If you do slip, slow down - and think.

This was posted to another board I belong to. I find it very insightful.

If you don't work to prevent a slip, the chances are you will slip.

And if you don't respond wisely to having a slip, it's likely that you will fall.

Recovery from addiction doesn't just happen

- it takes planning, effort, and follow-through. The responsibility is yours. The following suggestions about slips are things that you - and only you - can do to safeguard your recovery.

Prevent
1. Heed the principles of addiction and recovery. Recovery - an end to
drug urges - may take a year or more of learning new responses to old
situations. So be consistent with healthy new activities. Make them
habits. And be patient with yourself.

2. Associate with positive people. One valuable habit is always to look
for the people among those you meet who have strength and good feelings.
Make them your friends.

3. Plan in advance. Don't leave things to chance. Plan activities with
positive people, people in whom you have confidence and trust. Boredom is
one of the biggest factors in relapse, and you can avoid it by keeping your
schedule active.

4. Update, review, and pay attention to your list of risky situations. You
know what situations, places, and people are most risky for you and threaten
your recovery. If you avoid the "relapse traps" that are most powerful for
you, your chances of a slip are greatly reduced.


Prepare
1. Identify the people you would go to if you slipped. Who would
understand what you were going through and would care about you and really
help you? If you don't have such people in your life, find them. Start
now.
2. After careful thought and discussion with the people you respect and can
count on, determine what other things you would do if you slipped. Think
carefully.
3. Remember the TIPS principles: Truth, Information, Priorities, Support.
Respond
1. If you do slip, slow down - and think. Remember: You have a recovery
plan (?), you have already begun to build a new life, and a slip is not a
fall. Don't forget who you are and where you came from.
2. Follow through on your plan. Go to your support people and listen to
them. Do whatever else you told yourself you would do.
3. Learn from the experience. Future slips can be avoided, and this one is
an opportunity to learn how. Turn a negative experience around by benefiting
from it.
4. Recommit yourself to personal growth. Consider your whole life - not
just the drug part - and look for where you need to grow. Your slip is a
reminder that to stay straight and upright you must always move forward - at
your own pace and in your own direction - but always forward.


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These articles are for informational purposes only. Contact a licensed counselor if you're in crisis.