Learning Emotional Sobriety

Learning Emotional Sobriety

I think that many oldsters who have put our AA "booze cure" to severe but successful tests still find they often lack emotional sobriety. Perhaps they will be the spearhead for the next major development in AA, the development of much more real maturity and balance (which is to say, humility) in our relations with ourselves, with our fellows, and with God. . . .-Bill Wilson

I experience my emotions in my body

I will make the mood I am in my responsibility rather than everyone else's. When my emotions become unbalanced, my thinking and behavior tend to follow and become unbalanced, too. Current research says my emotions impact my thinking more than my thinking impacts my emotions, because the limbic system sends so many more inputs to my thinking mind than the reverse. This is why my mood is so critical to how I function and why I need to do what's necessary to maintain a positive, upbeat outlook. The food I put in my mouth, the amount of exercise I get, my rest, relaxation, and relationships all impact the way I feel. Today I can use the tools of the program to teach myself to become emotionally sober rather than emotionally drunk. I can create new emotional grooves, new emotional wiring. I will begin to ask myself questions like How important is it? or How much will this matter five years from now? before I let my emotions and my behavior run away with me.