Amber Hollingsworth breaks down relapse triggers: certain people, places, emotions, and moments when you think the coast is clear. She covers three practical moves: avoid triggers when you can, tell someone what they are, and plan ahead for when you can't avoid them.
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There are actually a couple factors involved with the relapse process. One of those factors is triggers, which we're going to take a deeper look into in today's video. But the other factor that's pretty much always involved in relapse has to do with a vulnerability that you have for the relapse, like a crack in your armor, like a little wedge or space where this addiction can creep in. And that crack is usually some kind of thought or process about either that you're missing out, that the grass is greener, that maybe you're not really an addicted alcoholic, and it will be different this time. I've got a video all about how to protect against that part of relapse. I will link it up here at the end. But in this video, I'm going to really focus in on those triggers, those things that cause us to automatically crave, that make us have thoughts about drinking and using or engaging in whatever addictive behavior, even if we're really committed to our sobriety and recovery. Guess what? When you've been doing the same thing for years and years, and you've engaged in those same habits and patterns over and over and over again, sometimes you just encounter things which automatically put that thought in your head. The first trigger you need to really think through is people. There are certain people in your life that you have very much heavily associated with drinking. Now, not everyone you've drank with in your whole life or used with in your whole life counts in this category, but there are some people that are basically just like you're using Buddy. And whenever you see them, whenever you're around them, those are the memories that you have. Your relationship is built on that. You need to think long and hard before you put yourself in a situation with the people that you're thinking about with the those people, especially in early recovery. And if for some reason you need to or have to be in a situation with those people, then I'm going to advise that you tell them that you are sober. You don't have to tell them your whole situation if you don't want to. But you need to tell them, and you need to probably tell them like before you're in the situation with them. In addition to people, there are also places. Yes, this is the old recovery saying, people, places and things. Sometimes they call it playmates, playgrounds, and play things. But there are certain places that you go that are pretty much associated with drinking. Like maybe be watching football, whether that's in your house or tailgating. Maybe that's going to a Concert, maybe that's going to the lake during the summer. And for almost everyone, going anywhere where there's involved, where there's water involved is usually almost always a triggering place. And it's because this, it's any place that your memories are mostly associated with drinking and using. Maybe it's going to gamble or Vegas, or to a certain friend's house or even to a certain restaurant. If you want to make it easier on yourself, avoid these places, at least for the first few months, until you've created new habits and routines. And even then, I want you to only go in those situations when you have to go into them. And I don't think you should probably expose yourself to them over and over or for long, extended periods of time. The good thing is with recovery, you get kind of a get out of going to places card. So that's kind of a positive silver lining. You can play that well. It's not good for me. I don't need to go to that event card when you need to. Now, in addition to people, places and things, certain emotions can be a trigger for you. Identify what those emotions are. Are you more likely to be triggered when you're really happ happy or if you're really disappointed, or if you feel rejected, or if you feel sad or if you feel jealous? What are your trigger emotions? The ones that usually when you experience you connect that with drinking, using, engaging in whatever addictive behavior. You can't always prevent these emotions from happening, but you can be prepared for them when they do happen. And realize that this is a big trigger for you so you can put some things in place to help keep you solid if that happens. Now, the other really common trigger is what I call the coast is clear. These are times when basically no one else is around to watch you. And even though you're not trying to be sneaky, in the past, you've always used, like when your, I don't know, spouse was away on a business trip or when your family was all doing something else. It's not so much that you don't really mean the recovery thing, but it's like an automatic thought because in the past it was always like, yes, they're away, it's on, so be prepared that that coast is clear trigger could happen to you and have a plan in place for when it does. Up next, I want you to watch this video because it goes even more in depth for relapse prevention.
