Why Are the First Weeks of Sobriety Often Harder Than Active Addiction?

Many people imagine that the hardest moment is the decision to stop using. Or detox. Or the very first day without drugs or alcohol.

Yet for many individuals, the most challenging period turns out to be… the first weeks of sobriety.

Why does this happen?

 

1. The Coping Mechanism Suddenly Disappears

For years, the substance served a specific function:

• it suppressed anxiety,

• reduced tension,

• provided temporary relief,

• helped numb feelings of shame or loneliness.

When the substance is removed — the emotions do not disappear. On the contrary, they often return with double intensity.

A person in sobriety must now face feelings that were previously silenced.

And that can be painful.

 

2. The Emptiness No One Expects

During the first weeks of therapy, many people say:

“I feel empty.”“I don’t know who I am without it.”“Nothing brings me joy.”

This is a normal experience. The brain has been operating under artificial stimulation for a long time. The natural mechanisms responsible for experiencing pleasure need time to recover.

This is not a lack of willpower.It is a biological and psychological process.

 

3. Emotional Instability

In the first weeks of sobriety, people may experience:

• irritability,

• insomnia,

• anxiety attacks,

• tearfulness,

• mood swings.

This is a period of nervous system regulation. The body is learning how to function without substances.

It is often at this stage that the thought appears:“Maybe I can’t do this without it.”

This is a high-risk moment for relapse.

 

4. Confronting Reality

Sobriety also means:

• facing relationships that have been damaged,

• acknowledging the consequences of past decisions,

• experiencing shame and guilt.

This can feel overwhelming.

That is why therapeutic and group support are so important. Facing this stage alone can be too heavy a burden.

 

5. Why Is This Actually a Good Sign?

Paradoxically, the difficulty of the first weeks means that the recovery process has truly begun.

Emotions return.Feeling returns.Awareness returns.

This is not regression.It is coming out of emotional numbness.

 

How Does the Monar Center in Kębliny Help?

At the Monar treatment center in Kębliny near Łódź, the first weeks of therapy are provided with special care:

• psychological support,

• individual and group therapy,

• a structured daily routine,

• a safe environment,

• the presence of others going through a similar process.

This is the time when individuals learn new ways of coping with emotions — without escaping into substances.

 

Difficulty Does Not Mean Failure

If someone feels chaos, anxiety, or emptiness during the first weeks of sobriety, it does not mean that therapy is not working.

It means that the body and mind are beginning to heal.

Change can be painful. But it is a pain that leads to freedom.