What exactly is a recovery plan?
 

We have a excellent post at the top of the forum on this, but it's important enough to reiterate some of the main points :)

Basically a recovery plan is a plan to help you stop drinking/drugging and stay stopped.

Things like exercise and hobbies should be a part of just about every recovery plan - but I really believe we also need to specifically address the drinking/drugging too.

Think about changes you need to make to your life.

Not only changes what you do for fun, the places you hang out and who you hang with, but also deeper change.

No matter what you drink or used for - stress or boredom, anger, joy, physical or emotional pain - you need new coping mechanisms to deal with all those things.

you also need to anticipate those times when you will want to drink or use, or when drink/drugs will be offered to you.

Have a strategy in place for dealing with those situations.

Ask for help here if you're not sure what to do or how to do it :)

All this can be difficult - which is why support is so important.

It might be a Dr or a counsellor, or a group like AA SMART LifeRing or some other alternative...it might be outpatient or inpatient rehab - it might just be SR and other forums/chat rooms...

Find a level of support than works for you, and that you are willing to reach out when you're in trouble.

cover these bases, and you'll have the beginnings of a great plan.

This is an easy to read but detailed link which fills out the ideas a little more:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180728...0/SMA-3720.pdf

:You_Rock_

D

Thanks for explaining that, I was wondering what this was when people talked about this on SR

Together WE stay sober....

Thanks Dee, this is much appreciated.

The SAMHSA information is really good.

Thanks for the reminder Dee :tyou

I agree! I printed it out. Thanks Dee :)

Thank you so much. I was wondering how I could even *start* to make a plan.

Valuable info. - thanks so much Dee. :)

I was a bit curious to know what the recovery plan of people who have been a few months sober has been. Anyone care to share?
I know everyone's different, and i'm just trying to use all avenues/advice I can.

My plan included weekly counseling with my addiction counselor and daily visits here. SR is very important to me. This is my family. And their support helps me and many others. :grouphug:

I told my counselor about SR and she told her other clients about it. :)

Dee is right, change and support is very important during recovery.

I relapsed over and over again because I didn't understand that. Also didn't get that you need to have some kind of plan.

I think like most people after I quit drinking, I didn't know how to stay stopped. And most of us run into this as the only thing I used to cope with life was suddenly gone. It was like I lost a part of myself.

I was never one for counselling but decided the last time that I needed to talk to someone. And I found a drug and alcohol counsellor and I was lucky that he was able to get me into daytox out here. A wonderful program that was about 4 - 6 weeks long that actually had classes and groups and they would actually explain all the stuff you were going thru. And I discovered what I was feeling was normal and that there were things I could do and relearn as long as I was willing.

Thank you from me too Dee! :hug:

At this point in my life, with all of the stresses I am dealing with, it is extremely good to be reminded of this.
And I am sure there are more things I can add to make my recovery plan stronger.

I saved it...and I will read in detail later on.

Love V xx

D this is so helpful and will help many i am so grateful to every staff member here

You guys are so awesome the amount of care support advice & wisdom is amazing

Thank you SR

The other thing about a sobriety plan is that some aspects of it are adaptive, changing as your sobriety needs change, while at its core it is totally inflexible "I will not drink, no matter what happens."

My plan involved 90 in 90 AA meetings the first three months (adapted around a very busy work schedule, so they weren't every day, but I doubled or tripled up on weekends. I also counted any meetings with my sponsor to work on steps as a meeting). I now go to an AA meeting from 1-3 x a week. That part is flexible, but quitting entirely is not for me; I promised myself that I would stay through irritation, because I know myself, and it is easy for me to exit with all sorts of reasoned arguments & I need sobriety accountability in my small town... Example - I went to breakfast yesterday with a "Normie" friend, had the fleeting Mimosa thought one gets in a restaurant with Sunday brunch, but there were two different AA members in the same restaurant with their families. This helps more than I would have credited it in the past.

