Sleep, oh lovely and delicious healing sleep, thank you for visiting me again now that alcohol is gone from my life. It’s been way too long.
I’ve been catching up on the sleep I missed out on for the last 15 years. Seems like 10 hours a night my body and brain are healing. Healing from all the abuse I put it through. Flushing out the poison I drank all that time.
I asked myself, Why am I sleeping so much?
Ohhhhh, your body needs to heal, it dawns on me.
So, what is the healing process after you stop drinking alcohol? What does your body physically do when it gets a break from the toxic substance it endured, night after night? Why do you need to give yourself extra care during this time?
Reading through articles online, most everything talks about the scientific benefits of getting sober. But I wanted to write out what my body was ACTUALLY doing during this time so that I could give it some forgiveness and understanding in the healing process. I needed simple terms in why I need to be gentle with myself. Because…
My liver is restoring itself. It is regenerating.
My liver can process toxins it wasn’t processing before. It may be processing a build up of toxins.
My stomach lining is rebuilding and balancing itself.
My kidneys are healing. The hormone levels sent to them are being restored.
My immune system is building up even stronger, I am producing more white blood cells.
My body is building new, healthier connections and replenishment, with less sugar in my blood stream.
My DNA is repairing the damage that alcohol has done.
My brain is restoring dopamine and GABA levels. My brain is rebalancing and recalibrating all the feel-good hormones.
My brain is creating new pathways and new habits.
My brain is physically healing and restoring itself and regenerating.
My brain is restructuring.
So, thank you, body, for all the hard work you are doing, and for being there for me even during everything I put you through! Now I will be kind and caring with you as you heal.
