Coping skill · 5 min
Play the tape forward
Your brain is selling you on "just this once."
Do this
- Picture the first hour after you use. Be honest, it might feel good.
- Now picture tonight. Then tomorrow morning.
- Picture who finds out, and what you have to tell them.
- Picture day three.
- Now picture tomorrow morning if you don't. Pick the morning you want.
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.