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Welcome to another edition of Addiction Radio! This episode of Addiction Radio we’re specifically talking about taking inventory of your life. This isn’t about working in retail but instead is around understanding what changes you need to make now to your life.

Taking inventory helps you to understand the impact of your addiction from a few different angles:

Taking Inventory of your finances

Your financial life has likely taken a bit of a hit during your addiction. For one reason or another, you prioritized addictive behaviors over things like paying bills on time, saving money or even investing.

The problem with this is that you now likely must deal with those repercussions.

If you haven’t been paying your bills on time for instance, you might have to be playing catch up for a while financially speaking.

Taking Inventory of your time

Addiction is a HUGE time sucker.

It sucks the time out of your day for so many reasons. Think about all the time you’ve invested in your addiction.

From the process of partaking in your addiction all the way through to those nasty hangovers the next day, these behaviors take a massive bite out of your life.

Now that you’ve stopped your addiction (or are actively working to stop it) you need to start making some smart decisions about what you’re going to be filling that time with.

Taking Inventory of your emotional life

When you take inventory of your emotional life, you are probably going to run into some uncomfortable feelings. You can think of your own mental health and the people in your life to frame your emotions.

This process of taking inventory in these three areas of your life though isn’t just limited to understanding what you were previously dealing with.

In fact, this episode of addiction radio is specifically about you learning about what to do next with your life in these areas and more.

Take money for instance.

It’s a misconception to think you are going to suddenly have a ton more money in your life just because are you aren’t spending it on booze.

Unfortunately this just isn’t true.

You are going to have to catch up on bills, payback friends/families and generally start investing in a healthier lifestyle choice.

We provide the tools you need to really make some positive impact and change in your post-recovery life.

There is a lot to cover in this episode so jump right in and let us know what you think!

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We’re excited to kick off another episode of Addiction Radio! This episode we’re diving deep into the topic of managing triggers.

Managing triggers can seem like a never ending battle because people can often be triggered in recovery by almost anything. While this is true, it is possible to make sure that you are prepared in the event a trigger happens.

You can’t avoid them all.

Just learning how to manage triggers can prove to be something that helps you avoid relapse completely and that’s why we created this latest podcast episode.

What is a trigger anyway?

Triggers are those things which cause you to have feelings which can lead to you partake again in your addiction. These triggers can be known or sometimes they can be unknown- that’s the rub!

Here’s a little breakdown of what we cover in this episode:

How managing triggers can prevent a relapse

For many people, relapse is something that they have been told is inevitable. Or, that relapse is something they should get used to dealing with. We say that’s complete crap. In fact, if you go in with this mindset, you might be setting yourself up to fail right from the start.

H.A.L.T

H.A.L.T (Hungry Angry Lonely Tired) is a neat little acronym that will help you to recognize some of the more common feelings that are associated with relapse. When you recognize these feelings you can then take action to make sure you aren’t risking your sobriety.

Writing a letter to yourself

Writing a letter to yourself provides some interesting introspection for most people and involves an exercise that can help you manage triggers in the moment. The letter you end up writing will provide some much needed clarity when you need it most.

People, Places and Things

Unfortunately there just isn’t getting around the fact that there are so many things which can be a trigger and threat to you recovery. It is critical that you know what those things are, at least as much as possible, and that you have a plan to battle them.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Addiction Radio and that you like, rate or subscribe to future episodes.

Got an idea or topic you want to see us talk about? Get in contact with us and let us know. We’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts so make sure you let us know!

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You need to set a quit date.

If you have any hope of successfully overcoming your addiction, your quit date is incredibly important. We thought it was the right time to talk about why it’s so important, how to do it and what you need to be thinking about in the process.

Our latest episode of Addiction Radio talks through setting a quite date. Here’s some of the key points:

Why Setting a Quit Date is Important

Setting a quit date is important because it shows that you are thinking critically and strategically about how you want to proceed in the recovery process.

When you don’t have plan or you just wing things then your chances for success greatly diminish.

By setting a date, you can take the time leading up to that date to properly prepare. There are many things to prepare for and to think about.

The date that you set will be a date that you will remember forever, this will be your anniversary date – sort of like getting married.

You commit to something different, commit to a new beginning and you will celebrate this every year for the rest of your life.

What to Think About When Setting a Quit Date

First, your quit date depends entirely on your physical dependence.

If your detox and withdrawal won’t be as bad you might be able to push through certain things. However, if you’re going to have a detox or withdrawal that puts you out for days it’s important to take that time and not try to push yourself through any situation really.

If you are detoxing from alcohol or barbiturates you’ll need to have a medically monitored detox and sometimes you don’t get a choice in that date – it might be chosen for you.

If you are detoxing from alcohol or barbiturates it might also be an option to taper down so your official quit date won’t be until you are safe to completely be off those substances. If you are detoxing from alcohol or barbiturates and you have a physical dependence please talk to your doctor.

If you are a binge drinker on the other hand and your body is used to going days without drinking alcohol, you can set your quit date but please be cautious and if you start to feel any sort of physical withdrawals, contact your doctor ASAP.

Things to Consider About Your Quit Date

When you’re looking at your calendar, think about important events that might be coming up.

Are you wanting to quit and have a good amount of sober time before that event?

Or if the event is in the near future you may want to think about waiting until it’s over.

Maybe it’s a family birthday or reunion, maybe you have a big project at work or school, a wedding,

Whatever it is, just don’t schedule your quit date on those dates or just right before because you don’t want to be withdrawing or going through detox during that time.

If those events are far out, try and set your quit date sooner than later – because you really don’t want to drag this out any longer than you have to.

What to do Before Your Quit Date

What do you do between now and your quit date?

For starters, think about who you can tell.

Think carefully about because you want to tell people who are supportive of you but also people who you know you don’t want to let down. The more you hype it up the better your chances. Don’t be cautious but rather confident and proud.

Don’t’ be afraid to ask for help.

Depending on who knows about your addiction, reach out – ask for a babysitter, ask for time off work, ask for someone to come check on you during this time. If you think you can’t do it alone, ask for company.

You’ll also want to get rid of things that will trigger you. Are there things around your house?

Have a plan on how you’re going to get rid of drugs or alcohol by your quit date – will you pour the alcohol down the drain? Flush the drugs, etc?

Stock up on healthy foods and snacks. The last thing you’ll want to do is go to the store and buy things while you’re withdrawing.

Stock up on entertainment – keep yourself busy with movies, books, and so on.

Ask someone to hold onto your money for a few days starting on your quit date. As the first few days are rough, eliminate anything that might cause you to want to relapse.

There’s lots of things to consider, plan and work on when setting a quit date that will be effective for you.

Listen to the podcast and let us know your thoughts and feelings on the subject!