Thought

February 21, 2013 — 3 Comments

Scale
Nothing is more torturous than the battle that ensues after encountering a trigger.

We want to be good, we truly do, but often the temptation is too strong for us to resist and we end up going back to our addiction.  When we use again after a prolonged period of abstinence this is called a Relapse.

Several things happen when we enter the thought stage. First, we begin to compile a pros and cons list in our mind.

Pro- Drinking a McDonald’s Sweet Tea would quench my thirst.

Con- I might as well rub it on my thighs.

Pro-…mmmhhh Sweet Tea.

Con- I’m continuing an unhealthy habit that will lead to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and overall negative consequences on my body.

As you can see, we don’t even play by the rules of logic when we suffer from an addiction.  When we begin to lie to ourselves, or talk ourselves into bad choices, this is called Relapse Justification.

Here are 3 tips to help stop a relapse in the Thought Stage

  1. Find Your Go-To Activity- You need to discover something to instantly change your state of thought that you can initiate at a moment’s notice.  Maybe you have a special mixed tape (or play list if you were born after 1995) that you listen to that either brings back fond memories or creates an escape from your current situation.

  2. Contact Your Support-  It is important that you have the ability to reach out to you social supports by whatever means that works for you.  Whether that is reaching your sponsor on the phone, a Skype session with you friend, or joining an ongoing meeting at InTheRooms.org.

  3. BOUNCE- Triggers are unavoidable, period.  When we inevitably do encounter a trigger it’s time to BOUNCE.

            BOUNCE your eyes off of the visual stimulant.

            BOUNCE from the scene of your trigger (Leave Immediately)

            BOUNCE to your Go-To activity (For me I play Basketball for my Go-To activity and that helps the analogy of BOUNCE).

How do you win the battle of the mind?  Leave your thoughts and comments in the Disqus forum below.

 

 

 

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noahcoley

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  • http://twitter.com/TMarieWalters Teresa M. Walters

    Thanks Noah for highlighting the importance of separating thinking, feeling and action. When we are able to put some space between our thoughts and our actions, we function less out of automatic reflex and more from deliberate choice.

  • http://twitter.com/TMarieWalters Teresa M. Walters

    Thanks Noah for highlighting the importance of separating thinking and feeling. When we are able to put some distance between our thinking and our actions, we are less likely to react out of automatic (emotional) reflex and more likely to respond with deliberate (intellectual) choice.

  • Wug

    I like the idea of going to chat rooms for meetings and being able to share feelings and ideas. Would it be possible for you to list some go-to places for us?