The 12 step groups have wonderful acronyms and short sayings to help you along in your recovery. You may be aware of the important HALT acronym but I get this question a lot in from clients so I felt I would explain it for folks who are not involved in 12 step groups as it is very helpful to your recovery.
The H.A.L.T. acronym is especially important to any successful recovery from substance abuse or any mental health disorder like anxiety, depression or eating disorders. It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired.
The premise is if you are any of these states you are increasing your risk of relapse or coping with these states in an unhealthy way. The remedy to strengthen your recovery is not to be in these states.
Let’s break these down
any problems in your recovery
Hungry
Ever been so busy running around & slipped with nourishing your body with healthy foods? Yes, we all have, and it is hard to cope with stress when we have not been adding the right type of “fuel” to our machine. A major part of recovery has to do with the brain, so it is especially important to eat healthy foods on a regular basis.
Tip: Focus on eating regularly throughout the day and mostly healthy foods. Make sure you are drinking enough water.
Angry
We all get angry from time to time. However, many times people respond in anger quickly and do not stop and think when they experience it. This can increase the risk of relapse. You ask how?
Let’s look at this scenario. You get angry with your boss, get home from work and say “What a day! I need a drink”. Yep, it can happen that easily.
Tip: Stop and think when you become angry. Lots of times anger is due to something else. By stopping and thinking you can identify what is the underlying thing that is really making you mad. The example above could be that the person doesn’t like their job because they are not being treated with respect or it isn’t what they really want to be doing.
Lonely
Loneliness is a feeling that is not fun. Lots of time when people enter recovery, they feel lonely. All their “friends” are typically unhealthy. There is a lack of boundaries and once a person starts setting boundaries, they lose those connections.
People don’t like to be alone but can learn that’s it is healthy sometimes to be by yourself. You can work on you during those down times.
Tip: Embrace the alone time and focus on self care. Focus on learning more about yourself and how to make healthy supportive friendships.
Tired
When people are struggling in their recovery from drugs and alcohol or with other issues, they typically are not sleeping well. Insomnia can be an issue. When you become over tired, it is really hard to cope with stress in a healthy way.
Tip: Examine your sleep routine. Try some yoga or meditation before bedtime. Listen to a guided meditation to help you fall asleep.
If you find that you are struggling in your recovery and need some help creating a plan to get it back on track and avoid the states of HALT, click the link now to book your free 15 min recovery strategy call.
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