Imagine you are a reporter covering a big story. To report that story fully and accurately, you are going to have to get the answers to a bunch of questions. And while the specifics of those questions will vary from story to story, in the end, they all boil down to six general questions.
These questions are often referred to as the “Five Ws and an H.” In their full form, the questions are:
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
- How?
To understand an event or a controversy or what have you, you need to be able to answer each of those six questions. What is true for a good reporter is also true for a person in recovery from a substance use disorder who is seeking to identify—and then to avoid—triggers that might cause a craving for drugs or alcohol.
Let’s take a look at each of those questions and how they relate to triggers in recovery.
Who Do You Associate With Your Substance Use?
While the people who were in your life while you were using drugs or alcohol might have seemed like friends, in recovery, you will want to steer clear of them. It might seem obvious who those people are—the person or people who provided you with drugs, the folks you partied with, or even someone you ran into regularly at a bar or club.
But there might be some less obvious people to consider, too. Who are the people who always seemed to be criticizing you? Who did you frequently argue with? Who do you associate with the feelings that might have sparked your use of substances? Don’t forget, some of those people might be individuals you only know online.
You will likely be better off and more likely to maintain your recovery if you limit—and in some cases wholly eliminate—the time you spend with the people on the list you have created.
What Do You Associate With Your Substance Use?
Are there, say, particular clothes you associate with your substance use? What about objects of one kind or another that you used to facilitate drug use? What media—CDs, DVDs, online content—do you connect to your substance use? You will likely want to get rid of various things that you connect with the behaviors you are now working hard to avoid.
When Do You Associate With Your Substance Use?
Was there a particular time (or times) that you tended to use drugs or alcohol? It might be a good idea to build activities into your schedule at those times so that you do not find yourself ruminating on what you used to do during these particular moments. You could, for example, reserve those tricky times for exercise or a hobby, or as a time to reach out to supportive friends or family.
Where Do You Associate With Your Substance Use?
A bar. A house in the neighborhood. Your office when no one was around. Your car. There are many places you might have been in the habit of using drugs or alcohol. Some of them—like a bar or a house—you can likely avoid going forward. Others—like your office or your car, or your home—are likely going to remain part of your life. In those cases, you will want to reframe them as best you can. A little redecoration, for example, can help keep your thoughts from drifting back toward drugs or alcohol.
Why Were You Using Drugs or Alcohol?
This might be the hardest of the questions—and it is possible that you will not be able to come to a definitive answer. Lots of experiences throughout your life may have led to your development of a substance use disorder. Still, it can be helpful to consider your “why” and then remind yourself of your new “why”: You are building your lasting recovery so that you can build a better life for yourself.
The “why” question is often best addressed with the help of a mental health professional. In fact, all of these questions might come up in therapy, which often plays an essential role in helping an individual keep their recovery intact over time.
How Were You Using Drugs or Alcohol?
What were the habits that allowed you to use drugs or alcohol? Maybe you developed a series of lies or distractions that let you use substances for a while without anyone really catching on. You do not want to rebuild that system. Instead, ask people you trust to hold you accountable and commit to telling them the truth when you are struggling.
Questioning How to Overcome Substance Use? We Can Help!
At French Creek Recovery Center, located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, we help individuals put substance use behind them. We create personalized, evidence-based treatment plans that address your substance use disorder as well as any co-occurring mental health disorders that may be in play. You can rely on our expertise, experience, and empathy as we work with you to take back control of your life from drugs or alcohol.