Putting it On Paper

Write a commercial for anti-(your drug of choice) using your own experience. Create a 30 second script to grab a viewer’s attention and help them get sober.

Addiction is often glorified in the media, especially in television and film. If you had to write a disclaimer about addiction before the feature was shown, what would you write?

What is one piece of advice that you’ve received that you’ll never forget? Who said it? How does it apply to your recovery?

Our addiction can rob us of our memories. What is one moment you wish you could get back? How can you recreate that memory today?

What do you think the biggest corporate support of addiction is? Pharmaceutical companies? Big alcohol? Tobacco companies? Fast food? What counter-campaign would you pitch to fight back?

Addiction is like a nightmare and sobriety is like a dream. One is dark and evil, sort of like a villain, and the other is a bright light, more like a hero. Write the title of a children’s fable about addiction. What’s the villain’s name? Who comes to save the day?

Recipes are easy to follow instructions when it comes to cooking a meal. We get the list of our ingredients and prep our kitchen. If your addiction had a recipe and ingredients, what would that look like? What about a recipe for recovery?

Emotions are often difficult to put into words. We can try our best to express them and still feel like we are coming up short. Imagine your emotions as a tangible thing. Something you can see, taste, hear, smell, and touch. What color is anger? What does it sound like? How does it feel in your hands?

Emotions are often difficult to put into words. We can try our best to express them and still feel like we are coming up short. Imagine your emotions as a tangible thing. Something you can see, taste, hear, smell, and touch. What color is sadness? What does it sound like? How does it feel in your hands?

Emotions are often difficult to put into words. We can try our best to express them and still feel like we are coming up short. Imagine your emotions as a tangible thing. Something you can see, taste, hear, smell, and touch. What color is joy? What does it sound like? How does it feel in your hands?

Sometimes it can feel like we aren’t progressing quickly enough in our recovery. Healing from years of toxicity takes time. One tangible way to measure your success is looking at finances. Write down how much you spent on your addiction a day, multiplied by the number of years you endured it. How much money could you save in sobriety in that same amount of time?

A lot of times we use addictive behaviors or abuse substances to avoid an uncomfortable interaction. Imagine yourself in one of those situations. What is it you really wanted to say? What is it you wished you had the courage to do? 

Our addictions start out as a release but quickly turn into a job. Can you remember when your addiction stopped being fun?

What parts of you were your addiction, not you? 

Write down five realities of your life in addiction. Write five realities of your life in sobriety. Write five dreams for your future in sobriety. How do they compare?

Sometimes we look at people in recovery and think, “I could never do that.” It seems unattainable or far away. In what ways is that a lie being told by your addiction? What did that person do that you could try to implement yourself?

Personification is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristic to something nonhuman. Addiction is ugly. Describe what yours would look like if it were a person.

We become unrecognizable to ourselves in our addiction. What parts of your real self started to resurface during recovery?

Many addicts try to escape the present moment. They find themselves regretting the past or fearing the future. Why is it important to stay in the present moment? How can you remember to stay grounded?

If you were the head of marketing for a “recovery starter pack”, what five things would you include in the kit? What would the commercial say?