One thing that I struggled with in early recovery was triggers and utilizing coping strategies.
I had no idea how I was going to stay sober, but I knew I did not want to go back to the way I was living. So the one question I kept asking those who held significant time in recovery was, How?
How do you remain sober?
How do you deal with hard days?
How do you feel your feelings?
How do you know you need help?
How do you ask for it?
The answers I received were great and very helpful.
So my question for you is:
How do you utilize your coping skills when a trigger comes along?
Reflecting on some scary moments I experienced in my journey thus far, 2x times I remember I just flat out left the situation without saying anything. No good byes or anything just left! Once when all my cousins were sharing weed strains with eachother I just walked out, the other my cousin and uncle started doing drugs in the van and I just opened the door and started walking down the road without saying anything. I knew if I stayed in those situations I was most likely going to use. Just ghost mode…
Setting boundaries was probably the toughest thing for me to get. It took a while to understand that my values in active addiction and recovery ddn’t align. Yes, setting those boundaries and sticking to them are definitely a must in recovery.
What I struggled with was practicing coping skills on a daily basis. I had the tools but it took me a while to have success with them. So I would say practice coping skills as much as you can. Also staying strong in your mind set about not using. I found it so easy to just say “I will start recovery tomorrow”. Well that went on for years and didn’t change until my mindset did.