Triggers and Signs

If you are in recovery you have heard about triggers – they aren’t just things that get you to drink or use, they are things that get you to even consider drinking or using.

I remember being in rehab and a counselor told me not just about triggers, but about signs that I should watch out for – she thought based on working with me for a few weeks that one sign that I’m getting into troubled waters would be if I stopped caring about how I looked.  Now we’re not talking about super vanity here – but the basics: putting on a modest amount of makeup, making my hair look like something other than a nesting place for wild hawks, and dressing in something other than stretchy pants and worn tees.

I kept that in mind over the years – and there have been periods in my life when that knowledge came in handy.  When I noticed I was going to get my morning coffee with wet hair and saggy gym pants I asked myself: why don’t you care that you look a mess?

Usually there was something going on, something I was a little depressed about or worried about, but I wasn’t dealing with it head on: I was reverting to old I-don’t-care-I-hate-my-life behaviors.

I’ve always appreciated that therapist who gave me this touchstone so to speak – it’s been invaluable over the last 20 some years, an early warning system so to speak, that allows me to take a hard look at myself.

Have you looked at what your triggers and signs are so you won’t be caught off guard?