By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Why are you reading this post? Hangover?

This is New Year’s Day and you are reading blog posts? Why?

If you are reading this on the day it was published, then it is time for you to take another look at your life. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate my readers and am glad you are reading this whenever that happens to be.

Some of you are just sitting around and waiting for the games. There are enough sporting events on the television on this day to produce a self-induced coma.

Some of you had that dazed look and the splitting head when you got up today. Is that a hangover? Are you looking for hangover cures?

How much did you drink last night? What if you didn’t drink and have that hangover anyway?

If the problem is too much to drink last night I have a solution. Check all those other blogs for hangover cures, try a few and then come back and read my posts for the next week or so. By then your hangover will be gone – assuming you do not drink again.

See the most effective treatment for alcoholic hangovers is time – time, rest, and water to be precise. You could also try preventing hangovers, which is easier than curing them.

How do you prevent hangovers?

Do not drink to excess. Better yet do not drink at all. If you are the kind of person who does not like the feeling of being drunk then have one and let it go at that. But if you are the kind of person for whom one is a warm-up for the rest of the bottle or case then the only solution may just be that you do not drink in the first place.

Emotional hangovers.

Some of you feel like you have hangovers only you did not drink any alcohol. That is a similar but different problem. That is likely to be an emotional hangover. See an excess of negative emotions can result in some of those same or similar symptoms as the alcoholic fueled hangover.

If you did not sleep because you were passed out unconscious that is the alcohol, but if you were up all night and did not sleep because of worry, anxiety, or depression then that is an emotional hangover.

When drinking people forget to take care of themselves, they do not eat or drink non-alcoholic fluids in a healthy manner. People who have an emotional issue also neglect self-care and they experience those same worn out, tired and hung-over symptoms all without the alcohol.

Put the two together and you have a potentially life-threatening combination. Drinking while depressed is a recipe for self-harm.

Anger is a huge cause of emotional hangovers.

Anger is also an emotion that can take you places you wish you had not gone. Have you or someone you know ever become so angry they “lose control.” The next day was there a lot of emotional residue, the I-can’t-believe-I-said-the-whole-thing feeling?

Now if you drank too much last night or any other night, the solution seems clear, cut down or cut out the alcohol.

If you are having emotional hangovers isn’t the same solution possible?

If you have emotional hangovers, cut down or cut out the anger, reduce the level of depression or anxiety, and learn to manage your emotions in healthier ways.

I hear some of you saying I try but it is hard to change those emotions. Then for you, just like for the alcoholic it is time to make some far-reaching changes. If you have tried to control your emotions but they leave you with an emotional hangover then it is time to seek help.

Whether it is drugs, alcohol, anger, or any other emotional or mental health problem there is help available. That is unless you like the feeling of having a hangover.

Isn’t it time you reached out for help?

Over this year, here on counselorssoapbox.com, we will be looking at the ways in which you might finally make some life changes, No resolutions – just results. Are you ready for a change?

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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