| What is a dry drunk, and the 'dry drunk syndrome'? | | | | low self-esteem generator. |
| as it is sometimes called? It can best be described as | | | | Complacency - This is not only an attitude of |
| someone who fits one of two conditions. The first is | | | | somebody in dry drunk syndrome, but is a red flag |
| someone who has given up drinking and drugging and | | | | warning sign of someone who is well into the relapse |
| not made any internal or emotional changes, they | | | | process. An important facet of being in active |
| stay the same but the substance use has stopped. | | | | recovery is just that, being active, and moving |
| Or in the second case what was once someone | | | | forward. It is not how fast you are going but rather |
| abstinent and on a progressive path of recovery has | | | | the direction in which you are headed. If you become |
| slowly returned to chaotic and unrealistic thinking. | | | | lazy or disinterested and stop being proactive about |
| Being active in your addiction sets up many trains of | | | | your recovery, the natural to a tendency is to fall |
| thought, attitudes, feelings, and actions that are | | | | back into addictive behaviors. Your re-engagement in |
| problematic. Simply removing the alcohol or drugs | | | | them is just a short step away. |
| without changing these underlying factors will produce | | | | Once you are lured into any of these attitudes, they |
| a dry drunk syndrome. The dry drunk really refers to | | | | start to affect how you think. Once your thinking is |
| a condition and not the person. It is important to | | | | affected and you start to buy into self-centered |
| recognize a reversion back to our old ways of | | | | thoughts, chances are you'll engage in the actions |
| thinking and acting, or lack of progress in moving | | | | stemming from these self-centered thoughts. |
| forward in recovery. | | | | Here are some destructive patterns and actions that |
| The dry drunk can be a precursor to the beginnings | | | | can result from dry drunk thinking: |
| of relapse, the AA Big Book describes this condition | | | | 1. We become restless and irritable and discontent. |
| as being "restless, irritable, and discontented". This set | | | | 2. We become bored, dissatisfied, and easily |
| of attitudes can apply to anyone who is chemically | | | | distracted from productive tasks. |
| dependent, or even those were not. Here are some | | | | 3. Our emotions and feelings get listless and dull, |
| of the attitudes common with the dry drunk | | | | nothing excites us anymore. |
| syndrome. | | | | 4. We start to the engage in the euphoric recall that |
| Grandiosity - Grandiosity basically means a return to a | | | | is yearning for the good old days of active using and |
| self-centered, the world revolves around me attitude. | | | | for getting the pain and shame of use. |
| In 12 Step literatures this is the concept of being | | | | 5. We start to engage in magical thinking we get on |
| "self-centered in the extreme". It does not have to | | | | realistic and fanciful expectations and dreams. |
| necessarily mean that I believe I am the best; it can | | | | 6. The last thing we want you is engaged in |
| also be seeking attention through playing the victim | | | | introspection to improve ourselves. |
| or sitting on the pity pot. | | | | 7. We start to become unfulfilled and have the |
| Impulsivity - A common attitude or observable | | | | feeling that nothing will ever satisfy our yearning or fill |
| behavior of people with addiction problems is poor | | | | the hole in the sole. |
| impulse control. We tend to do what we want when | | | | Looking back at the list of attitudes and thought |
| we want, with little regard for self harm or hurting | | | | distortions listed above, it is easy to see how the dry |
| others around us. Impulsivity can be linked with | | | | drunk syndrome is simply nothing more then |
| grandiosity to engage in behaviors designed to make | | | | reverting back to the way it was when we were |
| us the center of attention. | | | | active in our use. If you are starting to notice some |
| Being judgmental - This is a very destructive attitude | | | | of the attitudes discussed creeping back into your |
| for people in recovery. When we judge a person as | | | | life, is target time to start paying attention to the |
| being better than or less than, we are setting up a | | | | possibility of relapse and start turning your life in |
| situation where we inflate our egos feeling better | | | | sobriety and recovery around. The dry drunk |
| than other people. On the other hand if we judge | | | | syndrome is a bright red flashing warning sign for |
| ourselves to be on the short end we can feel bitter | | | | relapse. |
| and generate low self-esteem. Being judgmental is a | | | | |