Week Two of Sobriety: Tired, Stable, and Showing Up As Myself

Well, here I am at day 14 of this alcohol-free journey—my new round of sobriety. And honestly? It's been easier than I expected in some ways, but harder in others.

The Sleep Struggle Is Real

So far, things have been going pretty smoothly, but there's one thing that always hits me around weeks 2-3: sleep changes. Like clockwork, I've started sleeping a bit less—around 6 to 6.5 hours per night. It's a pattern I recognize from previous attempts, but that doesn't make it any less rough.

What makes it tougher this time is that I've got a lot of new activity going on in my life. There's no real time to recover, and I don't want to slow down yet. By the time evening rolls around, I'm barely crawling around alive. All those evening activities I used to enjoy? They've disappeared again. I'm just too wiped out.

The Upside: Emotional Stability

But here's the thing—emotionally, I've definitely become more stable. Even though not everything is working out the way I want it to, I'm feeling genuinely optimistic about life, my plans, and everything in general. That's valuable. Really valuable.

I used to get these mood crashes after drinking extra beer. Now everything feels flat and predictable in the best possible way. No dramatic ups and downs. No waking up with regret. Just... steadiness. It's not exciting, but it's reliable.

The Social Test: A Friend's Visit

The real test came when a friend arrived from another country to visit me. In the past, drinking together would have been automatic—part of how we connected, how we had fun. But this time, I didn't drink.

And yeah, I definitely felt more boring. There's no getting around that. But as the visit went on, I realized something: we're just very different people. Without alcohol to smooth over those differences, it was more obvious. It is what it is.

No More Masking

That's what alcohol did for me—it was a mask. It let me pretend to be someone I wasn't, to blend in with people I didn't really match with. Now, without that mask, I'm showing up as myself. And sometimes that means being quieter, less animated, less "fun."

But it also means being authentic. And I'm learning that's more important than being entertaining.

What I'm Learning at Two Weeks

• Sleep changes are temporary: This phase of lighter sleep won't last forever. My body is still adjusting.
• Evening exhaustion is real: Early sobriety takes energy. It's okay to rest instead of pushing through.
• Emotional stability beats the highs and lows: Predictable moods are actually a gift, not boring.
• Authentic connections matter more: If I need alcohol to connect with someone, maybe we weren't that compatible anyway.
• Being "boring" is better than being fake: I'd rather be my real self than an alcohol-fueled version of who I think I should be.

The Path Forward

I'm tired. I'm going to bed earlier than I'd like. My social life feels different—maybe less exciting, but definitely more honest.

And despite the exhaustion, I'm optimistic. Two weeks might not sound like much, but it's two weeks of showing up as myself, without a mask, without regret. That's progress.

If you're in early sobriety and feeling the same way—exhausted but stable, authentic but maybe a little "boring"—you're not alone. This is part of the process. We're rebuilding ourselves from the ground up, and that takes time and energy.

Keep going. The person you're becoming is worth the effort.