LSNP

I can't remember where I heard this but I'm fairly certain it comes from AA. It's been helpful to me.

HALT: Don't get Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired

The HUNGRY really helps. I mean, NOT being hungry. lol I find I don't really want anything to drink at all when I'm full up.

FrothyJay

Glad that it works for you.

It does not come from AA, although it's often heard in AA. It's more a rehab philosophy (the notion that we can stay sober by watching for triggers).

CarolD

Depression was part of my drinking history....so I added a S.

Each of the times I returned to drinking ..at least 2 of those elements were in place.
I agree....dont allow yourself to become overly

Hungry-Angry-Lonely-Tired-Sad.

I too heard about HALT from new AA friends
but it's not part of the AA program.

The program is based on living the Steps for lasting recovery
that too I have found immensley useful...

OklaBH

I think that is great. If it works it works. I dont know why there is always a footnote as to whether something came from AA or not. I attend AA meetings and there are a lot of tools that are suggested that didnt come from AA specifically. We all want the same thing!

keithj

We do all want the same thing, OklaBH. Whatever works for an individual is great. The collective experience of recovered alcoholics in AA is that lasting sobriety rarely comes by being watchful for triggers and taking care of basic comforts. AA has a solution that works for just about anybody that really does it. However, that solution gets hard to hear when all of these other opinions and ideas drown it out.

Hence, the frequent footnote. This might work great for you, but don't confuse it with AA's program of recovery.

Ranger

Well, perhaps we might do well to not confuse HALT with a program.

HALT is a technique for dealing with a craving. Moreover, in concept HALT is covered in the AA booklet "Living Sober":

H: Ch 9 - Eating or Drinking Something - Usually, Sweet
A: Ch 15 - Watching out for Anger and Resentments
L: Ch 14 - Fending off Lonliness
T: Ch 12 - Gettling Plenty of Rest

OklaBH

At my meetings they say PRIMP
P ray
R ead
I nventory
M editate
P ray again

It works for me so I don't care who came up with it.

FrothyJay

Sorry, Ranger. But the book "Living Sober" makes my hair hurt. It is largely a collection of willpower-based tools that run completely counter to the program of AA. That it became conference-approved is one of the great missteps of our fellowship. I know some who are trying to have it removed from the list.

I can not fight pitched battles against my disease by avoiding triggers. I must recover from the underlying spiritual malady that drives my destructive behavior. That's the message of AA, not make sure you keep a bag of Skittles handy.

FrothyJay

I know I'm like a broken record here, but do you think that maybe the reason AA is not working for the large majority of people who attend a meeting is because we're way off track with the "tools that didn't come specifically from AA?" We've turned AA into a make-your-own-sundae program.

Please don't take this personally. I respect what works for you. But I am no longer able to just bite my tongue when I see what I think is wrong with AA.

omegasupreme

If nifty acronyms catch your fancy try Googling "Mickey Bush," he has plenty to share.

Ranger

Agree w/the latter, but humbly submit that for many, trigger recognition/avoidance is an important component of the recovery process. If that wasn't the case for you...well, ok.

This whole bit takes me back to childhood and all those sermons I endured about "narrow is the way" and how few people would get into heaven.

FrothyJay

Fair enough.

I'm not suggesting it's an either/or proposition (fighting triggers or a spiritual program of recovery). But AA, for the most part today, is focused on triggers, not spiritual recovery. Our emphasis needs to be completely recalibrated.

It's easier to say "I drink because I'm hungry" than it is "I drink because I'm perpetually restless, irritable and discontent and feel totally out of sync with the world around me and desperately need relief, and can't solve the problem on my own."

People will only last so long trying to fight triggers. Then they are baffled when they drink again, and want to analyze the trigger that they failed to recognize, as opposed to the ism that drives it all.

Zencat

I find HALT is a useful recovery tool that helps me be aware of the warnings well before a person picks up that first drink. I know for myself, I need to be aware of what I'm likely to do next in life. Without that awareness, its likely that I would be doing things like drinking. Then act like I have no clue about why I'm acting like I am. I know I never want to be a clueless alcoholic again...scratching my head, dumfounded to why I'm drinking again.

Dee74

Ok...

clearly there's no one way to do things - what may have worked for me may not work for others, and vice versa.

Please share your experience, but please also allow for the possibility that there just might be other ways to get to the same destination.

It's what this forum is built on.

From our forum policies:
D

LSNP

Just like soldiers avoid oncoming bullets in order to avoid death, many avoid taking that next drink by avoiding triggers.

My triggers often provoke a desire to drink. Angry? Lonely? Hungry? yep. The triggers ARE triggers BECAUSE of an underlying spiritual issue, to be sure..... but they are triggers, just the same.

californiapoppy

HTT is what works for me, I never feel lonely, rarely angry, but boy do I get hungry, thirsty, and tired!

susanlauren

One of my "triggers" is the grocery store, with the inviting display isles of every alcoholic beverage imaginable. All the grocery stores in my area sell alcohol, so there is no getting around it. I have to shop for food. There have been times when I eat take out only or eat from whatever is left in my pantry because I'm not feeling "secure enough" to go grocery shopping. There have been times when I've walked into the grocery store and found myself pining/longing to buy my favorite alcoholic beverage. At times, I purchase just about every type of non-alcoholic beverage in the store just so I wouldn't buy alcohol. I end up with a wide ranging assortment of non-alcoholic drinks, but very little food in my cart. I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Maybe what I need to do is find a "grocery service" or hire a neighbor to shop for me at the store. Susan

FrothyJay

Tell you what. When the emphasis in AA returns to the vital spiritual awakening that Bill Wilson told us we must have in order to recover from alcoholism, I'll start to promote trigger awareness. But as long as AA remains a pep club for abstinence, I'll need to point out the folly of trigger mania.