Science and Addiction
The rates of heart disease, stroke, HIV, Hepatitis, and mental disorders move in this direction when addiction is also present
Increase, go up, or get worse
This is the term for a persistent, strong, and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity
This is the practice of regularly taking time to focus on your own physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being
Self-care
This term refers to the healthy ability to understand the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of another
Empathy or empathizing
A tool you can use to help you notice harmful thoughts, activities, and people interactions and turn them into helpful ones.
Catch it, check it, change it
Specific objects, moods, situations, places, people, etc. that make you think about drinking or using. These are different for different people, but many people have similar ones.
This is a period of feeling very sad that lasts a long time and makes it hard to do daily activities.
Depression
Some people in recovery need help with past difficult life events, distressing experiences, and memories often referred to as a history of _______
Trauma
To maintain healthy relationships, we should identify and communicate these physical, psychological, and emotional limits to protect ourselves from being used, manipulated, or violated by others.
Boundaries
Dealing with a craving by imagining what will happen if you use, and what the consequences will be for you based on what has happened before.
"Playing the tape"
This neurotransmitter is closely linked to the mind's reward system and is commonly associated with pleasure and reinforcement.
Dopamine
What does the acronym PTSD stand for?
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
This evidence-based approach to maintaining recovery from addiction involves identifying triggers and warning signs and then developing specific coping strategies to avoid a return to negative behaviors
Relapse Prevention
A pattern of thinking that leads to the belief that people and situations can only be good or bad with no in-between. e.g. "I am not capable of loving," or "I can't express my feelings."
All-or-nothing thinking or Black-and-white thinking
Everyone in your group - name one person you can reach out to if you don't know how to handle a trigger or craving.
Multiple answers - a sponsor, church leader, sober friend or family member, therapist, peer support, crisis line, 12-step or other support groups....
A diminished response to a drug that is the result of repeated use; requiring more of a drug to produce the same effect.
Tolerance
This is the term for a sudden, intense, and overwhelming episode of fear or discomfort, often accompanied by physical symptoms like a racing heart, shortness of breath, and sweating.
This skills-based form of treatment used in substance use and mental health recovery focuses on identifying and changing thinking patterns to help change feelings and negative behaviors (Hint: also known as CBT?)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This two-word term describes when you carefully hear and focus on what another person is saying and then repeat back what you heard to confirm that you understood them
Active listening or reflective listening
Walk us through one breathing exercise you've learned.
Multiple different answers, different ones will work for different people. The gist of most is to do this:
Breathe in, hold, breathe out - key is to breathe out twice as long as you breathe in.
The brain's ability to change and adapt throughout life by forming new connections and reorganizing existing ones in response to experiences, learning, and even injury.
Neuroplasticity
A term used when someone has been diagnosed with both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.
Dual-diagnosis
This approach to addiction recovery focuses on minimizing the negative consequences associated with active substance use by providing tools, strategies, resources, and supports to reduce the risks and dangers associated with that use.
Harm Reduction
A communication style that is not too aggressive or too passive, and allows you to respect other people while also respecting yourself.
Assertive communication
Say the Serenity Prayer.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.