Other aspects of my plan:
I do SR pretty much every day & focus on giving support (committed to posting, sharing intimately, getting to know people here). I doubt my experience would be the same if I only checked in to SR once in a while. When you do SR most every day you really start to "know" people & their stuff.

I quit smoking. Yes, that was part of my initial plan, although I gave myself "anytime in the first six months" to go for it. I did it in the first two months. This was VERY related to my success not drinking! I have a long history of sobriety & relapse & so it is the "staying stopped" I had to plan for. Cigarettes are all wrapped up with alcohol for me! I can smoke without drinking, but can't drink without smoking. The painful process of quitting cigs was substantial & became one other incentive to not pick up a drink. Drinking without a cig would be no fun at all for me, and I don't want to smoke again, so that's that. (Ps. I got 6 months not smoking last week!).

Finally, I quit all my love/sex relationships (another part of my life connected with my drinking). I stopped Internet dating & "searching." I broke up with my live in boyfriend, didn't date in early recovery, let go of another ex who resurfaced & reconnected. All of those relationships were with heavy drinkers. I cannot be involved with a drinker. That's just me. It has been far simpler to have this be part of my plan. I have had a few times where a moment of flirting with a sober fellow has turned into a dinner date, but as soon as I catch myself I have stopped those too. I'm not ready. I know this seems extreme, but I am at almost 8 months sober, so my plan is working for me. Edit: I'm not joining a monestary - according to my "plan" I am allowed to actually fall in true love when I feel ready & happen upon the right (sober) person - my prior relationship behaviors weren't about true love..."

Other than the above, I do the "best I can". I attend a fair number of drinking events because of my work & seem to navigate them successfully. I enjoy my puppy, and take long daily walks with him. I eat relatively well, take vitamins, etc., but that's just part of trying to take good care of my self - none of that is part of my "sobriety plan."

I have thought about this *a lot* since yesterday and am still contemplating the different facets needed to have a semi-comprehensive plan. This is *so* helpful.

I asked for help (in my case from a treatment center), and it has worked ever since.

Going to see an addiction counselor next Monday. It's a start, I guess. Through the awesome link above, have realized that I have actually done some of the part one; "changing one's life patterns". Have yet to even begin to tackle the "overcoming triggers"... Please send your good vibes. Apparently, am one of the stubborn-*** alcoholics...

Stubborn is a prerequisite for us ;-) Good vibes coming your way. You can do this. Everyone has to start somewhere and you're doing great with the steps you are taking. I also printed this out and made a binder. It's exciting. The more tools the better. This article dee provided makes it easy to understand. Making a plan just clicked for me about 4 or 5 months ago and I've been at this sobriety ride gig a lot longer than that ;) Wish I woulda had something like this years ago. That's one of the many reasons I love SR!!

I see lots of posts that ask about specific parts of a written recovery plan, so I have decided to share an outline of my recovery plan. This omits the details that apply to me, but includes the section headings with a brief description of what could be included. Hopefully there are some that find it helpful.

In my humble opinion, there are two critical factors to a treatment plan. First, it should be in writing. Second, it should be individualized. As such, your plan might be completely different from mine. My outline below is in no way meant to serve as the "right" outline or even necessarily a good outline.

Here is my outline:

I. Plan Objectives – In this section, I articulated the objectives of my written plan, essentially stating that it is a comprehensive and practical outline for living a sober life and that the plan is intended to be malleable based upon the status of my recovery.

II. My Identity & Goals – In this section, I tried to identify who I am and what my goals are. I specifically identified susceptibility to addiction as part of my identity and also identified other strengths and weaknesses that comprised my identity. I identified my goals for recovery, both short term (such as identifying specific things to accomplish in my first 6 weeks and first 6 months) and long term (acceptance of the fact that I will never drink again and, of course, never drinking again).

