Contemplating The 'Hangover From Hell' To Reinforce Sobriety

Welcome to the first and probably only hangover meditation you'll ever do.

Please take a moment to settle down somewhere comfortable.

Ideally your bed or couch where you can lay down.

We're going to be simulating the experience of waking up.

So please lay in whichever position you typically wake up in.

Once you're settled take a few deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.

In through your nose and out through your mouth.

If you haven't already please close your eyes.

I want you to think back on all of your hangovers and pick one that really stands out.

Where did you wake up?

Were you at your own home?

In a hotel room?

At a stranger's house?

A jail cell?

Or somewhere else?

Were you alone in the room that you woke up in?

Were you with your partner?

Or another person?

Maybe even a stranger?

What were you wearing when you woke up?

Or were some of your clothes missing?

What was the lighting of the room that you woke up in?

Was it still dark out?

Was it mid-afternoon?

What could you smell that morning?

Perhaps cigarette smoke lingering on your hair?

A faint scent of vomit?

Maybe just your own body odor?

And what could you hear that morning?

Had something woken you up?

Maybe a dog barking or whining?

A child?

Your partner?

A friend?

Were you irritated by what you were hearing?

Did you want everything to just be quiet?

What was your environment?

Now think back to the physical symptoms of your hangover.

Before you ever even opened your eyes,

I'm sure you were feeling discomfort.

Did your head throb?

Were you nauseous?

Did your body ache?

Did your feet hurt?

Had you injured yourself in any way?

Was it too painful to even open your eyes?

To move?

To get up and take out the dog or get a glass of water?

How did your mouth taste and feel?

What were your symptoms?

As you lay there,

You start to replay the night before.

Looking into the evening,

What had been your intention?

Had you meant to drink so much?

Had you perhaps created a plan for going home at a certain time or only having a certain number of drinks,

But that plan just got away from you?

Did you have any arguments with friends,

A partner,

A stranger?

Did you get involved in something you shouldn't have?

Did you get unnecessarily emotional?

Did you get sad?

Did you cry in public?

Did you get angry and yell?

Did you hurt another person emotionally or physically?

Did you say something cruel or mean to somebody?

Did you hit somebody,

Shove them,

Punch them,

Slap them?

Were you disappointed at any point in the evening?

Were you upset that it wasn't quite going the way that you planned?

Did you wish the people you were with would act differently,

Do what you wanted,

Drink what you wanted and how much you wanted?

Did the evening go the way you had hoped?

Maybe you had set the goal of having a good time with your friends,

But it had ended in quite the fight.

Now think back to the very end of the evening.

Did you stay out too long?

Did you stay out alone?

Did you argue with a friend over wanting to stay out?

Did somebody try to help you but you refused their help?

And how did you get home?

Did you drive drunk?

Did someone put you in a car,

A taxi,

An Uber?

Did you go home with a stranger?

Did you put yourself in a dangerous situation?

Did you trust a stranger when you probably shouldn't have?

Did you become the target or intended target of a sexual assault?

Did you make unwanted advances on another person?

Did you break the law?

Now think back to the hangover again and imagine feeling those physical symptoms and being too sick to fall back asleep and too sick to get out of bed.

You are stuck in the purgatory of a hangover.

You are stuck with your thoughts and unfortunately during a hangover those thoughts are never positive.

You lay there sick.

What emotions were you feeling?

Did you feel guilty about something you had done the night before?

Ashamed?

Embarrassed?

Did you remember everything that was said and done or was the evening a bit of a blur?

When you thought about having to talk to somebody or check your phone did you feel tension and anxiety at what you might find?

Were you depressed?

Now imagine that you've managed to get out of bed and go to the bathroom.

You can't help but notice your reflection in the mirror.

What did you look like?

Tired?

Pale?

Splotchy?

Unhealthy?

Were your eyes swollen?

Your lips pale and cracked?

Was your hair messy and your makeup smudged?

What was the expression looking back at you?

Did you look upset?

Miserable?

Pathetic?

Were you happy with the way you looked?

Or was it difficult to just look in the mirror?

Now think back to what you were supposed to do that day.

What you had planned.

Maybe you had to wake up by a certain time to go somewhere else.

Did you miss a flight?

Maybe you were supposed to give a presentation at work that day but instead you lied and called in sick.

Maybe you cancelled on lunch with a friend.

And maybe that new exercise and nutrition routine you had just gotten into totally went out the window.

Think about the food you used to eat when you were hungover.

You didn't eat grease and carbs because it tasted good and you enjoyed it.

In those moments you had to eat that just to feel okay.

Just to feel like you weren't about to be sick.

Think about what promises you have broken to yourself or to other people because of a hangover.

Have you ever promised you would be somewhere but then cancelled because of a hangover?

Have you ever let your hangover stop you from caring well for your children and pets?

How many people do you think have been disappointed in some way because of your hangovers?

Now I want you to take a deep breath through your nose and exhale with a sigh.

I want you to imagine a hangover free morning.

A night of good rest.

You wake up,

The sun shining through the window and you're actually excited about your day.

You eat a healthy breakfast,

Have a cup of coffee or tea,

Maybe with someone you love.

The weather is surprisingly nice and you get some fresh air.

You stretch,

Go for a walk,

Catch up on texts and other messages without the anxiety of what you might find.

You get to make a plan for your day,

See the people you want to see and live the way you want to live.

You get to do the things that hangovers always used to take away from you.

You don't have to let hangovers take these things away from you ever again.

If you stay sober tonight,

You get to wake up hangover free tomorrow.

I encourage you to take your sobriety one hangover free morning at a time.

Now when you're ready,

Open your eyes and thank yourself for taking the time to work on your recovery.

Without your sobriety,

Everything else suffers.

So congratulate yourself on being sober today and giving yourself the best chance possible to have a good day tomorrow and a good life.

Thank you and I'll see you again soon.