Episode 6: Is This As Good As it Gets?
March 19, 2026
Eric and Laura are back for another episode of Dear Vernon.
Eric almost showed up in a dress shirt and tie, but didn’t. Instead, he rolled up in his hoodie and baseball cap after a bowl of Cinnamon Pebbles. (He has no regrets. He will have them for lunch too.)
This week's question comes from Karen, who's five months sober and asking something so many of us have wondered: When will I be happy again?
To her, everything feels flat, boring, and gray without alcohol. She's not in danger of relapsing; she just wants to feel like herself again.
Laura and Eric dig into:
What "happy" actually means in sobriety and whether drinking was really making us happy in the first place, or just giving us the illusion of caring less. (There's a big difference.)
They talk about the elusive “pink cloud” and why happiness might be the wrong thing to be chasing altogether.
Different measures of a successful life: peace of mind, freedom, and meaning. Not the fleeting "yay!" kind of happiness, but something more sustainable.
And for Karen and anyone else in the grind of early sobriety: the lights will come on. But you've got to change your life, not just quit drinking. Five months is huge, and it's also still early. Keep going.
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