Addiction & the Brain
TRUE or FALSE: Repeated drug and alcohol use can change the way the brain works.
TRUE. Repeated substance use can affect areas of the brain involved in reward, judgment, decision-making, memory, and impulse control.
TRUE or FALSE: Recovery is built more by the choices you make every day than by one big decision to get sober.
TRUE. Choosing recovery once is important, but maintaining recovery requires repeated daily choices.
TRUE or FALSE: You can care about somebody and still decide they are not healthy for your recovery.
TRUE. Caring about someone does not mean you have to put yourself in situations that threaten your recovery.
Discussion: Why can loving somebody and staying away from them both be the right decision at the same time?
“I only use because I'm stressed. If people would stop stressing me out, I wouldn't have a problem.” Truth or excuse?
EXCUSE. Stress may be a trigger, but blaming other people avoids responsibility for how you choose to cope with stress.
Caleb talks about a Higher Power as part of his recovery. What does Caleb call his Higher Power?
God.
What brain chemical is strongly connected to reward, pleasure, and motivation and is affected by many addictive substances?
Dopamine.
Discussion: Why do you think normal activities can sometimes feel boring or less enjoyable when someone first gets sober?
Which is the better recovery choice: A) Waiting until you're overwhelmed to ask for help, or B) Reaching out when you first notice something is wrong?
B — Reaching out when you first notice something is wrong.
Discussion: Why do people sometimes wait until everything is falling apart before finally asking somebody for help?
Someone says, “He's my best friend. Yeah, he still gets high, but he would never pressure me to use.” What's missing from this way of thinking?
The friend doesn't have to directly offer drugs to still be a risk. Being around active use, old behaviors, conversations, or environments can reconnect someone with their old lifestyle.
“I don't need meetings, counseling, or support. I got myself into this, so I can get myself out of it.” Truth or excuse?
EXCUSE. Independence can be positive, but refusing support can lead to isolation and overconfidence.
Besides attending meetings, what recovery program does Caleb regularly talk about working, not just reading or knowing about?
The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Discussion: What's the difference between knowing what the Steps say and actually working them in your life?
TRUE or FALSE: Having a craving means that you have already failed at recovery.
FALSE. A craving is an urge, not an action. Experiencing a craving does not mean someone has to act on it.
Your friends invite you somewhere and you KNOW drugs or alcohol will probably be there. You tell yourself, “I'll go, but I just won't use.” What's the risky choice you're making before you ever arrive?
Choosing to knowingly put yourself in a high-risk environment.
Discussion: Is avoiding certain situations being scared, or is it being smart about your recovery?
TRUE or FALSE: A “place” can be dangerous to your recovery even if nobody is using drugs there when you arrive.
TRUE. Certain places can bring back memories, emotions, associations, or behaviors connected to past substance use.
Discussion: How do you know whether you're strong enough to handle a place versus simply trying to convince yourself it's okay to go back?
“My family still doesn't trust me, and I've been doing everything right lately. They need to get over the past.” Truth or excuse?
EXCUSE. You can change your behavior today, but you cannot control how quickly someone else heals or begins trusting you again.
Caleb has talked about having both a sponsor AND being a sponsor. What do you call the person Caleb helps through the 12 Steps?
A Sponsee.
**DOUBLE POINTS** How long has my sponsee been sober?
I have said this in group
Why can someone continue using drugs or alcohol even after they KNOW it is causing serious problems in their life?
Addiction can interfere with judgment, impulse control, reward, and decision-making. Knowing the consequences does not automatically remove the urge or compulsive pattern of substance use.
You wake up irritated, don't feel like going to treatment, and think, “Missing one day isn't going to hurt anything.” What recovery principle would mean going anyway?
Discipline, commitment, accountability, or willingness. Accept any reasonable answer they can explain.
Discussion: Which matters more for long-term recovery: motivation or discipline? Why?
You delete your old dealer's number, but you still follow them and several people you used with on social media. What did you remove—and what did you keep?
You removed one method of contact but kept a connection to the old lifestyle.
“I relapsed, so obviously treatment didn't work for me.” Truth or excuse?
EXCUSE. A relapse does not erase everything someone learned. The important question is what happened, what needs to change, and what they do next.
Caleb frequently talks about two simple spiritual practices he uses in his own recovery. Name BOTH.
Prayer and Meditation
After getting sober, why might someone need time before their emotions, motivation, sleep, and ability to enjoy normal activities begin feeling normal again?
The brain and body need time to adjust to functioning without substances. Recovery and healing do not happen overnight.
Discussion: Why can expecting yourself to “feel normal” immediately after getting sober actually become dangerous for recovery?
Someone offers you an opportunity that would make you quick money, but it involves people and behavior connected to your old lifestyle. What's the recovery choice?
Walk away from the opportunity. Protecting recovery may require turning down something you want when getting it could pull you back toward your old lifestyle.
Someone leaves treatment and says, “I'm going home, but everybody in my house uses. I'll just stay in my room and worry about myself.” What's the biggest problem with this plan?
Their recovery environment is still surrounded by active substance use. Willpower alone may not be enough when drugs, alcohol, using behaviors, and triggers are constantly present.
“I don't have a problem with alcohol. Drugs were my problem, so I should still be able to drink.” Truth or excuse?
EXCUSE — and potentially dangerous thinking. For someone in substance-use recovery, using another intoxicating substance can lower judgment, awaken addictive patterns, and threaten recovery.
Discussion: Why do you think the mind sometimes starts looking for loopholes instead of directly saying, “I want to get high”?
Caleb has shared that before getting sober, he spent years living one way—and today he helps other people change their lives. What major personal loss has Caleb talked about as being part of the period leading up to his rock bottom?
The death of his mother.
Discussion: Why can grief and loss become dangerous for someone with a history of substance use if they try to handle everything alone?
If addiction affects the brain, does that mean a person has no responsibility for what they do in recovery?
NO. Addiction can help explain behavior, but recovery still requires taking responsibility for choices, using support, learning new behaviors, and taking action to protect sobriety.
You make a bad decision in recovery. Which choice is more dangerous: A) Admitting it immediately and trying to correct it, or B) Hiding it because you're afraid of the consequences?
B — Hiding it. One bad decision can become several when someone begins lying, hiding, isolating, or avoiding accountability.
You've stopped talking to the people you used with, stopped going to the places you used, and gotten rid of everything connected to using—but you're still thinking the same way you thought in active addiction. What “thing” did you bring with you into recovery?
Your old mindset. Dishonesty, manipulation, resentment, impulsiveness, selfishness, rationalization, entitlement, or other old thinking patterns can follow someone into recovery even after the drugs are gone.
“Nobody made me use, but some of the things that happened to me helped shape the person I became.” Truth or excuse?
TRUTH — IF the person still takes responsibility for what they do today. Trauma, family experiences, environment, loss, and other life experiences can influence behavior without removing personal responsibility.
Caleb has shared that he didn't go to treatment immediately when his life hit its lowest point. Approximately how long passed between Caleb's rock-bottom experience in 2023 and when he entered rehab?
About three months.
**DOUBLE POINTS** Tell me what event happened in 2023 that led me to rehab 3 months later.