Thread: Cravings
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Old Mar 25, 2015, 07:51 AM
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Compassionate1 Compassionate1 is offline
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Member Since: Mar 2015
Location: Toronto
Posts: 7
I agree with goalmaster. As recovered addict myself I can say that during my first few years of sobriety if ever life got tough or stressful, or if ever I had felt hurt or overwhelmed, my immediate impulse would almost instinctively be to reach for my DOC in an effort to escape those emotional difficulties.

If you find that you are experiencing the urge to use after so many years of sobriety you may be at a point where you need to learn some new coping strategies and/or life skills that can help you manage difficult feelings and/or situations in a healthier way, and if you are able to see a therapist, that's a great place to start; but if that is something which is unavailable to you a self help approach may be something you're interested in trying instead.

The Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills Workbook would be a great place to focus if you were looking towards more of a self help approach (IMO) because it deals directly with identifying those "problem emotions" which trigger the need for destructive behaviour, such as drug use, and it teaches the reader how to evaluate their emotions and appropriate them without falling into destructive cycles.
Because DBT was developed primarily as treatment for the borderline condition, you may find that some of the material and/or activities within the book don't apply to you directly, or in such great proportion; however the benefit of such book for those who have made through the first few years of sobriety is in developing the skills of self regulation and emotional management which is often times the breaking point for many recovered addicts- leading to relapse.

Hope this helps
- C1
Thanks for this!
ladisputelover