
There’s no easy measure for determining the length
It’s also not possible to gauge how long you’ll be in the pink cloud. There’s no personality trait, environmental factor, or life situation that dictates the duration. In fact, even a sudden distressful alteration in your life might not stop the pink cloud, such as the death of a loved one. So you’re left in the dark about when yours might end.
The letdown from the pink cloud is, however, usually sudden. Affected people often can point out the exact day where they dropped by down to earth. They can’t say what they did or didn’t do that caused it. The emotion is very much like the passing of a cloud overhead: we watched it rise over us and then drift o
Conclusion
We’ve covered the meaning of the pink cloud as it applies to sobriety. We’ve learned who’s affected and what it looks like. We also learned to avoid some of the downsides when you’re in one.
The pink cloud shouldn’t scare you. It’s a normal phenomenon when we’ve escaped a sure sentence to jails or death. It is also temporary. However, we should stay mindful that it can derail our recovery if our responsibilities fall to the wayside.
So enjoy it while it lasts. Soak in the new miracle of your sobriety. But don’t let yourself get swept off your feet while your head is in the clouds. We must face each day sober no matter what anyone says or does and no matter the emotions that currently buffet us. We’re not supposed to be constantly joyous robots with no grasp of reality.