Self-Care

Surroundings

Physical (external) and emotional (internal) surroundings are influential factors that may aid or hinder recovery from SUDs.  Bringing awareness to one’s physical and emotional surroundings, identifying, and then reducing or eliminating external and internal individual risk factors for relapse (triggers) are critical for relapse prevention and recovery. Addictive substances act as powerful behavior reinforcers, especially when they become associated with a variety of internal and external stimuli (triggers),¹ which, in turn, can trigger a craving or urge to use the substance or re-engagement in problematic behaviors during recovery.

Safe, comfortable and healthy surroundings that facilitate the ability to relax and enjoy positive activities are important assets to one’s recovery.  A supportive environment provides the necessary foundation an individual needs while experiencing triggers and learning how to cope with them without reaching for a substance.  External or environmental triggers or cues can draw a person back to substance use or other unhealthy behaviors (e.g., gambling).  It is important for the patient to identify his or her individual triggers at home, work, socially, and in other environments, and strive to avoid or remove them so that the risk of relapse is decreased.  For example, certain places (e.g., bar, casino), objects (e.g., bottle of alcohol, pills in the medicine cabinet, drug paraphernalia), or people associated with prior substance use can be strong triggers to use, especially early in recovery.  Some environmental triggers may not be easy to remove, such as billboards advertising alcohol, the presence of a bar down the street, or a previous drug dealer continuing to call. In such cases, patients can minimize “exposure” by avoiding these areas, blocking unwanted phone numbers, learning effective coping skills, and reaching out to recovery-supportive others for support.  It is important for patients to consider how they have responded to external triggers that serve as cues for substance use: “Are there ‘negative’ or ‘unhealthy’ or ‘unhelpful’ things in my physical environment that I’m sensitive to (noise, clutter, lighting, smells, conflict, certain people)?”  “What can I change and what can’t I change?”  “How will I deal with the things I cannot change?”