Coping Skills
This is a simple breathing technique where you inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, and hold again for 4 seconds.
Box Breathing
This simple acronym stands for four common relapse triggers (Four Letters)
HALT
The medical consensus agrees that addiction is a chronic brain disease, not a moral failing or something someone can simply choose to stop.
This step is where many people begin to develop a concept of a Higher Power that actually feels personal to them.
Step 2
This “Iron Man” actor has been sober since 2003 and credits his wife and 12-step recovery for helping him stay clean.
Robert Downey Jr.
This coping tool helps bring structure to mental chaos by turning unspoken thoughts into written ones, allowing you to observe patterns in mood, triggers, and reactions over time.
Journaling
This technique involves mentally walking through what might happen if you relapse, imagining the consequences before acting.
Playing the Tape Through
Many people enter recovery before they’ve lost everything, showing that change is possible at any point.
Myth: You have to hit rock bottom before recovery will work.
Many people say they begin to feel actual relief from guilt and shame after completing this step, even though it can be terrifying to begin.
Step 5
This “Friends” actor struggled with opioid and alcohol addiction during the peak of the show’s success and passed away in 2023 after years of advocacy for recovery.
Matthew Perry
This type of coping skill helps people recognize when their thinking is distorted or unhelpful, and teaches them how to challenge it before it leads to bad decisions.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
This type of plan outlines your high-risk situations, early warning signs, coping tools, and support contacts, and is often created before discharge.
Relapse Prevention Plan
Even if you stop using your drug of choice, switching to another substance to cope still reinforces addictive behaviors.
Myth: As long as it's not my DOC, I'll be okay and I'm still clean
These are the steps where most people tend to stall or drop out of their step work, due to fear, shame, or avoidance.
Step 4 and Step 9
This pop star famously performed at the 2020 Grammys after a near-fatal overdose in 2018 and is open about her journey in Recovery.
Demi Lovato
This category of coping skills helps regulate your nervous system through physical movement, like going for a walk, tapping back and forth, or engaging both sides of your body in rhythm.
Bilateral Stimulation (will also take Grounding)
This behavioral red flag often shows up before relapse and includes avoiding meetings, ghosting supports, or lying by omission.
Isolation
Many people use medications like Suboxone or antidepressants as part of a healthy and supported recovery plan.
Myth: You're not really sober if you're on medication
This service role is vital in 12 Step programs but is often avoided due to fear of responsibility, judgment, or feeling like you're not “recovered enough.”
Sponsor
This rapper and “Lose Yourself” artist got sober in 2008 after a battle with prescription pill addiction and references recovery in his music.
Eminem
This coping skill is used when emotions are intense and no immediate solution is available. It helps you survive the moment and avoid impulsive decisions that could make things worse.
Distress Tolerance
Cited by some as the two most common reasons people relapse in early recovery.
Medication Management and Relationships
Addiction is a disease that affects brain function, behavior, and decision-making. Recovery requires structure, support, and tools—not just determination.
Myth: Willpower alone will keep someone sober/clean.
This phrase describes when someone uses 12 Step language and behaviors to appear “in recovery” without doing the deep internal work.
Performative Recovery
This actor, known for roles in “The West Wing” and “The Outsiders,” has been sober since 1990 and often speaks about long-term recovery.
Rob Lowe