If you’ve been trying to overcome alcohol addiction — or if you have a loved one who’s struggled with alcoholism — you know what it means to be drunk. But do you know what it means to be a dry drunk? While such a term may sound made-up, dry drunkenness is a very real thing. If you’ve quit drinking but are not experiencing the true healing and life change that comes from sobriety, well, you might be a dry drunk. The good news is you don’t have to stay that way.
What is a Dry Drunk, Exactly?
Is it possible to still live like you’re struggling with alcohol addiction without touching a drop of alcohol itself? Such is the case with someone struggling with dry drunkenness. Originally a term associated with the founding of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), “dry drunk” describes a person who has stopped drinking but hasn’t addressed or healed from the underlying issues that drove them to develop an alcohol addiction in the first place, shares WebMD.com.
As a dry drunk, you may be sober in a sense that you’re no longer drinking alcohol, but the other negative behaviors related to your addiction persist. You remain symbolically drunk, continuing to experience the pathology caused by alcoholism and living an alcoholic life, shares the Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, & Recovery. Instead of progressing towards long-term recovery, you’re “white-knuckling” your way through your day-to-day life, and you may be miserable.
Such a reality may leave you scratching your head. How can you not drink and still be a dry drunk or dry alcoholic, you may think. And yes, on the surface, alcohol addiction is about compulsive, uncontrollable drinking. But it’s also more than that. The driver for an alcohol addiction is often rooted in unresolved past trauma.
Trauma and Dry Drunkenness
When you experience trauma, its negative effects can continue to linger in your life for years if they’re not healed. Even if the traumatic event was only momentary and occurred decades ago, it can in fact still impact you today. As trauma’s influence persists in your life, you may struggle to regulate your emotions associated with it day in and day out. This can lead you to seek your own ways to cope with your trauma or negative feelings, including using substances like drugs or alcohol. As a result, you may develop an addiction to alcohol over time.
Consequently, overcoming an alcohol addiction requires more than just self-discipline, behavior modification, willpower, and lifestyle adjustments. That means achieving long-term sobriety also involves more than just alcohol abstinence. You need to address the underlying issues that caused your addiction struggles in the first place, too, which may include trust, anger, fear, and emotional detachment challenges associated with trauma. This often requires commitment to a professional addiction treatment program, such as a 12 Step program for addiction. But if you don’t comply with your addiction treatment or try to get sober on your own, you may struggle with dry drunkenness as a result.
The Dry Drunk and Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)
Dry drunk syndrome can happen to anyone, and those who are in their early stages of recovery are especially vulnerable. In fact, dry drunk syndrome is often associated with post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS). Once you stop drinking alcohol, you typically experience acute withdrawal symptoms as your body adjusts to alcohol’s absence. These acute symptoms typically last up to a week. PAWS then occurs once the initial stage of acute withdrawal ends, and its withdrawal symptoms can last weeks to even years after you’ve stopped drinking.
Because your brain developed a chemical dependency on alcohol during your addiction, it takes time for it to recalibrate to the lack of alcohol in your system. Consequently, the effects of PAWs can be prolonged and unpleasant, potentially driving you to drink again to experience relief. Common symptoms of PAWS include:
- Difficulty sleeping
- The inability to find pleasure in activities
- Feeling irritated, on edge, or uneasy
- Worsening memory
- Alcohol cravings
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feeling tired most of the time
SOURCE: US Department of Veterans Affairs
Signs and Behaviors of Dry Drunk Syndrome
Are you a dry drunk? If you think you may be struggling with dry drunkenness yourself, how can you know for sure? If you’re often exhibiting some of the same behavioral patterns that you were previously while drinking, then there’s a good chance you’re struggling with dry drunk syndrome. However, there are also other mindsets and behaviors that can hinder your recovery journey. With that said, common signs and behaviors of dry drunkenness can include:
- Impulsivity
- “Black and white” thinking
- Irresponsible behavior
- Impatience
- A rigid, judgmental outlook on life (including judging others harshly)
- An exaggerated sense of self-importance
- Thinking you have all the answers
- Grandiose behavior
- Seeking attention from others
- Feeling like you’re the victim
- Dishonesty, especially about little things
- Indecisiveness
- Mood swings
- Overreacting
- Blaming others for your struggles
- Difficulty expressing emotions
- Fantasizing or feeling nostalgic about drinking alcohol
- Longing for a life of drinking
- Limiting your participation in (or dropping out of) a treatment or recovery program
- Feeling unsatisfied
- Feeling sad, depressed, or hopeless
- Feeling detached, bored, or disorganized
SOURCES: Cigna Healthcare and the Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, & Recovery
Emotional Relapse vs. Emotional Sobriety
As you slip into these negative habits, behaviors, and attitudes, your dry drunk struggles can take the joy out of life. At the same time, they’re a sign that the stages of relapse could be beginning, shares Cigna Healthcare. And among the stages of relapse, the first one is always the emotional relapse. According to StatPearls, an emotional relapse occurs when your emotions and resulting behaviors are laying the foundations for a relapse. In this stage, you may not be planning to relapse, so you may be oblivious or in denial about the risks. As a dry drunk, you may be experiencing high-risk situations, behaviors, or mindsets that precede relapse, including:
- Having negative emotions like frustration, anger, loneliness, or hostility
- Struggling with relationship concerns or interpersonal conflicts
- Believing or wishing alcohol would make you feel better
- Isolating yourself
- Not attending support group meetings
- Focusing on other people’s problems
- Poor self-care
When you’re struggling with dry drunkenness in the face of an emotional relapse, it’s key to seek emotional sobriety. According to the Cleveland Clinic, emotional sobriety is about being emotionally healthy enough to deal with everyday shifts in emotions. You’re able to regulate your emotions (and behaviors tied to your emotions) on your own in healthy ways that don’t require substances. You’re no longer controlled by your emotional state, so you can cope with what life brings your way on your terms. But in order to develop emotional sobriety, you need to achieve true, full recovery from your alcohol addiction.
Real, Honest, and Healthy Recovery
Struggling with dry drunkenness is your indication that you haven’t truly recovered yet from your alcohol addiction. So what does real, honest recovery actually look like? In many ways, comprehensive recovery from any addiction involves healing from its root causes. This means addressing and overcoming the past traumas in your life that we mentioned earlier. And healing from trauma doesn’t happen overnight; nor is it something you can achieve on your own. It often requires professional help along the way.
True recovery also means achieving an inward, spiritual transformation, not just making lifestyle adjustments to stay sober. By participating in a 12 step program for addiction, you can reach actual holistic wellness, healing spiritually, physiologically, and psychologically.
At Defining Wellness Centers in Mississippi, we empower your lasting healing and true recovery with a holistic, individualized approach to alcohol addiction treatment. This involves addressing both your mental health and your physical addiction simultaneously, integrating your mind, body, and spirit to get the full healing from addiction you deserve. By doing so, you can overcome dry drunk syndrome and actually stay healthy long-term. That means enjoying a healthier overall well-being, better coping strategies, and the self-confidence that you can stay the course in recovery.
So what should you do next if you’re a dry drunk? It’s important to seek a professional treatment program designed to address the underlying causes of your addiction, not just your symptoms. A comprehensive treatment program will help you heal both internally and externally, provide ongoing support, and equip you to create a solid relapse prevention plan to deal with any potential PAWS symptoms you may encounter.
Achieve True Sobriety at Defining Wellness Centers
Even if you’ve stopped drinking, you may still be living life on addiction’s terms, not your own. If you want to achieve true sobriety and reclaim your life, our alcohol rehab program can help at Defining Wellness Centers. To learn more or get started, contact our team today.