Substance Abuse Triggers and Cravings Worksheet
By
HappierTherapy
Author bio
The Happier Therapy editorial team is made up of Masters and PhD counselling psychologists. Each worksheet is created by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The worksheet then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
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What is the theory behind this Substance Abuse Triggers and Cravings Worksheet?
Triggers refer to environmental events that activate certain thought processes, which in turn lead to unhealthy behaviors and emotions. For individuals who have substance-related problems, cravings constitute one of the behavioral outcomes of environmental triggers and are closely linked to negative emotions. Accurate identification of environmental triggers and understanding the link between triggers, negative feelings, and cravings for drugs are important for reducing the use of substances.
How will the worksheet help?
This worksheet has three benefits: 1) It will help clinicians assess the frequency, amount, and type of substances their clients are consuming. 2) It will enable individuals who are struggling with substance use to identify and describe the details of their triggers. 3) It will help them in identifying what happens to them physiologically when they are having cravings to consume a drug.
How to use the worksheet?
The worksheet consists of three parts. Part A contains a brief assessment (3-item assessment) of the dosage, frequency, and severity of substance abuse through self-report questions. Part B comprises triggers of abuse in which a person has to write about different types of triggers and details about those triggers. In Part C, individuals have to write about uncomfortable physiological changes experienced during cravings. Self-awareness about triggers and cravings constitutes the initial step in reducing the frequency of substance use.