So far, you’ve written out your substance use balance sheets, your goal and your substance use guidelines.
You’ve also looked at your high risk situations and ways to handle them. Now you need to stick with it.
These tips will help you.
1. Remind yourself of your reasons for wanting to cut down on your substance use. Check your balance sheet to remind yourself why you wanted to make changes.
2. Make sure you are getting pleasure in your life from other things – hobbies, family, friends, exercise – giving up drug use involves not just stopping – it means finding other things you enjoy and working at getting them.
3. Regularly check your substance use diary. See how much you are using now compared with before.
4. Read and re-read your targets – especially on substance use days.
5. Distraction: keep yourself occupied – eg., exercise, housework, reading, movies, playing games, yoga, tai chi, enrol in a course, gardening, volunteering etc.
6. Every time you resist an old habit you come a step closer to overcoming it. If you feel a very strong urge to use, get busy with something else, quickly. The feeling will pass.
7. Aim to talk to your supporter every week. Tell them how you are going. Talk about the good things as well as the not so good things.
8. Don’t give up just because you’ve had a bad day. Be kind to yourself. Think “I’ll do it differently next time”. Remember the problem solving approach (Link to ‘how to handle high-risk situations’)
9. Give yourself a pat on the back and reward yourself with something you enjoy. This could be reading a book or magazine, going for a walk in your favourite spot, having a bath, listening to music, going out with friends, having a nice meal. Reward yourself often instead of saving up and bingeing on one big reward.
10. Occasionally remind yourself why you stopped and review what you have gained.
11. Be kind to yourself even when you think you haven’t done very well. Tell yourself that change doesn’t happen overnight and be patient. Each small step in the right direction takes you towards your goal.
Now that you have learned tips on how to stick to your targets, here are some related sheets that you might also find useful:
How to stop using
How to be assertive
How to identify high-risk situations
How to prepare for and respond to a slip
How to manage a slip