Coping skill · 5 min
Lower-tolerance safety
You have had a break from opioids, by choice or not.
Do this
- Know this: after even a few days off, your tolerance drops fast.
- Carry naloxone (Narcan). Most pharmacies sell it without a prescription.
- Never use alone. Tell someone, or call a never-use-alone line.
- Ask a provider about medication for opioid use disorder. It cuts overdose risk.
- Tell the people around you where the naloxone is.
Why it works
Strong feelings and urges rise, peak and fall, usually within minutes. A skill gives your body something to do while the wave passes, and each time you ride one out, the next one gets a little easier.