In the journey toward recovery from addictive behaviors, individuals often encounter moments of intense urges or cravings that can jeopardize their progress. Relapse prevention needs to become a focus, and this includes managing triggers that might lead to reinvigorating addictive behaviors. Other aspects of prevention include emotional regulation, stress management techniques, healthy habits, and sobriety tools. One helpful tool to manage urges is discussed below.
SMART Recovery, a program that supports individuals in overcoming addictive behaviors through self-empowerment and self-reliance, offers a potent sobriety tool that can help with building resilience tool known as "DENTS" that offers an effective way to remember strategies to manage urges that threaten to overwhelm us.
DENTS is an acronym that stands for Deny or Delay, Escape, Neutralize, Tasks, and Swap This tool is designed to equip individuals with strategies to combat the immediate demands of addictive urges, providing practical steps to diminish their power and influence.
Why Are Coping Skills Important in Recovery?
Coping skills like the DENTS tool are instrumental in helping individuals navigate the often unpredictable nature of urges experienced during recovery. By offering a structured approach to understanding and responding to these intense feelings, DENTS empowers individuals to take control of their reactions and decisions. It's not about getting rid of urges completely; rather, it's about developing a healthy, sustainable way to manage them. It's important to note that urges are normal, and that is why developing coping skills to deal with them is so important.
Another way to build your coping skills in recovery is to develop new pursuits and passions and build a supportive network based on these activities. To start, think back to before your addictive behavior started taking up a lot of your time. Maybe there was something you loved to do when you were younger but got distracted from. Now’s the time to bring these interests back and/or explore new ones. Remember you don’t have to choose just one. Find pursuits and passions and keep looking for more that satisfy you.
Recovery isn’t just about what you’re stopping, it’s also about what you’re creating. Rediscovering interests, exploring new hobbies, and building meaningful activities into your life can bring joy, connection, and purpose.
You may already have ideas. You might be drawing a blank. It might be helpful to consider this: these are not just hobbies, they are pursuits and passions that engage you, ground you, and make life feel worth living. Rebuilding this part of life takes time, but it’s worth the effort.
One way to get started is to think back using these guided questions.
Before your addictive substance or behavior took up so much time, what kinds of things did you enjoy?
Nothing coming to mind? That’s okay. It may take some time and several attempts at recalling “how it used to be.” Perhaps ask yourself what short-term benefits you were getting from the behavior? Was it excitement, escape, social connection, or a sense of calm? Each of those is a clue that can help guide you toward a new passion or pursuit.
You can start by writing down anything that interests you, even a little. Here are some examples to get the ideas flowing:
You don’t have to pick one perfect thing. Keep trying and revisiting. The goal is to stay open and curious. In this way, you will be able to find a group of people that may just develop into an outstanding supportive sober network.
Finally, an important consideration in the development of coping skills in recovery is the adoption of stress management techniques.
Physical activity such as exercise, yoga, even walking can release endorphins, which boost our mood. When it comes to yoga, there is the added benefit of combining mindfulness focus with the physical movement.
Other relaxation techniques include deep breathing, which can lower your heart rate and blood pressure; meditation of many different kinds, which help us focus on the present moment and reduce worry; and progressive muscle relaxation, which involves tensing and releasing muscle groups to lower overall body tension.
Also worth mentioning is the benefit of getting adequate sleep and rest, trying to establish a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and practicing positive self-talk. This consists of challenging your negative thoughts and replacing them with compassionate affirmations.
Coping skills like the DENTS tool, building a sober and supportive network, and adopting stress management techniques for a calm mind will establish a solid foundation for addiction recovery. Enjoy the journey!