Psst...wanna know why I'm always recommending recovery plans?
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
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Psst...wanna know why I'm always recommending recovery plans?
Cos otherwise, sometime sooner or later, you're going to be blindsided by an event, a person, a feeling, a situation or a stressor...and the urge to drink or use will be there.
If you haven't given much thought to what you might do in response, there's always the danger you'll revert to the default - which, for people like us, is drink/use.
Make a plan
It may take a little time and some deep thought, but it's really not that difficult
Here are some helpful free links and ideas
http://www.npaihb.org/wp-content/upl...r-recovery.pdf
[MIRROR] https://web.archive.org/web/20180728...0/SMA-3720.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20150927...SMA12-4474.pdf
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-recovery.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html
D
If you haven't given much thought to what you might do in response, there's always the danger you'll revert to the default - which, for people like us, is drink/use.
Make a plan
It may take a little time and some deep thought, but it's really not that difficult
Here are some helpful free links and ideas
http://www.npaihb.org/wp-content/upl...r-recovery.pdf
[MIRROR] https://web.archive.org/web/20180728...0/SMA-3720.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20150927...SMA12-4474.pdf
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-recovery.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html
D
Last edited by Dee74; 07-17-2020 at 08:59 PM. Reason: update 18th July 2020
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Mare Crisium
Posts: 1,930
You speak the truth, Dee.
I remember my AV trying to discourage me,
every time I heard "what will you do differently?"
or "do you have a plan, this time?"
After a roller coaster 2015 of several binges
and a maximum of only 90 consecutive days of sobriety,
I finally know what I have to do.
It only took 5000 times, but now I've got it.
I remember my AV trying to discourage me,
every time I heard "what will you do differently?"
or "do you have a plan, this time?"
After a roller coaster 2015 of several binges
and a maximum of only 90 consecutive days of sobriety,
I finally know what I have to do.
It only took 5000 times, but now I've got it.
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
Bullseye
Strange as it seems now, for many years I would try to quit by not drinking and then hoping I would not feel like drinking again.
Well, golly - I was addicted to alcohol. OF COURSE I would feel like drinking again. When that feeling came I would react to it by hoping it would go away. When it didn't in a few hours or days, I was back to drinking.
Hope: it's a great thing, but it isn't a PLAN.
The next time I feel like drinking I will _________________ instead.
Fill in the blank. That's the simplest short-term plan I know. It works if you use it.
Strange as it seems now, for many years I would try to quit by not drinking and then hoping I would not feel like drinking again.
Well, golly - I was addicted to alcohol. OF COURSE I would feel like drinking again. When that feeling came I would react to it by hoping it would go away. When it didn't in a few hours or days, I was back to drinking.
Hope: it's a great thing, but it isn't a PLAN.
The next time I feel like drinking I will _________________ instead.
Fill in the blank. That's the simplest short-term plan I know. It works if you use it.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
I've found that making these recovery plans does not only help with staying sober but many of the same strategies can be applied to a great variety of challenging situations and problem areas in my life. Different kinds of obsessions for sure, but basically anything that requires self restraint and overcoming obstacles imposed by internal current. It's also an interesting way to learn about ourselves when we tinker with the methods, what works, what's less effective. Great form of personalized treatment.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Canada
Posts: 7,837
Originally Posted by lunar 
You speak the truth, Dee.
I remember my AV trying to discourage me,
every time I heard "what will you do differently?"
or "do you have a plan, this time?"
After a roller coaster 2015 of several binges
and a maximum of only 90 consecutive days of sobriety,
I finally know what I have to do.
It only took 5000 times, but now I've got it.
I remember my AV trying to discourage me,
every time I heard "what will you do differently?"
or "do you have a plan, this time?"
After a roller coaster 2015 of several binges
and a maximum of only 90 consecutive days of sobriety,
I finally know what I have to do.
It only took 5000 times, but now I've got it.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
To add, the thoughts are going to come. You are going to want to drink in early sobriety. The Plan isn't to make those thoughts go away - it's to recognize that a thought is just a thought and has no power over your actions. The more times you execute a Plan and just don't drink at those times, the less frequently the thoughts to drink appear.
The first six months are the hardest. Protect yourself and your sobriety like it is a newborn baby - because it is! It's delicate. If you drop it, you may kill it.
The first six months are the hardest. Protect yourself and your sobriety like it is a newborn baby - because it is! It's delicate. If you drop it, you may kill it.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: deepest england
Posts: 1,119
Originally Posted by miamifella
That first link especially is great.
If I had gotten to read something like that 15 years ago when I got out of rehab, it would have helped so much!
I will be passing it on.
If I had gotten to read something like that 15 years ago when I got out of rehab, it would have helped so much!
I will be passing it on.
Thanks dee I am going to do this!
Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 376
This!!! As with pretty much anything - having a plan in place will exponentially increase your chance of success and keep you accountable.
Plans give you a framework to work with - more than likely you will need to adjust/tweak your plan as you go through your journey to sobriety. That is perfectly fine.
Plans give you a framework to work with - more than likely you will need to adjust/tweak your plan as you go through your journey to sobriety. That is perfectly fine.
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