Dallas Bragg describes a recovery technique where people record a video message to themselves during the comedown after using a substance, when shame is fresh and the high has worn off. In that raw state, he says, the brain tells the truth about the cost, creating a powerful reminder for future sobriety.
So here's the most powerful tool you haven't used yet. And this is something I suggest to every one of my clients. It's your post-use video. So here's a practice that has transformed recovery for the men I work with, and it's disarmingly simple. The next time you use, or if you've recently used, record a video message to your future self during the comedown, right before you finally crash into sleep. So you're thinking, Dallas, the last thing I wanna do when I'm coming down is look at myself in the camera. That's exactly why it works. In that moment when the high has worn off, when you're seeing yourself clearly in the mirror, when the shame is fresh, when your body feels wrecked, when you remember what you did or who you were with or the boundaries you crossed, that's when your brain is telling the truth. When you're in that comedown moment, that's when the full reality of what this substance costs you is undeniable. In the comedown, your brain cannot lie to you. The defense mechanisms haven't kicked in yet. The rationalization hasn't started. You're raw, you're real, and you're in the truth.
