steve-in-kville

I got thinking about this over the weekend.... when triggers and/or temptations do come, what would be an anti-trigger?

Me? I keep a picture of my youngest children on my phone and on desk at work. They need me sober and its my job to stay that way.

Anyone else?

zjw

i dunno I try to get busy with soemthing else. But overall running does it for me. I feel very anxious very antsy very much in need of some kind of chemical fix till i run then i'm calm and happy for the remainder of the day most of the time.

it was always like this too before drinking i needed some sorta fix but once i started drinking and drugging i realized i could satisfy that desire. it just wasnt a healthy choice etc...

a simple walk also helps. I took many of those before is tarted to run. if i felt like drining out the door i went for another walk needless to say i did a lot of walking!

Gottalife

The God of my understanding would be my anti trigger. I needed something 24/7 as my only trigger was being conscious.

In other words I was without defence against the first drink at certain random times. I found external events (triggers) had nothing to do with this.

Mountainmanbob

I think about my nice wife. When I went back out drinking 9 years ago she let me know that, "she would not be sticking around so as to be a witness to my insanity." I sobered up and have stayed sober.
Mountainman

D122y

My cravings are minor now compared to my first months clean.

Now I remind myself I am an alcoholic. I am a drug addict. The crave will never fully go away.

My physical and mental healing have been so significant for me I will never slurp another alcoholic beverages again.

Glad I was able to quit. Never going back out.

JeffreyAK

Distraction has always been my first line of defense against triggers, followed by leaving the place of being triggered. I have photos of my wife, cat and favorite counselor on my phone to look at. I also have phone numbers to call, even to just leave a voicemail message. Music has been huge too, turn on anything Cocteau Twins and off I drift. I have not had to use any of these tools in several years, but I've used them in the past and I know where they are, just in case.

KAD

Memory, so far, is the most effective anti-trigger I have. Ironically, it used to be the worst. I also have pictures of my kids displayed in my den. I'm not exactly close to either of them, but drinking again would drive an even bigger wedge between us, maybe permanently. Memories of the hell I went through when I bottomed out close to a year and a half ago, and all the consequences of that, are fresh in my mind. I hope they will be for some time to come.

Above and beyond all that are the rewards I have found through sober living, and a program of recovery that is changing me from the inside out.

JesseJe

I second the running. Exercise. Walking is great too also seems to relieve feelings of anxiety and sadness. Just go.

Delilah1

My knees pr vent me from running anymore, but walking is my go to when I am triggered by anything. If there is a stressful situation at work I will find the time to take a walk around campus, at home I will take a walk or go to yoga, either with or without my kids. In regards to drinking the triggers/urges have greatly lessened as time has passed (almost 8 months) playing the tape through has been the biggest addition to my sobriety/recovery plan. No matter how much I may want to have a glass of wine, I know it won't be just one, and if it happens to be just one on one night I know it will begin to gradually, or not so gradually increase. I have never once regretted waking up sober!

MelindaFlowers

Just remembering the absolute hell my life was when I was drinking.

Trembling hands
Diarrhea
Red face
Depression
Pounding heart
Pounding headache

That's my anti-trigger

dox

I say little prayers.
Gratitude.
Help?

SoberLife90

AA meeting.

tomsteve

ditto.
im very greatful I didn't completely destroy my brain and remembered a LOT of the gloom,dispair, and agony.
and that in the amount of time it takes a drink to get from my lips to my stomach, my past will become my future.

Dame

If "playing the tape" means reliving the horrors? That's what I do. Sometimes the resulting nausea is overwhelming.

Gottalife

Memory, which is playing the tape, has never been effective with me for more than a few minutes, the time it took to leave court, cross the road and go into the bar - this time will be different.

I picked up another addiction, sailing. Around New Zealand, once in a while, I would have a really bad voyage. Rough seas, seasick, strong winds, cold, and stuck out there for the duration. No way to get off. After one of these voyages, upon returning home, I would have lost all interest in sailing, and the boat would be left for weeks, sometimes months.

Then the thought of the next season would come up. Out come the charts, and the planning the next voyage gets underway. Strangely, there is no memory of the horrors of the last trip. I can only remember the good bits, the sunny days, sheltered anchorages, good fishing, and company of friends. It sounds brilliant, so off I go again.

Like the big book says, We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering horror and misery of the last voyage. We are without defense against the first voyage.

CLAS

Exercise. Biking. How much I hate the drinker image.

August252015

I don't have triggers to DRINK.

I have some triggers for EMOTIONAL un-sobriety - when I feel excitable (big one), restless, or vaguely "something" it's usually because I am not accepting something, someone, or some situation as how it is supposed to be at the time. It's not what I want (hey, ego). This is the kind of stuff I have to be vigilant about. When I am drifting into (or, ahem, sometimes tearing towards) this kind of mental mess, some things I do....

Send myself to be early. Did this on Tu night by turning off all my electronics and taking my sleeping pill early.
Take my anti anx med; I am taking it less as I am putting better practical tools into place for handling life, but I use it because it is meant to be used as one of those tools. Especially, with that excitability feeling again- I know when that kind of thing is beginning so often, depending on what I've got on immediate deck (ie, I walk into the restaurant for a shift and it is chaos, and I've got 10 hrs ahead of me).
Call my sponsor and/or bf.
Go to a meeting.
Pull up all the positive quotes I keep on my phone, and see what jumps out at me and is most needed at that moment.
Talk out loud - I did this, for example, as I walked the dog on Wed am. I talked through the literal breakdown of steps to deal with the things at hand and which parts were bothering me.

Pray, always pray.

I can usually "right myself" pretty quickly. This week, I had a longer "ugh" than i normally do, but kept trying the above - and I have been practicing just "sitting" within discomfort- and reminding myself I can only do my part to make it pass.

steve-in-kville

Lots of great replies, seems like some form of exercise/activity is at the top of the list.

leviathan

Exercise. Nature walks. And paying attention to the special quality my mornings seem to have, as I'm not seeking to relieve all my symptoms.