Which situations, times, places, people or feelings increase your desire to use substances?
Are there particular situations when you use drugs more than you mean to or when you use when you don’t mean to?
These are your high-risk situations
If you can identify your high-risk situations it will help you to understand your substance use and risks. It can help you plan to respond to high-risk situations and set guidelines that can help you.
Think about the following. Are your high-risk situations:
• in particular places? (e.g., at home, a friend’s place, a club, etc.)
• around certain people? (e.g., your partner, particular friends, etc.)
• at particular times? (e.g., after dinner, on weekends, etc.)
Are your high-risk situations tied to certain thoughts and feelings?
For example, when you:
• think you can’t cope?
• feel depressed, angry, guilty, stressed or worried?
• feel like celebrating?
Think of the last few times your substance use got you into trouble….and when it didn’t. What’s the difference between these occasions? Look at the Substance Use Diary on the How to track your use sheet. Was there a situation when you used more than you meant to, or used when you didn’t mean to or when you tended to have more negative things happen?
Example
John identified two high-risk situations
A: I use cannabis to relax when I get home from work.
B: I feel pressured to use more than I want to at parties with my mates.
Now it’s your turn. Can you identify your high-risk situations?
Click the worksheet below to fill them in.
Now that you have identified your high-risk situations, the next step is to learn how to handle them