EARLY RECOVERY ILLUSIONS
In early recovery, many people believe this false idea that simply staying sober and letting time pass will fix everything without doing any real work.
What is “time heals all” thinking?
What is believing time alone fixes recovery?
What is thinking sobriety alone is enough?
What is passive recovery?
What is waiting for things to get better without action?
What is expecting recovery to happen automatically?
What is “just don’t use and everything will be fine”?
What is recovery without effort?
What is relying on time instead of doing the work?
Correct Answer 1000
If stolen 1500
In recovery, this automatic state keeps the body on high alert even when there is no real danger.
What is survival mode?
What is fight-or-flight?
What is hypervigilance?
What is being stuck in survival?
Correct Answer 500
If stolen 800
In recovery, this thinking pattern treats emotions as facts.
What is emotional reasoning?
What is believing feelings equal truth?
What is emotion based thinking?
Correct Answer 1000
IF STOLEN 1300 TO THE OTHER TEAM
This everyday object was originally invented to solve a problem that no longer exists today.
What is the typewriter?
What is the pager?
What is carbon paper?
What is the floppy disk?
Correct Answer 1000
If Stolen 2000 to the other team
This mental shortcut convinces someone they can handle “just one” without consequences.
What is bargaining?
What is negotiating with oneself?
What is self-negotiation?
What is mental bargaining?
What is rationalizing “just one”?
What is justifying use?
What is permission-giving thinking?
What is minimization?
What is convincing yourself it will be different this time?
Correct Answer 600. If stolen 1000
This response explains why calm can feel uncomfortable after long periods of chaos.
What is dysregulation?
What is nervous system imbalance?
What is being conditioned to chaos?
What is discomfort with peace?
Correct Answer 600
If stolen 1000
This mental distortion focuses only on what’s going wrong while ignoring progress.
What is negativity bias?
What is selective attention to the negative?
What is discounting the positive?
Correct Answer 800
If Stolen 1200 to the other team
This country has more pyramids than Egypt.
What is Sudan?
What is the Republic of Sudan?
Correct Answer 1000
If stolen 1600
This illusion makes people believe avoiding substances is the same as changing behaviors.
What is abstinence without recovery?
What is confusing sobriety with recovery?
What is behavior avoidance?
What is surface level recovery?
What is stopping use without changing patterns?
What is thinking not using equals growth?
Correct Answer 900
If stolen 1200
This learned reaction causes overreactions to minor stressors.
What is a trauma response?
What is conditioned stress response?
What is emotional reactivity?
What is heightened sensitivity?
Correct Answer 900
If stolen 1200
This thought pattern assumes you already know what others think about you.
What is mind reading?
What is assuming others’ thoughts?
What is projection?
Correct Answer 900
If Stolen 1500
This animal can survive longer without its head than a human can without water.
R/W
What is a cockroach?
What is a roach?
Right Answer 1500
Wrong Answer 2100 to the other team
This belief keeps people stuck when progress slows, assuming struggle means failure.
What is all-or-nothing thinking?
What is black-and-white thinking?
What is perfectionism?
What is catastrophizing progress?
What is believing recovery should be easy?
What is thinking struggle equals failure?
Correct Answer 800
If stolen 1600
This practice helps retrain the body to recognize safety instead of threat.
What is grounding?
What is mindfulness?
What is nervous system regulation?
What is breathwork?
What is somatic calming?
Correct Answer 1200
If stolen 1600
This distortion turns one mistake into a sweeping conclusion about the self.
What is overgeneralization?
What is global labeling?
What is defining yourself by a mistake?
Correct Answer 1200
If Stolen 2000
This word looks plural in English but is treated as singular when referring to the internet.
R/W
What is “data”?
What is data?
Right Answer 800
Wrong Answer 1600 to the other team
This dangerous illusion reframes chaos as freedom and accountability as control.
What is mistaking lack of structure for independence?
What is confusing freedom with chaos?
What is resisting accountability?
What is fear of structure?
What is rebelling against responsibility?
What is seeing guidance as control?
Correct Answer 3000
This explains why willpower alone can’t override deeply learned survival patterns.
What is the body reacting before the mind?
What is implicit memory?
What is survival wiring?
What is subconscious conditioning?
What is trauma-based learning?
Correct Answer 1000
If stolen 1500
This thinking error quietly convinces people that growth should feel comfortable or it isn’t working.
What is comfort-based thinking?
What is confusing discomfort with danger?
What is believing recovery should feel easy?
What is resistance to growth?
What is avoidance of discomfort?
Correct Answer 1000
If stolen 1500
This common food item is legally required to contain at least 65% of this ingredient to be called by its name in the United States.
What is chocolate?
What is cocoa solids?
Correct answer 1500
IF STOLEN 2500