Relapse Triggers

When people stop using alcohol and drugs they are given a second chance on life. Some embrace this new life and never look back. Others find living without alcohol and drugs to be a struggle every day.
Regardless of your experience, we are all susceptible to triggers which can cause us to relapse. Recognizing and managing these triggers is important to maintaining our sobriety.

So what are triggers? A “trigger” of addiction involves any high-risk situation or stressor that “cues” a thought, feeling, or action to use alcohol or drugs. There are two types of triggers: internal, which occur within us, and external which occurs outside of us.

On this episode we explored common triggers and discuss ways to counteract these unhealthy reactions and develop an action plan to keep ourselves safe and sober. Listen below or follow the tab at the top of the page to subscribe to our podcast.
 

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Shame Does Not Define Us - Tools, Tips & Advice for Working Through Shame

All alcoholics and addicts feel shame. It’s impossible to avoid, and while shame is painful and can keep many of us stuck in the throes of addiction, there is hope.  We do not have to be defined by our shame, and indeed learning tools to cope with shame and learn and grow as people is an integral part of recovery.

To begin with, though, it’s important to define shame.  One way to do this is to clarify the difference between shame and guilt.  Guilt is feeling badly about something we’ve done, and shame is feeling badly about who we are.   Guilt is based on actions, and shame is built on feelings.  Another way to put it is this:   When we feel guilty we feel we made a mistake.  When we feel shame we feel we are a mistake.

In this show, we talked about building tools to identify shame, build awareness of it, talk about the importance of reaching out to reduce the power shame holds over you, and discuss the power of story and voice in reducing and even eliminating the hold shame has in your life.

Listen to the show below:

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Sober Fun - "We Are Not a Glum Lot!"

A common fear of getting sober is that we won't ever have fun again. Our memories of celebrations, nights out, socializing with friends typically include alcohol, so we can't imagine what we will do without it. Will our friends still want to hang out with us? Will we still laugh? What on earth will we DO now that we don't drink? Join us for a discussion that will quell those fears! Sober life opens the door to a life of fun and laughter that we never contemplated. As a famous recovery saying goes, "we are not a glum lot"! Come have some Sober Fun with us!

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Holiday Survival Guide for People in Recovery

The months of December through January are a hectic time of year that are chock full of stress, expectation and temptation. It can be a particularly challenging time of year for people in recovery, especially early recovery, as we can feel vulnerable and be blindsided by triggers and cravings. Even people with long term sobriety can find themselves susceptible to the pressures of this busy time of year.  It is a time for us to prioritize self-care so we don't become complacent.  Preparedness is the KEY to surviving the holidays with our sobriety (and our sanity) intact!

On this episode of The Bubble Hour, we discussed the difference in strategies required depending on one’s stage of recovery.

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