Early Stages of Recovery
This stage involves making a plan and preparing to take action.
What is Preparation?
This “tool” involves focusing on what you can control in the present moment to reduce stress.
What is Mindfulness?
Being in this type of place—like a bar or party—can be a high-risk situation for relapse.
What is a Trigger Environment?
The part of your brain in charge of decision-making and self-control is called this.
What is the Prefrontal Cortex?
Smelling alcohol at a restaurant is an example of this kind of trigger.
What is a Sensory Trigger?
In this stage, the focus is on avoiding relapse and sustaining change over time.
What is Maintenance?
Calling a sober friend or mentor when you feel triggered is an example of this recovery tool.
What is Using Your Support Network?
Not getting enough of this can lead to poor decision-making and higher relapse risk.
What is Sleep?
Substance use can shrink this part of the brain that regulates memory and learning.
What is the Hippocampus?
Stress from losing a job is an example of this kind of trigger.
What is an Emotional Trigger?
This stage involves actively taking steps toward change, like going to meetings or counseling.
What is Action?
This tool helps track daily emotions, thoughts, and actions that could lead to relapse.
What is Journaling?
This HALT warning sign reminds us to check if we’re Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.
What is HALT?
100 Bonus pts for breaking HALT down!
This fight-or-flight brain area can become overactive in people with substance use disorders.
What is the Amygdala?
Celebrating one year of sobriety is an example of this type of recovery event.
What is Milestone Triumph?
This is the very first stage, where someone may not believe they have a problem.
What is Pre-Contemplation?
Setting personal limits in relationships to protect your recovery is called this.
What is Establishing Boundaries?
A common danger zone is reconnecting with these people from your past.
What is Using Old Friends?
Over time, repeated substance use changes the brain’s reward system in a process called this.
What is Neuroadaptation?
This recovery skill means looking back at how far you’ve come to stay motivated.
What is Reflection?
In this stage, a person admits there’s a problem but isn’t ready to act yet.
What is Contemplation?
Replacing negative self-talk with positive, truthful statements is known as this mental tool.
What is Affirmations?
This kind of “slip” happens in your thoughts before you actually return to substance use.
What is Mental or Emotional Relapse?
This brain chemical is linked to pleasure and reward and is often hijacked by addiction.
What is Dopamine?
Using gratitude and service to others to overcome cravings is an example of turning a trigger into this.
What is Triumph?