as discussed in item:3

H.A.L.T.

Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired

Best to avoid these extremes, as our vulnerability is highest and the 
temptation to abuse a substance is greatest.

Triggers are any stimulus that provokes feelings of pain, especially 
pain that encourage us to self-medicate as described above.  Pardon 
the use of "self-medicate" here-- as someone who manages bipolar, I've 
heard it mentioned in the mental health care profession.  Its context 
is used for patients with mental disorders that abuse substances in a 
conscious or subconscious attempt to regulate them.  "Drowning your 
sorrows" is an old cliche phrase that alcoholics will probably 
recognize.

Such triggers may be tonal anchors, which are usually music, which 
will evoke painful memories.  Many triggers may be connected to 
sights, smells, and tactile sensations associated with the addiction.  
For example, porn, old cruising haunts, body smells (soap, perfume, 
etc.) may provoke bestial urges in me to sexually feed.  Parental 
pressure and disapproval are also big ones for me.

Understanding both concepts, I think, is a good step in establishing 
boundaries and gauging where the downward spiral begins.

13 responses total.

HALT is not only a slogan for abusers:  it is my checklist when I'm losing
my veneer of civilized behavior.  It can lead to yelling at my kids instead
of talking with them, it lets my mouth start streaming words when my brain
knows I'm ging o be sorry in the morning, and it, in general is a good
checklist when I find myself behaving like someone I don't want to be.  

If I feel cranky about something or at someone, HALT keeps me sane, because
I take care of _my_ needs before trying to fix the rest of the world.  

Well, yes, but aren't even the cases you mentioned mild instances?

Applying theory and techniques of recovery therapy will apply to other 
problems, too.

I am in AlAnon, not AA.  I've been lucky enough not to use alcohol or drugs
or food, etc to "self-medicate".  But HALT is a good checklist when I feel
my buttons being pushed by environmental factors or other people.  My
ability to be nice to others wanes when I'm not being nice to myself.  

I think you missed my point.

It is quite clear that you deal with substance abuse indirectly, and 
do not experience the problem yourself.  My point is that the 
techniques will apply to any sense of loss of control, and that 
sometimes addiction stems from attempting to regain that sense of 
control.

Naturally, many people do not go to the extreme of substance abuse.  
But it has been noticed by many that H.A.L.T., the 12-steps, AVRT, or 
other techniques/concepts will apply to any modification of behavior.

I'm not so concerned with behavior modification, as I am with being aware
of my own physiological processes: hungry and/or tired is a bad state for
me, and my first order of business needs to be feed myself and get some
sleep.  Too often keep going with whatever other activities I'm doing,
and ignore the hungry/tired parts.  

Angry and lonely don't happen much: I am very comfortable in solitude,and
enjoy time to myself.  Angry, like other emotions, is just a feeling, and
doesn't have to be acted on.  

This response has been erased.

Fair enough.  It's good to be aware of physiological/psychological 
(too) processes whether you have completely recovered and healed, or 
not.  See item:7,6

Looking back again, using HALT and recognizing triggers is helpful in 
learning self-control, whether addicted or not.  Lack of control, of 
any kind, has been scary for me, and I'm still learning to use those 
methods. 

Hmm .. .  Hey, Jon, will you elaborate on this concept?  It sounds very 
interesting and makes a lot of sense when I look at some of my 
behaviors.

hmmm, well, okay.  Not sure what to say more.. but let's try a 
different look.

H.A.L.T. alone is an easy acronym to remember, and I think Hungry, 
Angry, Lonely and Tired pretty much cuts to the core of our 
physiological needs.  The Greeks spoke of a sane mind in a sane body-- 
this concept simply seems to extend to the fact that we are social 
animals, too, and we need the support of others.

To recognize and identify triggers is an important recovery concept 
because it underlies the fact that for many of us, especially those 
struggling with addiction, there were needs (basic needs even) that 
were not met or restricted.  We may have faced abuse or neglect.  
Therefore, we turned to other ways and means to met those needs, some 
which were very unhealthy.  Triggers simply are the catalysts.  They 
may invoke painful memories (or they may even be traumatic experiences 
themselves), or they may simply be any stimulus connected to our 
substance or ill behavior of choice.

Depression, for example, may prompt overeating, drinking, or engaging 
in some sort of stimulus that is appealing to the senses.

For myself, combinations of severe depression and mild mania generally 
prompted a feeling of a loss of control-- and therefore I began doing 
things.. some pleasurable, some painful.. but anything I felt I could 
control.

I remember a recovering drug user who said he kinda wanted to die.. but 
he wanted to have fun while he was doing it.  On the other hand, having 
talked to cutters and having dabbled in it myself, I know some 
behaviors are a deliberate causing of pain-- but the user has a feeling 
of controlling that pain.

Does that make sense?  Using these analogies is simply going back and 
realizing what your basic needs are, making sure you don't come up 
empty, and that you know what sets you off.

This makes a lot of sense.  This is where the reference to music comes 
in?  Listening to certain types of music that fits your mood, or 
because it has a certain quality to feeds something?  I don't know if 
I'm being very clear.  Overeating, not eating enough, excessive 
exercise and other behaviors, like excessive cleaning/staying busy to 
purposefully avoid certain bothersome emotions . . .

Oh, the tonal anchor concept.

We seem to connect music to memories.  Examples include lovers who 
refer to "their song," or tunes that have catapulted into superselling 
status because they seemed to jibe with the news of the day.  They are 
lyrics that we relate to, more particularly, with certain life events, 
and instrumental scores that seem to orchestrate our lives somehow.

Sure, many people will use music theraputically-- depressed folks may 
choose deafening metal, moody-broody New Romantic/synthpop (it was 
Depeche Mode a.k.a. Depressed Mood for me), or sugary teen pop, etc. 
but this goes even further-- music that was connected to something 
dramatic, traumatic, or significant.

Hey!  I spoke about this in loose terms with SC yesterday!  I mentioned 
the overeating to her, and we started discussing my eating habits, and 
I told her that I couldn't remember eating normally as much as I could 
going to either extreme.  So I'm going to start keeping a food journal, 
and will add other observations besides what I eat in this journal.  I 
also determined that I've been eating more since I stopped listening to 
music as much as I used to.

She stated that it seems that I used food to occassionally self-
medicate, as I often did with exercise.  I have spells where I'll 
fixate on this one particular food and eat it all of the time, until I 
go off to yet another food.  In general, I don't keep foods in the 
house that I know I'll pig out on without fail.  in fact, when I do buy 
them, I do so knowing that it will have a short shelf life.

What she mentioned about the music is pretty much what you've said here.

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