The ‘pink cloud‘ tends to happen at some time during a person’s recovery from alcohol. It is as iconic part of the recovery process and it can be a figment of the climate.

What it represents is of enormous significance for alcoholics in recovery. It is difficult to explain, but I am experiencing it at the moment. It is the sheer joy of being in recovery, which is a feeling which I have never experienced as intense before. This feeling of happiness reminds me of the old adage in medicine: see one, do one, teaching one. This is very similar to doctrinal learning in the AA fellowship – of which I am currently not a part – apparently.  I find myself being able to understand my recovery even better, as I go about the wonders of explaining it coherently to somebody else. The happiness comes from the fact that I am extremely happy in my recovery, the vast majority will never become alcoholics and will always be either tee-total or social drinkers, and the twain doesn’t have to meet.

There is enormous responsibility in having to understand recovery well, for you to pass own your knowledge to others as recovering human-beings (not in any professional capacity). For example, does “never too late” mean that it is impossible for a person to be far gone as to not turn back an embrace recovery, or does “never too late” simply not work for some people, such as those who can always reach a point further than rock bottom (such as drinking more-or-more, even having received a liver transplant)? I am of course reminded of the “Never too late” of another pink icon.

Such philosophical issues are not so relevant to me as I simply know that if I have another drink I will be dead; but it might matter to a person who is relapsing (relapses are very common), who might get despondent when they’ve had another relapse.

The simple solution: alcoholics like me should never drink again