Addiction recovery is a complex journey that requires a conscious daily commitment to long-term recovery. If you are in recovery, learning to manage your triggers can greatly increase your chances for long-term recovery.

What is a trigger?

A trigger is an activity, event, place, person or emotional state that triggers one’s desire to enact in a particular behavior. We all have triggers in life that can lead to self-destructive behavior. But for an addict in recovery, triggers can signal a dangerous road to relapse. Triggers encourage the desire to use drugs and/or alcohol and decrease the individual’s ability to exercise willpower in certain situations. Identifying these triggers and re-associating them with healthy replacement behaviors is essential for long-term recovery.