Brain & Body
What neurotransmitter is most commonly associated with pleasure and reward, and is heavily involved in addiction?
What is dopamine?
This DBT acronym helps you assess your emotional vulnerability based on basic needs.
What is HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)?
What’s the term for the time or situation when one is statistically most likely to relapse (ex: payday, holidays, loneliness)?
What is a high-risk situation?
This actor from Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes has been sober since the early 2000s and credits his recovery with saving his career.
Who is Robert Downey Jr.?
True or False: You can be in recovery and still use psychiatric medication.
What is true?
This system in your body processes most substances and medications—especially alcohol.
What is the liver?
Name one reason someone might sabotage their own recovery—even if they want to stay clean.
(Open-ended: fear of change, guilt, loss of identity, toxic relationships, etc.)
What’s the difference between a trigger and a craving?
A trigger is a stimulus that activates the urge to use; a craving is the internal desire or urge that follows.
This Friends actor has publicly shared about his opioid addiction and recovery journey in the memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
Who is Matthew Perry?
This: All-or-nothing thinking — OR — That: Flexible coping. Which one supports long-term recovery?
What is flexible coping?
Which part of the brain is responsible for decision-making and is weakened by prolonged substance use?
What is the prefrontal cortex?
What does it mean to "play the tape forward" in recovery?
What is imagining the full consequences of a craving or urge before acting on it?
This is a strategy where you make a plan ahead of time for how to cope in a risky situation.
What is a relapse prevention plan?
This hit show portrays the ups and downs of this horse-man character struggling with substance use, fame, and mental illness.
What is Bojack Horseman?
Which is a healthier coping tool: Avoiding all feelings or sitting with discomfort?
What is sitting with discomfort?
Long-term opioid use can reduce the natural production of this pain-relieving chemical.
What are endorphins?
This “F word” is essential in recovery—not just for others, but for yourself.
What is forgiveness?
This tricky feeling can look like stress, excitement, boredom, or even celebration—and is often a hidden trigger.
What is dysregulation (or emotional vulnerability)?
In the Netflix series Love, the female lead Mickey discusses this kind of meeting/recovery pathway.
What is SLAA?
Which belief is more aligned with harm reduction: “Abstinence is the only way” or “Recovery is individualized”?
What is “Recovery is individualized”?
This is the term for the brain's adjustment to repeated drug exposure, requiring more for the same effect.
What is tolerance?
What’s one way shame differs from guilt—and why is that important in recovery?
Shame says “I am bad,” while guilt says “I did something bad.” Shame often fuels relapse, while guilt can lead to change.
What’s the name of the strategy where you slowly expose yourself to a trigger in a controlled, safe way to reduce its power over time?
What is trigger desensitization or exposure-based coping?
This actor from The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin has spoken openly about being sober since his twenties.
Who is Steve Carrell?
You miss a meeting, eat a pint of ice cream, and think “I might as well relapse.” What’s this type of thinking called?
What is the abstinence violation effect or black-and-white thinking?