Recovery plan - request for assistance?
 

Hi all. Does anyone have a recovery plan template in Word or Excel that they would be prepared to share with me? I searched online but they are all in Adobe Acrobat. I am sober for 45 days and was left in the lurch by a treatment centre. Many thanks in advance.

This is a good guide to help you build your own :)

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...very-plan.html

I remember someone wrote theirs out - if I remember who it was I'll link to it.

D

Great thanks Dee.

I think it was mindful man? He had an awesome first year, always looking at life with growth and a positive outlook.

Anyone else?

This is a good one here:

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ck-please.html

I think that was the one I had in mind - thanks for finding it :)

D

One of those things I keep missing at Recovery Plans, that they do not define stages. I made the experience that the game changes a couple of times. Would would work at stage one ist not what you need at stage two and there.

Roughly for me:

Week 1 to 4: Get thru Sweating, Cravings etc. by Willpower, isolation and sugar, there is nothing more you will be able to do.

Week 5 to about 8: Start small steps into life, by cleaning up, sorting things, whatever. You have have brain fog, but usually can do unstructured easy tasks for a couple of hours. Lower the sugar, drink tons of water. start consuming targeted media content, take walks each day

Week 9 to 15: Start giving your day some structure, get moving, start going to the gym, make first lists of working on things you need to do to clean up you surrounding, like stuff that needs to be cleaned, repaired. and do it, when able. Clean up your diet.

Week 15 to ..... Start working on your emotional side, addressing issues, make plans how to compensate for the alcoholic abuse. For instance, you would have been drinking when you were lonley. Now what? Refine your Workout Plan, your diet, your task Lists.

Week 20 to ..... Refine all areas as needed, start Meditation / Yoga / Awareness practice .....

Don't worry what you will do in week 20 when you are in week 9, just be aware of the different stages and refine over time.

ThomPom, thank you, yours is a good one. Some inpatient rehabs make you do too much too soon.

TP, I don't know about a plan as such, but I found the key to quitting was avoiding, substituting, and deep breathing. You can prepare by foreseeing stumbling blocks and being ready with strategies for success.

For instance, many As find the evening is the most tempting time. So you might plan to substitute soft drink or tea, go for a walk, eat early, go to bed and read a book.

Avoiding social occasions that involve alcohol is another early recovery plan. Also avoid stressors like fatigue, hunger, thirst, by having a bag of snacks nearby, carry a bottle of water, get to bed early.

Deep breathing can relax you out of cravings.

FeelingGreat, I do most of the above, apart from deep breathing, which I struggle with due to anxiety.

I am an AA person and something that helped me do the steps are the worksheets you can find online. Worth a look even if you don't choose AA, IMO- google AA, step worksheets and such as here are multiple program approved options.

Another idea is some kind of workbook for the practical choices and habit/ thought changes hat I have found necessary to recovery. Ones for CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) or DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) are intended for people with mental illnesses like bipolar and Borderline but useful for anyone needing to change tools for living like every alcoholic I know, including me.

You will also find lots of good suggestions here like Feeling Great suggests- and I will say what Dee always does...the best plans start with a plan for not drinking and build from there.

Glad you are here.

Thom pom brings up a good point, there are lots of stages. There are more than he mentions, too. For your purposes it's best to take things one stage at a time.

About inpatient: I agree. Can't imagine doing chores and so many meetings so early. One of the ways I rewarded myself at home was to be lazy in every way except sobriety. I cut myself all the slack until I could think more clearly. It was actually indulgent in a way. The only thing in my life I was rigid about was no drinking, ever.

check out the thread "will I ever get it" for more on no drinking, ever. :)

Anxiety is quite common in early sobriety, alcohol depresses your brain function so it is literally "waking back up" for quite some time after you quit - and it takes time to stabilize.

For me the anxiety continued for months, years after I quit though and I also needed to address it as a distinct and separate issue that needed a "plan" of it's own. Don't rule seeking help for your anxiety from a mental health professional out if things don't improve long term.

Here's how my plan is looking:

https://imgur.com/a/hX9WTf2

Comments welcome!

For me, I now think a lot of my anxiety was caused by the drinking in the first place, but like you I still have some underlying anxiety.

That was me. If only I could follow it!!

Its comprehensive and thats good - but my plan was less about stuff to do and more about how I'd actually stay sober?

I know you have AA in there - but what do you do if you crave a drink.? what do you do if you're in a situation where people insist you drink with them?

what will you do when you have a bad day?
what do you do when you just throw up your hands and say eff it?

The best plan is the world is worthless if we can't follow it.

What do you think the problem is Pinnacle?

D

Thanks v much for comments, Dee. I do have a Relapse Recovery Plan almost finished, I will try to incorporate it into my overall plan.

Hope things are going well with your plan, we're here if you need help!