III. Treatment Plan

A. Personal Values – In this section, I identified the values that are the most important to me. The intent of this section is to recognize and memorialize the fact that my highest personal values are inconsistent with alcohol abuse and can best be maintained through abstinence.

B. Personal Affirmations – These are 4-8 affirmations that I read every day in early recovery. They were changed every few weeks in early recovery. Examples: “I am happy because I am sober;” “Because I am sober, my energy is positive and it is entirely focused on my true values.”

C. The Four Agreements – My recovery plan included reading this book and studying the Four Agreements. Others might skip this section or include passages from some other literature that they felt was particularly compelling.

D. What Are My Most Likely Causes of a Relapse – In this section, I articulated and described the most likely causes of relapse that would apply to me. They included: Complacency, Stress, Exhaustion, Dishonesty, Lack of Physical Exercise, Too Much Time in “Danger Zones”, Big successes or big failures, and the “Voice” or AV.

E. How to Handle Social Events With Alcohol – In this section, I articulated specific steps that I would take when attending any event where alcohol was served. The memorialization of this served to be very helpful because, while it might seem simple (just avoid drinking dummy) there are specific actions you can take before you attend these events that will improve your chances of success. These include: (1) Choice: choose carefully whether to attend and, for some period of time, only attend if there are specifically identifiable benefits; (2) Reminder: Before attending, take time to explicitly remind myself of the importance of abstinence; the importance of sobriety must be at the forefront of my mind when placing myself at such an event in early recovery; (3) Awareness of Past Pleasure Senses: Be very wary of potential pleasurable thoughts from past activities; If I am at an event that evokes pleasant memories of drinking, I need to leave; (4) Escape Plan: Develop and articulate a plan to depart the event immediately if there is any temptation to drink, no matter how small; (5) Assistance: If someone is with me at the function that is aware of my history, ask them to periodically check on me; (6) Backup Emergency: Have a safe word that I can text to someone to help me with whatever situation arises.

F. How to Handle Multi-Day Family Events – This was a section that applied mostly to me; Others should consider whether there are specific events in their lives that are likely to lead to relapse and, if so, add a section to the plan that explicitly discusses measures to be taken to maintain sobriety. Such a plan should always include an “escape” and a recognition that simply standing up and walking out of the most important function is a better solution than drinking.

G. Who is My Support Network – This section identifies the people that comprise my support network.

H. Meetings & Telephone Conferences – This section identified, with specificity, meetings or phone conferences that I would participate in and how often I would participate.

I. Awareness of PAWS – This section described the PAWS’ symptoms in some detail. It also reminded me to make my significant other aware of the symptoms so that she would not mistake them for a relapse.

J. Understanding of How Addiction Disease Works – I included a section that described my understanding of the science behind addiction. I found it helpful to periodically read this because I could better understand addiction as a disease that I was treating, rather than some sort of moral failing.

K. Physical Health – I included specific and detailed requirements for physical exercise, short terms goals, and long term goals. After some 16 months, I continue to believe that exercise is the single most important factor in my sobriety.

L. Spirituality – I described my own spirituality and the role that it would play in recovery, including goals and requirements.

M. Ongoing Support for Significant Other – In this section, I recognized that my SO needed support due to my addiction and articulated how I would support her. Importantly, it recognized that she had to make decisions on her own recovery and my role was mostly one of support and understanding.

N. Journaling – I described specific requirements related to journaling during the first several months of recovery.

O. Domestication Issues – This section described how domestication issues played a role in my addiction and included my goals for addressing those issues.

P. Memories to Learn From – I specifically memorialized some of my worst experiences with alcohol, to serve as reminder of the importance of my sobriety.

Q. Quotes, Poems & Phrases – I collected various quotes, poems and phrases that I found to be particularly inspirational during my recovery.

R. Joy – This section was a happy section, where I reminded myself to take great pride in my recovery and reminded myself to celebrate my sobriety.

wow. Awesome :c014:

Thanks for sharing that soberandhonest. I hope it will not only help you but help others too :)

D