Integrity in Recovery
This is the term for the gap between who you say you want to be and the choices you're actually making.
What is the integrity gap?
This type of dishonesty is saying nothing instead of saying something.
What is lying by omission?
This type of boundary is unclear and often leads to people-pleasing, overgiving, or feeling walked on.
What are weak or porous boundaries?
This distortion happens when you assume you know what others are thinking—usually believing they view you negatively—without concrete evidence.
What is mind reading?
Hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness make up this well-known acronym.
What is HALT?
This core value is the opposite of hiding, minimizing, or lying about behaviors.
What is honesty?
People in recovery often hide struggles because of this emotion, which fuels secrecy.
What is shame?
This communication style expresses needs clearly and respectfully, without aggression or avoidance.
What is assertive communication?
This distortion involves blaming yourself for things outside your control or taking responsibility for every negative outcome.
What is personalization?
This is the first stage of relapse, long before any substance use happens.
What is emotional relapse?
A major warning sign that your integrity is slipping is when you start doing this with small behaviors, thinking they “don’t matter.”
What is justifying or rationalizing?
This phrase means telling yourself something is “fine” even when you know it isn’t.
What is self-deception?
When you take responsibility for other people’s emotions, problems, or reactions, it’s called this.
What is codependency?
This common distortion involves seeing situations as all good or all bad, with no middle ground—often called “black-and-white thinking.”
What is dichotomous thinking (or all-or-nothing thinking)?
A planned response for high-risk situations is called this.
What is a relapse prevention plan?
Repairing your integrity involves acknowledging the harm done and taking this follow-up action.
What is making amends?
A key “rule of recovery” says that this must happen before healing can start.
What is telling the truth?
This boundary involves limiting the time, energy, or emotional availability you give someone to protect your recovery.
What is setting an emotional boundary?
This distortion occurs when you focus only on the negatives and ignore any positives, like seeing one mistake and forgetting all successes.
What is mental filtering?
People, places, and things associated with use are known as this.
What are triggers?
This behavior, often used in addiction, breaks integrity by creating one story for yourself and one for others.
What is double-living?
This skill helps you speak honestly without attacking or blaming others.
What is assertive communication?
In the “boundary circle” exercise, this outer section represents the things you cannot control but often waste emotional energy on—leading to frustration, resentment, and relapse vulnerability when you try to manage them.
What are things outside your control (other people’s thoughts, feelings, choices, and reactions)?
This distortion involves exaggerating the importance of small events or minimizing the importance of your accomplishments.
What is magnification and minimization?
Long-term recovery requires replacing old habits with these.
What are healthy routines?