The pause.
The pause has been a hot topic (and useful tool) in the recovery coaching world lately for us. Utilizing the pause is a critical way to assess the why behind your drinking or using. Think about it for a minute - no really - pause and think! The pause actually retrains your brain to assess what the thought actually means - whether the thought is an impulse, a need/want, anger driven, celebratory, out of boredom, etc.
If you are questioning the role of drinking or drugs in your life (or any other addictive behaviors - dooms scrolling, eating habits, gambling, over spending, etc.), this simple, not necessarily easy, tool might help.
Let’s try it on! We will use alcohol consumption for the example. Next time you you reach for a drink, hit the pause button and ask the following:
Why do I want this?
What emotion is attached to that why?
Can I opt for a different (healthy, safer, more productive) option?
Take note of answers, then simply see if you decide to have the drink or not. Next time it happens, hit pause and do it all over again. You will begin to recognize patterns in your habits - do you always drink when you are angry? Do you only drink with good news? Are you more likely to drink in an isolated environment? You get the picture.
By adding a simple pause before the action takes places it reminds us that we have control and we get to decide the outcome. This is by no means easy to do and takes practice and discipline to seek a change. This is a great place for some work with a coach!
We encourage you to pause (maybe do a burpee), reflect on any addictive patterns, and see how you can control ultimately the outcome - continue to ask yourself what kind of relationship you want to have with alcohol.