Quitting alcohol could make you more depressed than ever before

How many times have you said to friends you're going to take a break from drinking, only to haul your ass out of bed the next day just in time for boozy brunch?

"I could do it," you convince yourself as you slug down your third mimosa, "I just don't want to." You know your skin would look better, and your mind would probably be clearer. Plus, maybe you'd finally stop drunk texting that guy who has no interest in you. But I wouldn't be so sure.

According to Oriana Murphy, addiction specialist from Sober College, the first month of sobriety will have "peaks and valleys," but way more valleys than peaks.

When you stop drinking, she told Nylon, you begin to really feel everything — including feelings you didn't realize you'd been pushing off.

"If drinking was your only coping mechanism, this could be the most challenging month of your life," she said. And it makes sense. If you got pleasure from drinking socially two to three nights a week, you're going to see both physical and emotional reactions when you stop.

Your skin might be clearer, but you'll also wake up feeling emptier than you had in months.

When you first hit the breaks on booze, you'll feel on top of the world. There's a bit of a superiority complex that comes with telling people you "don't need alcohol to socialize." But those night full of conversations (you actually remember), will open into mornings where you're left feeling more empty and depressed than ever.

There will be no more waking up and wondering what fight you got into, or what ridiculous text you sent your old fling, but something else will be off — something interior instead of exterior.

Detoxing, even when it comes to something we think of as "soft," like alcohol, will throw your body out of whack. We don't respond well to change, and you'll need to give your body time to catch up and begin forming new routines before you'll feel normal again.

But when you finally do, you'll feel great.

@carolinephinney