Threshold

Newcomers might not be familiar with the term HALT. It refers to protecting our sobriety by not allowing ourselves to get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. As simple as those things are, it really does help to steer ourselves away from those things that can make us vulnerable to giving in.

I am over a year clean and one year sober. Yesterday I was on a road trip with a friend. I had not gotten enough sleep the night before. I was overdue for dinner. Our plans were aborted by an unexpected phone call from his ex which had been triggered by a mutual friend of ALL of us.

Having recently been through my own divorce, having a fall out with the mutual friend and now the friend I was with all withdrawn and alienated, I was feeling pretty lonely too.

So yeah. ALL of the above HALT triggers were in full gear.

So, after many miles of silence driving our disappointed way home, he asks what I want to do, and my mind immediately thinks "I want to have three shots of whiskey and go to bed HUH!?

I'm like WHERE did THAT come from?!

No, that's not what I wanted. I wanted to feel better. I wanted food, a good night's sleep, the perspective that a good night's sleep give me THAT is what I really wanted.

That is what I went home and did. And this morning, NO hangover, NO regret, and I feel much better about it all.

Please stay aware of HALT. My realizing that my real problem yesterday was HALT related helped me keep it all in perspective, do the smart thing and stay sober.

RDBplus3

Threshold,
Thanks for your post. I am 58 yrs old, and just 4 months ago I made my 1st real commitment to getting free from my addiction to alcohol. I have had 2 bad drinking episodes in just those 4 months, but I am still very committed. It was the continually recurring thoughts and impulses that undermined me those 2 times. I am working an every-day (24/7) program, and your post helps me keep focused that those underlying thoughts and impulses can come in and undermine all my good intentions, however I do have the ability to recognize them and counteract them with Well-Grounded decision making, like you just described.

Congrats on going to bed sober and especially waking up clean.

RDB - the 'plus3' are my wife & kids

Grymt

Heh. I spent most of my life thinking that t stood for thirsty. Maybe the person who told me said that. Tired's interesting though. I gotta work our how that fits in. Anyway, thanks for the post

Panache

I'm on my third day sober Threshold and I didn't know about HALT, whenever I get a craving I'm going to try and use this to identify why I'm craving. Thanks for sharing

Coldfusion

Oh my goodness, thank you for posting this!

Last night, there were some Newcomers here that were hungry, angry, lonely, AND tired! But when you're caught up in the agony of the situation, you can't think straight and might not be open to advice. That why they call HALT a "tool" for sobriety--you keep it handy for when you need it. If you use tools correctly, you don't end up with a crisis.

HappyDestiny3

HALT is a big thing for me..

but the most important is...

SLIP = Sobriety Lost It's Priority. Anything I put above my sobriety I will lose..

A

Dee74

D

LadyinBC

I use HALT also. It makes me stop and think. And I really like SLIP, I'm going to remember this one, as I know I have to put my sobriety above everything else.

1Dayatatyme

How true! After a beautiful recovery from alcohol and crack and staying clean and sober over 10 years, I believed I was "cured" and could handle pain pills after a car accident. The slight euphoric feeling was more important than my recovery and recovery and meetings were no longer my first priority. I am now on day 7 after a hellish cold turkey detox from my pain killers, and I am grateful to be "back in the room" and also, to have "Sober Recovery" forum.
I return to work tomorrow, and am scared, but ready to try.
Thanks for posting.

sugarbear1

mine is P.H.A.L.T.

add PAIN to the mix.......physical or mental can lead me to a bad place

Nattythreads

Mine's B.H.A.L.T, sugarbear. I throw a "Boredom" in to the mix.

sooverthis

Very well put, I actually like this better because pain and suffering are the main causes for a relapse, from what I have seen. I don't do well with pain either, physical I can deal with, but mental just gets to me more than anything, and then all I think is "f**k this I'm getting high"

So, that really opened up a door for me sugarbear. Excellent change.
I'm actually going to use that acronym for my struggle.

sugarbear1

My physical pains were when I thought of numbing them, the mental ones I could talk out with a friend in recovery.

Glad I could be useful to ya! Stay strong and Stay Stopped!

Nicholi

Omgosh! Me too! Boredom is it for me! It's really exciting to go get a drink and get away with it. Sneaking out of the house and making it back with a drink or drinking it before I even make it back in the house was such a rush.

Yesterday I bought a drink. I just kept it on my desk all day, then I had to go pick up my husband from the airport. I brought it with me, on the train ride then into the airport. When I got into the bathroom, I just threw it away. I didn't drink it. It was pretty cool! I felt like I was defeating it, kinda like this: