Emotions
Worrying about the future or ruminating on past mistakes can increase relapse risk; this is an example of this emotion.
Anxiety
Recognizing early changes in mood and responding with healthy coping strategies is a step in managing these.
Warning signs
This is the ideal number of hours of sleep one should aim to achieve each night to help reduce stress and support recovery.
7-9 hours
Interpreting neutral events—like someone not texting back—as a rejection can fuel feelings that trigger substance use urges; thinking this way places the person at the center of events without cause.
Personalization
This common feeling in recovery—often caused by isolation—can prompt cravings if not addressed.
Loneliness
This type of trigger involves internal states—like loneliness, boredom, or stress—that can increase the urge to use substances.
emotional triggers
People in recovery are encouraged to reach out to friends, family, or support groups when stress rises, this otherwise known as
Support Network
This subtle distortion leads someone to believe that feeling overwhelmed or craving strongly must mean they cannot cope, confusing emotion with fact.
Emotional reasoning
Experiencing frustration or irritation with oneself after a minor slip can increase the risk of relapse; this is an example of this emotional state.
Guilt
Seeing a bar, passing a familiar neighborhood, or walking past an old hangout can provoke cravings due to these external influences.
Environmental triggers
This stress-management technique encourages individuals to focus on the present moment to reduce tension and prevent cravings from escalating.
Mindfulness
This sort of thinking leads someone in recovery to interpret a single stressful day or craving spike as proof that they’re “failing,” which can increase relapse risk.
Catastrophizing
Practicing distress tolerance can prevent impulsive reactions and reduce this high-risk outcome in recovery.
Relapse
Often overlooked, this category of triggers includes being around specific friends, parties, or social groups associated with past substance use.
Social triggers
These plans often teach people to anticipate high-pressure situations that might cause stress and cravings; this preparation strategy is otherwise known as
Relapse Prevention Plan
When a person assumes they know what others are thinking—usually something negative—without any proof, they’re using this distortion.
Mind Reading
Recognizing emotions as temporary and will pass to help lower uncomfortable emotions without reacting impulsively is a skill known as
Emotional Regualtion
Exposure to cues associated with past substance use can activate this brain region, heavily involved in craving, motivation, and reward processing. This area of the brain is also the target of anti-craving medication like naltrexone and vivitrol are involved in regulating.
Nucleus Accumbens
Chronic stress can heighten relapse risk by disrupting this brain region involved in impulse control and decision-making, making it harder to resist urges.
Prefrontal Cortex
When a person in recovery may feel tempted to use again after believing they’ve already failed their goals due to a minor setback.
All or nothing thinking (Black and white thinking)