People, Places, and Things
Being around these kinds of people, especially early in recovery, is a high relapse risk- even if they claim to support your sobriety.
Who are people you used to use with?
This "feel-good" brain chemical is heavily affected by most addictive substances.
What is dopamine?
This emotion, often triggered by frustration or stress, is one of the most common relapse triggers.
What is anger?
This term means a strong, sudden urge to use drugs or alcohol.
What is a craving?
This sitcom, which ran from 1994 to 2004, featured six adults hanging out at Central Perk.
What is Friends?
This is the common recovery phrase that reminds you to avoid high-risk environments, contacts, and items.
What are people, places, and things?
Addiction hijacks this part of the brain responsible for judgment and impulse control.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
You may feel this emotion about past actions, but learning to manage it is key to recovery.
What is guilt (or shame)?
I rhyme with “hope” and I help you manage stress in recovery.
What is cope?
This device, once used to record movies and TV shows on tape, often required rewinding before returning to the video store.
What is a VCR?
You might find this "thing" while cleaning — it could be a physical trigger and must be dealt with safely.
What is an old stash?
Long-term substance use rewires this natural system, making pleasure harder to feel without drugs.
What is the reward system?
Without this kind of support system, maintaining long-term recovery becomes much harder.
What is social support?
Unscramble this word: PETS — It’s something you work through in programs like the 12-Step model.
What is step?
This blockbuster 1997 movie featured a doomed ship and a love story between Jack and Rose.
What is Titanic?
Going back to this type of location “just to hang out” is considered unsafe in early recovery.
What is a bar (or place where you used)?
Despite the damage caused by addiction, the brain can begin healing in this amount of time after stopping use.
What is a few weeks?
This common long-term recovery roadblock makes people think they're “cured” and no longer need support.
What is overconfidence?
I’m a place where people talk, share, and listen with coffee and care.
What is a meeting?
Before Netflix, this was a common way to rent movies by physically visiting a store.
What is Blockbuster?
This type of environment — like meetings or sober social events — offers support instead of risk.
What is a recovery-friendly environment?
True or False: Addiction only affects behavior — not the physical structure of the brain.
What is false?
True or False: Financial stress can trigger relapse just like emotional stress.
What is true?
This seven-letter word means a return to substance use after a period of sobriety.
What is relapse?
These small, stuffed animals became a massive collectible craze in the late 1990s, often bought as investments.
What are Beanie Babies?