Page 74 - Teen Manual

Take a Break
CORE CONCEPT: Taking a break provides a glimpse of life without your
ineffective behavior.
Taking a break means that you set aside a period of time in which you do not engage in an ineffective behavior. To practice this skill you select an amount of time to remain free from your selected behavior in order to Observe and Describe the outcomes. This skill is a form of harm reduction, and it works especially well for people who are unsure about the effect of ineffective behaviors in their lives and/or for people who are not ready to give up their ineffective behavior “forever.” Taking a break can serve as a personal experiment to gauge your level of dependence and the benefits of stopping that behavior.
Taking a break work best when you have established a skills plan for how to deal with urges, how to occupy open time in your schedule, and how to address barriers or problems you anticipate may upset your plans.
Taking a break can be short (e.g., an hour or evening), intermediate (e.g., a week), or a longer period of time (e.g., a month or more). To feel the benefits of moving away from your ineffective behavior, it is best to choose a reasonable amount of time to see what happens, knowing that within this time period you can still take on the challenge one moment at a time. The goal is to recognize that your life can be better without your ineffective behavior than with it.
The following are examples of taking a break:
• Going 30 days without drinking alcohol
• Turning off all your electronic devices after 5pm for a week • Avoiding added sugar for 2 weeks
• Going without cutting for the weekend
• Not seeing a harmful friend for a month
• Attending a concert without consuming drugs or alcohol
• Not smoking marijuana for 6 months.
Ready to try life without your ineffective behavior for a while? Use the following Taking a Break worksheet to get started.
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