Get your JOY back !

One of my favourite unexpected benefits of ditching alcohol has been getting my joy back. And when I learned how this worked, I was fascinated... 

Just like other drugs, when we have a glass of wine, we are hit with a smack of dopamine. I call it a smack because it's much larger than the dopamine we get from doing the regular things that bring us joy, like playing with our kids. 

We all have a pleasure baseline- the place where our brain receives enough dopamine to feel a pleasure response. As we drink alcohol and flood our systems with dopamine smacks, this baseline rises over time. 

Our brains begin to require greater levels of dopamine to feel pleasure. The brain creates a neural pathway that teaches us that not only does alcohol make us feel good, but it's the only thing that will make us feel good. 

Previous pleasurable experiences, like watching your son play football or your daughter's drama performance, no longer produce enough dopamine to reach our rising pleasure threshold. 

Eventually, the only thing that reaches our pleasure threshold and makes us feel good is alcohol. 

Over time, simple joys like a sunny walk or a good book don't hit the same. 

Drinking alcohol is registered as the be-all-end-all giver of happiness and joy- leaving everything else feeling... a tad bland. Can you relate? 

Understanding this shift is key to reclaiming authentic joy. 

Now, you can read this post and understand what I am saying, but you will only FEEL what I am talking about once you FEEL it like I did. 

After a few months of not drinking, my joy flooded back. And what's even better- it hasn't really left. Sure, I have bad days, but daily life brings me so much joy. Have you felt alcohol zap your joy? Have you experienced the gift of it coming back?