When we are quick to over-react to situations, we are more likely to reach for the bottle to calm our nerves and let the world go by! Alcoholism is a disease of the emotions coupled with a physical allergy to alcohol. One of my patients related “I feel like such a fool. I seem to overreact to everything and everybody. I cry when my boss tells me to be more polite to customers and get angry when my husband asks me if I’ve washed his jeans.” Everyone feels like this sometimes but alcohol dependent people feel like this all the time. They stuff their feelings; take the edge of their emotions with alcohol and prescription drugs. The plan is to get rid of the bad feelings, but of course the good ones get smothered too. Severely depressed or anxious people are at high risk for alcoholism, smoking and other forms of addiction. Major depression is significant in nearly all cases of alcoholism. It is more common among alcoholic women than men. Problem drinking in some cases may be due to self-medication of the anxiety or depression.  Alcohol is only a symptom of an underlying problem. Emotions don’t usually start to surface early in recovery. The first months and sometimes longer, are spent in a benumbed state. But once they come back, watch out! They spill out all over and dealing with these emotions is difficult. Because they have been dammed up so long, they are strangers to the ‘self’ and often cause a person to return to drinking to ease the pain of living. The alcoholic’s inability to work through problems without self-medicating  sets them up for very immature emotions. I counsel people in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s with emotions of a teenager.  Putting down the drink is easy; it’s leaving it there that’s the problem. Immature, reactive emotions run riot and create havoc in the alcoholic’s life and has a domino effect on the rest of the family. An emotionally immature alcoholic will blame everyone else for their feelings of inferiority, guilt, shame, anger, resentment and self-pity. What can you do?  Recognise that overreacting is normal and that is won’t last forever. Episodes where you overreact become fewer, the longer you are abstinent from alcohol.  In the meantime, talk to others who have been through this. This is no time for stiff-upper-lip stoicism. “Sharing yourself” will be more important now than at any other point in your recovery. Trust your counsellor and close friends with your, until-now secret thoughts, fears and feelings. Do that and you can expect to achieve a degree of recovery stability that would not be possible if you had to carry the burden of toughing it out alone. If your emotions threaten to overwhelm you, don’t hesitate to get counselling. There is a program designed to help retrain your thinking and form new neural pathways to your brain. I use DBT (dialectical behavioural therapy) in conjunction with a 12 Step Program, active meditation and supplements. Nothing changes if nothing changes. To help you stabilise your brain chemistry, we suggest taking some Amino Acid supplements like Tyrosine Mood Food for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy, stable mood. L-Glutamine can reduce both cravings and the anxiety that accompanies alcohol withdrawal.  Gaba is another amino acid to help you and you can Google more information about this wonderful amino acid or read Julia Ross’ book, The Mood Cure, available from Amazon. A good liver tonic like LivaTone Plus is recommended and can be beneficial in those who have an inflamed liver or a sluggish liver. LivaTone Plus also contains all the B vitamins and the amino acid Taurine. It also contains the antioxidant vitamins C and E. Magnesium Ultra Potent can be taken before bed to assist with a deep and restful sleep. It also helps to reduce stress, very beneficial to a recovering alcoholic.  Magnesium is also known as the “great relaxer”. My book, Help for Depression and Anxiety, is an excellent read for recovering alcoholics.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.