On Triggers
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 514
On Triggers
Hey all. This site is so helpful for me - so much love and support! I was wondering then if someone could help me... Does anyone else find it difficult to identify triggers? I can't find any real consistency in my drinking habits. I drink when I'm sad, happy, confused indifferent...It makes me feel hopeless to think I drink just for the sake of drinking.
Thanks
Thanks
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,366
By the end of my drinking waking up was a trigger, VigilanceNow.
For some identifying triggers can be useful, for me I just had to remember not to drink... ever.
Later on, with a little recovery under my belt I was able to go back and say 'that was the start of that craving' etc... but for the initial phase I kept it simple.
D
For some identifying triggers can be useful, for me I just had to remember not to drink... ever.
Later on, with a little recovery under my belt I was able to go back and say 'that was the start of that craving' etc... but for the initial phase I kept it simple.
D
Magsie
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 26,640
Hi VigilanceNow.
I was like you as in anything seemed to be a trigger for me. Happy, sad, hard day at work, good day at work. Wind blowing , sun shining. Anything.
I just had to stop and then learn to use the correct tools for my recovery.
I was like you as in anything seemed to be a trigger for me. Happy, sad, hard day at work, good day at work. Wind blowing , sun shining. Anything.
I just had to stop and then learn to use the correct tools for my recovery.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 38
I drink when I'm sad, happy, confused indifferent...It makes me feel hopeless to think I drink just for the sake of drinking.
For me, alcohol just became a reaction to everything and also drinking for the sake of drinking (thinking: "oh well, this can only make me feel better"). There are definitely some deep-seated anxieties that act as triggers but they just become a way to rationalize drinking. I am sure the veterans here will tell you that there are more reasons not to drink than there are to drink.
For me, alcohol just became a reaction to everything and also drinking for the sake of drinking (thinking: "oh well, this can only make me feel better"). There are definitely some deep-seated anxieties that act as triggers but they just become a way to rationalize drinking. I am sure the veterans here will tell you that there are more reasons not to drink than there are to drink.
All is Change
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,282
During my last bout of boozing an oldtimer told me that when I drink it's because I can't not drink. I think accepting that was liberating. It made the solution, to not drink, easier to accept. I drink because I'm an alcoholic and the only sane thing for an alcoholic to do is to not drink (and learn to cope with the consequences, of course).
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
Originally Posted by VigilanceNow 
I can't find any real consistency in my drinking habits.
Once I quit trying to change all the outside reasons I drank and worked on the inside ones it all sort of fell into place.
Best of Luck on Your Journey.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Western New York
Posts: 2,440
Triggers vary person to person and have also changed as I've gained sober time. Dining out is a little bit easier for me now for example.
HALT (hungry angry lonely tired) was a big one for me in the first few months and seems common for most. Managing my feelings helped me keep my head on straight and helped me stay sober.
Discovering triggers was all part of building my own sobriety plan. If I find myself in a situation with an unexpected craving/trigger, what will I do? What is my exit plan or coping strategy? What situations should I avoid early on? What activities are best avoided altogether because they only serve to lead me back to a path of drinking?
I think it's all about knowing ourselves, or at least discovering ourselves. Learning to be honest and practicing self care. It's really a process instead of an answer set in stone. Knowing what i will do when encountering a trigger has been key.
HALT (hungry angry lonely tired) was a big one for me in the first few months and seems common for most. Managing my feelings helped me keep my head on straight and helped me stay sober.
Discovering triggers was all part of building my own sobriety plan. If I find myself in a situation with an unexpected craving/trigger, what will I do? What is my exit plan or coping strategy? What situations should I avoid early on? What activities are best avoided altogether because they only serve to lead me back to a path of drinking?
I think it's all about knowing ourselves, or at least discovering ourselves. Learning to be honest and practicing self care. It's really a process instead of an answer set in stone. Knowing what i will do when encountering a trigger has been key.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 437
My trigger used to be 'any old excuse'
- tough day at work, it'll help relax
- happy, out with mates, all drinking
- pissed off with someone/life
-Feeling alone, miserable
-Celebrating- lost weight (obviously totally counter productive
However, my trigger this week will definitely be my payday. It's also a V busy day in work but anytime I've got to day 7 before, I've found it just a little easier to say "i did the first week, i can do another"
I could be wrong but I'm just trying to keep positive
- tough day at work, it'll help relax
- happy, out with mates, all drinking
- pissed off with someone/life
-Feeling alone, miserable
-Celebrating- lost weight (obviously totally counter productive
However, my trigger this week will definitely be my payday. It's also a V busy day in work but anytime I've got to day 7 before, I've found it just a little easier to say "i did the first week, i can do another"
I could be wrong but I'm just trying to keep positive
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