The Challenge of Digital Triggers in Recovery

Our phones are always near by, buzzing, lighting up, and getting our attention. For someone who is trying to get better, that continual connection could be a lifeline or a landmine. You can suddenly feel or want things you used to feel or want because of social media, internet marketing, or even random movies.

You can’t just “log off” and never come back. You don’t want to remain away from the digital world; you want to understand how to utilize it responsibly. At Amazonite Treatment Centers, we show our clients how to achieve balance, create realistic limitations online, and use technology to help them get better instead of worse.

Finding Out About Digital Triggers

Not all triggers come from the past or from things you may touch. These days, a lot of them come through screens. A message, music, or picture could make you remember something, remind you of how things used to be, or make you feel horrible about yourself or compare yourself to someone else.

“Triggers” are things that make you think of occasions when you were angry, stressed, or did something wrong in the past. It could be something small, like a certain phrase, or something large, like seeing someone from your past pop up on your page. Seeing them early is the first step in taking away their power.

1. Choose what you see

Your digital area should help you get better, not get in the way. Take charge of your feeds:

• Stop following or muting people that talk about drugs, poor lives, or being negative.
• Follow pages or creators that are supportive about recovery and remind you why you started this road.
• Don’t let yourself use apps for too long or too many times in a row. This way, you won’t have to scroll lengthy when you’re weak.

The more you keep triggers out, the more you change how you see things.

2. Be careful of things that make you feel bad

Some digital triggers don’t seem evident at first; they emerge from our emotions. You can feel envious of someone else’s “perfect” life or lonely after looking at social media late at night. These sensations might progressively add to your tension, which makes it easy to revert back to how you used to be.

Stop when you start to feel this way. Put down the phone and take a few deep breaths. Then, check in with yourself. “Right now, what do I need that this app can’t give me?” Instead than browsing again, sometimes the remedy is to connect, move, or relax.

3. Stop mindlessly scrolling through your feed and start connecting on purpose

It’s not the technology that’s bad; it’s how we utilize it. Instead of just looking around, use digital tools to connect with a purpose.

• Join online communities or support groups for recovery.
• Plan times for meditation or treatment online.
• Podcasts and movies can teach you things and give you ideas.

Your time online can help you heal instead of making you more anxious if you stop doing things without thinking and start doing things on purpose.

4. Take care of your mental energies

It’s fine to take a break. Being around digital noise all the time can make you more sensitive to things that make you feel bad and take away your mental energy. Do something that keeps you grounded during “no-screen” times, including meals, mornings, or immediately before bed.

Read a book. Go outside. Put some thoughts down in a journal. The peaceful times you take for yourself are the only things that can give you peace of mind.

5. Call when you think you can’t handle it

Even if digital triggers have restrictions, they might nevertheless startle you. If it happens, don’t go through it alone. You should talk to your therapist, sponsor, or someone else who is part of your support system. Instead of suppressing your sentiments, talking about what happened helps you deal with them.

We advise our clients at Amazonite Treatment Centers that being honest and upfront is a show of strength. If you want to bring your digital triggers under control again, you need to be honest about them.

In the end

The digital world isn’t going away, but the way you use it can change. If you make smart choices, keep your place clean, and ask for help when you need it, you might get along better with technology that helps you improve.

At Amazonite Treatment Centers, we help clients through every step of that process by giving them both medical care and helpful skills that help them stay sober, even in a world where everyone is connected. You don’t have to be there for healing to happen; it happens wherever you are.