Integrated Relapse Prevention Plan

I. EMERGENCY CONTACTS
Think of three people whom you trust. You will share your relapse prevention
plan with them. Inform them that they are your emergency contact in the event
you need immediate support. List one way the person will help you when you call.

NAME PHONE ACTION

Mom  123.456.7890  Will come pick me up 

Sister  123.456.7890  Pick me up, talk me down 

Friend  123.456.7890  Bring Rxs, come and sit with me 

II. PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

List two professionals from your treatment team. (Examples: psychiatrist,
counselor, primary care physician, etc.) You will need to tell them what
symptoms you are experiencing and schedule an appointment.

NAME TITLE PHONE

John Doe  Primary Care Physician  123.456.7890 

Jane Smith  Counselor  123.456.7890 

III. WHEN TO CALL

When you find yourself in a high-risk situation, call somebody in your emergency
contacts. A high-risk situation may be when you are feeling triggered, having
intense cravings, or are in full relapse mode. The next few pages will help you
determine your own high-risk situations.

IV. TRIGGERS
You are at twice the risk of experiencing a trigger than those with mental health
or substance use issues alone. The trigger is what plants the thought in your head.
It leads to cravings or mental health symptoms. Because mental health relapse
and substance use relapse often accompany one another, it is especially
important to avoid your triggers.
 List as many of your triggers as possible.

1. ​Sensory triggers (sight, sound, smell) 

2. ​Negative emotions 
3. ​Boredom 
4. ​Thoughts of drinking 
5. ​The weekend 
6. ​Parties 
7. ​Being around people who use 
8. ​Cravings or urges 
9. ​Being isolated 
10. ​Getting paid 

You need a ​specific ​plan for each trigger. You can plan to avoid the trigger
altogether, or you can plan to address it when it happens. This needs to be
something you can physically do (i.e., instead of ​I won’t drink​, what will you do
instead?)

1. Go for a walk, listen to music (preferably both at the same time) 

2. When feeling negative, I will call my friend and ask her to make me laugh 
3. I  will  make  a  to-do  list.  When  I  am  bored,  I  will  choose  something  from the 
list 
4. When I want to use, I will write down three reasons why I shouldn’t 
5. I will hang out with sober people on Fridays and Saturdays 
6. If I go to a party, I will ask a sober companion to join me 
7. I will tell everyone that I am abstaining. If they don’t honor that, I will leave 
8. If craving, I will call someone on my emergency contact list. 
9. I will have one meaningful interaction per day, even if only over the phone 
10. I will create a budget; I will set up direct deposit instead of cashing a check 

V. CRAVINGS
Cravings in early recovery are inevitable. You’ll need to develop multiple
strategies to fight them. As you get better at dealing with them, they become
fewer and farther between.

Answer the following questions. You’ll use the answers to plan your strategies.
When a craving hits:
 Who can I talk to? Sponsor, mom, sister, friend 

Where will I go? How will I get there? Mom/Sister/Friend’s house. Uber or 
call for a ride 

What calms me down? Deep breathing, music, going for a 

walk 

What physical activities can I do? Running, yoga, count numbers until 
the urge passes 

What changes can I make to my Turn off the TV, walk away, use the 
environment? restroom 

A. Use the rating scale to rate your craving. Assign multiple strategies for
each severity level.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
B. When my craving is a 1, 2, or 3, I will
1. Do deep-breathing for five minutes 
2. Listen to music until it passes 
3. Walk away/leave the room 
C. When my craving is a 4, 5, or 6, I will
1. Call a friend or sponsor 
2. Leave the room 
3. Go for a walk 
D. When my craving is a 7, 8, or 9, I will
1. Call someone on my contact list   
2. Count to one-hundred  
3. Go for a run 
 
VI. WARNING SIGNS
Think of a warning sign as something other people notice that might indicate you
are headed for a relapse. You can also think of watching yourself on a movie
screen. If you were watching yourself on-screen, what might you see yourself do
(or not do) that could mean you are reverting to old patterns? List them here.
Share them with your support system, or work with someone. When they appear,
it is time to re-evaluate your actions.
 1. Self-isolation (not answering the phone, staying at home or in bed) 
2. Discontinue medications  
3. Not doing things I enjoy  
4. Not taking care of myself (showering, eating, brushing my teeth)  
5. Having mood swings 

Write a plan of action that you and your support system agree on for when either
you or they witness any of the warning signs:

My support will ask me why I am doing or not doing these things. I will be 

honest. They will take me for a walk or a drive and I will tell them how I’m 

feeling. We will call my psychiatrist together and tell them how I’m feeling 

about my medications. We will call the counselor together and make an 

appointment to re-evaluate my triggers.  

VII. WELL-BEING NEEDS

When your immediate needs are not met, you experience unnecessary stress. A
daily checklist can help you determine if some of your needs begin to slip through
the cracks. If you aren’t checking off boxes, call your support team for help.

Eight hours of sleep   

Two nutritious meals a day  X 

10 minutes of exercise  X 

10 minutes of relaxation   

One meaningful conversation   

House is clean   

Bills are paid  X 

Took a shower  X 
VIII. EMERGENCY PLAN
Sometimes relapses happen. When they do, it is important to know what you and
your support team will do, step-by-step, to interrupt and take action. List the
symptoms of relapse in the appropriate column, and use the following space to
write a plan.

I’ll know I have relapsed on substances I’ll know I’m having a mental health
because... relapse because...

I’ll be drinking at all times during the  I’ll start thinking I would be better off 

day. I won’t answer my phone, because  dead. I won’t take my anti-depressants 

I don’t want anyone to know that I am  because I don’t care about myself. I’ll 

drinking. I’ll drink to cure my hangover.  start worrying about what everyone 

I’ll sit in front of the T.V. for hours  else thinks. My apartment will be a 

while drinking. I’ll stop exercising and  complete mess. 

start skipping meals in order to drink 

more. 

 
 
 

If I relapse, my support team and I will...

1. Mom will come with me to the psychiatrist to talk about my medications 

2. My friend will come with me to three meetings and support my honesty 
3. I will call the counselor and tell them I am drinking again 
4. My friend will help me log my thoughts and feelings about the relapse 
5. My sister will help me clean the apartment 
IX. LIFE EVENTS
Major events in a person’s life can mean significant change. Things like getting a
new job, getting married, or moving to a new home, can cause a great deal of
stress. Stress — even good stress! — can trigger both a mental health relapse and
a substance use relapse. List any major life events you may have coming up, and
list the support who will help you avoid triggers.

Life Event Support

Buying a car  Sister 

Going back to school  Friend 

Thanksgiving with the family  Mom 

X. PROMISE AND DELIVER

I, the undersigned, promise to stick to my relapse prevention plan. I will show it
to my support team, and I will ask for help when I need it. If anything on this
plan changes or is proven not to work, I will call my counselor and make an
appointment to review it with them. And if I relapse, I will pick myself up, dust
myself off, and try again!

KARL TOBAR 5/15/2020

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