Substance use, Habits & Thoughts
This term describes a repeated behavior that starts off requiring effort but over time can happen with little conscious thought.
What is a habit?
This term describes the intense urge to use a substance, which tends to rise, peak, and then fade over time — even without acting on it.
What is a craving?
This emotion is a completely normal human experience — the important thing isn't feeling it, but this: how a person chooses to respond to it.
What is how they manage/respond to it?
This communication style — standing up for your own needs while still respecting others — is described as the most effective style.
What is assertive communication?
Every group session opens with this kind of lighthearted question, meant to build rapport before diving into the day's topic.
What is an icebreaker (question)?
This describes how substance use and mental health can influence one another, sometimes turning into a repeating pattern.
What is a cycle (the mental health–substance use cycle)?
This term describes decisions that seem unrelated to substance use but can actually raise or lower the chances of running into a trigger.
What are seemingly irrelevant decisions (SIDs)?
In "the cycle" of this emotion, acting on unhelpful urges or impulses tends to keep it going rather than break it.
What is anger?
Pressure to use substances can be stated openly, or it can be this quieter, more subtle kind.
What is indirect pressure?
Throughout these sessions, a three-part chain — situation/trigger, thought, and this final link — is used to show how our thinking shapes our actions.
What is behaviour?
Specific self-talk that can come up when trying to change a habit, like "I don't need help" or "what's the use," is an example of this.
What are (unhelpful) thoughts?
This term describes situations that directly bring up a craving or the decision of whether to use.
What are high-risk situations?
Anger rarely shows up alone — underneath it, there are often other feelings or sensations doing this.
What is accompanying it (showing up alongside it)?
People in a client's life can generally be sorted into three groups: supportive, unsupportive, and this middle category.
What is neutral?
This is the question asked at every single check-in, getting at where a client currently stands in their motivation to change their substance use.
What is their readiness (stage of change)?
Thoughts about using can increase or decrease the intensity of this — the urge to engage in a habit or use a substance.
What is a craving/urge?
Triggers for cravings generally fall into two broad categories — one coming from inside a person, and one coming from this.
What is their environment (external circumstances)?
Engaging in avoidance or isolation when feeling anxious or low can bring relief in the short term, but tends to do this over the long term.
What is maintain (prolong) the unpleasant emotion?
Just like communicating effectively, growing a strong support network is described as this kind of thing — able to be learned and improved with practice.
What is a skill?
This is the general term for what clients are asked to identify at the very end of every session — one thing they learned, found helpful, or want to try.
What is a take-away?
Understanding the full chain of events that leads up to and reinforces a habit is useful because it allows you to do this.
What is interrupt/break the chain (change the habit)?
This is the shape often used to describe how a craving builds, peaks, and comes back down again, even without giving in to it.
This memorable, alliterative set of strategies is introduced as a way to help cope with low mood and anxiety.
What are the 3 A's?
Building a strong support network is described as something that doesn't happen overnight, but instead takes this.
What is time (and effort)?
Across every topic covered in these groups — cravings, anger, low mood, tricky thoughts — the consistent message is that these experiences are normal, and the real skill is learning to do this rather than eliminate them.
What is manage/cope with them?