A number of patients in early alcohol recovery asking us why they feel great one day and terrible the next. They feel so bad they want to numb their emotions and pick up a drink. Many people in early recovery suffer with a foggy brain, headaches, concentration problems and fatigue. They can also have severe withdrawal reactions with excessive sweating and the shakes. But unless the moods are so extreme that they interfere with your functioning, they are a normal part of recovery. I saw a patient in their sixth day of sobriety and they complained of being totally overwhelmed by life. It was explained that it is normal to feel like this so early in sobriety. The reasons for these mood swings are psychological and physiological factors. If early sobriety was easy, everyone would be sober! Alcohol sabotages the brain’s ability to produce the internal tranquilisers (neurotransmitters) that keep our needs in balance, and that keep us from getting carried away emotionally.  The brain is reacting to its ‘feel good’ supplies for the reward system, being revoked. It takes a while for the brain to realize that its external supply has been cut off and it reacts with ‘stinking thinking.’  “The world is a cruel place” and “why me?” say little voices in your head. Meanwhile the brain function is in turmoil. The result is both emotional instability which leads to mood swings and sensory instability, which can lead to itching, ringing in the ears and other sensory aberrations.  Hormone changes may also affect your moods as your body struggles to stabilize them. Psychological reasons, too, account for roller-coaster moods. Emotional maturation stops when you start drinking. You are now attempting to work through missed developmental stages in a compressed time period – like a teenager late for date and with all the up-and-down emotions of a teen. You physical age might be 40 but your emotional age might be 25. It will take time to emotionally mature for your emotions to correlate with your physical age. I’ve met people in their 50’s with the emotions of a teenager; that’s how long they have been using alcohol to cope with their problems and have never given themselves the chance to work through problems naturally. Alcohol stunts their emotional growth. In addition, like anyone coping with a recently diagnosed illness, you are going through a great deal of stress. Sometimes you feel good because things are going well; sometimes you feel bad because they are not. Or you are afraid the good days can’t last. We call this the ‘honeymoon period’ when everything is wonderful and then we plummet into reality. There are many ways to alleviate cravings for alcohol at the start of the recovery process.  The use of Tyrosine Mood Food, to assist in mood swings, concentration and motivation to change unacceptable and life-threating abuse of alcohol through liver failure.Magnesium Ultra Potent is beneficial in the reduction of stress and can be taken before bed to assist with a deep and restful sleep without the use of alcohol. L-Glutamine to help brain function in the alcoholic and supply glutathione, the body’s most potent antioxidant and detoxifier to help rid the body of alcohol toxins, and LivaTone Plus to support liver function and metabolism.  My book, Want to Lose Weight…. But Hooked on Food? contains a lot of information relevant to co-dependency, food addiction and alcohol dependency. The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.