Short-term strategies for preventing substance misuse
When it comes to substance misuse, the journey to wellbeing can be complex. It can involve a lot of different steps and approaches. What counts is making the decision to change, and the courage to keep going.
The first step is recognising that your relationship with substances is having a negative impact on your life or those around you.
This can feel challenging and you might feel conflicted – because the reality is the substance has been helping you in some way. It’s important to acknowledge that.
However, deciding to reduce or stop your use comes from recognising the downsides or disadvantages are more important to you than the benefits of using the substance.
Below are some ‘next steps’ you can take, once you’ve decided to reduce or stop your use.
- Understand your triggers
Particular events, situations, memories or feelings can often cause us to reach for substances. Identifying these triggers can be very powerful, because when we understand our triggers, we can identify better ways to deal with them when they appear.
Triggers can include things like:
- The substance itself - simply seeing the alcohol or drug can trigger use
- Stress – whether it’s from work, school or everyday life including major life changes, or financial stress
- Locations – such as a bar, a friend’s house, or work
- Feelings – like loneliness, boredom, fear, shame, insecurity or even tiredness
- People – a friend, co-worker, neighbour, family member or spouse
- Times or dates – certain times of the day, year or specific dates can be triggering for some people, especially if they’re associated with a traumatic event or memory.
Identifying triggers can be difficult if you’re in the midst of the emotion or situation that is triggering. It can be helpful to try and understand your triggers when you are in a clear and calm headspace.
You might like to use a notebook or similar to write down what some of your triggers are.
- Create an action plan for managing triggers
Sometimes it’s possible to avoid or remove the triggers in our life. However, some can’t be avoided, which is why it can be helpful to have a list of things you can do when you feel triggered.
You can try:
- Removing yourself from the situation where possible
- Reaching out to a trusted friend or support person
- Doing a self-care activity like exercising or listening to music
- Journaling your thoughts and feeling
- A grounding technique like box breathing. Watch the video below to try it now.
- Make it easier to stop or avoid use
If you’ve identified particular triggers that make it hard to avoid using substances, you might want to consider making changes to avoid these triggers where possible.
The changes will be different for everyone but might include:
- Getting rid of the substance so you don’t see it around, and can’t access it as easily
- Avoiding friends or people who will encourage your substance use
- Avoiding places like bars or parties where other people use substances
- Organising to see friends or family on triggering dates.
Some substances can create physical and psychological dependence after regular use that will lead to withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking them.
It’s important to consult with a doctor before stopping use of some substances including heavy alcohol consumption, opiates, antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
Remember, these are just a few small steps you can take to avoid using substances the next time you want to. Keep reading for long term strategies that work to stop or minimise your use.
