Aftercare course Session 11
Holidays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals, travel, and the recurring weekly windows. Every event has a Before, During, and After — and a written plan beats a heroic improvisation every time.
What you'll learn
01
The Before is two weeks of preserved sleep, meetings, sponsor contact. The During is the specific plan — exit time, sober contact on text, drink in your hand. The After is the next morning's meeting, because the Christmas-night relapse is more common than the Christmas-day one.
02
Bodies remember dates even when the conscious mind hasn't registered them. Mark your sobriety date, the anniversary of any major loss, your last using day. Two-week alert in advance. Honor the day, on the day, with one other person who knows what it means.
03
Travel destabilizes recovery because it breaks the routine. Find meetings in the destination before you leave. Empty the mini-bar at check-in. Pre-decide the long evening. Same principle for any unplanned hour — the hour you do not plan is the hour the disease plans for you.
The unsentimental rule
Most relapses I have seen, after the first ninety days, do not come out of nowhere. They cluster around predictable, calendar-visible events. The events are not surprises. The lack of a plan is the surprise.
The mature move, in early recovery, is to assume that any day you can see coming that has alcohol, family pressure, grief, exhaustion, or unstructured time in it is a day that needs a plan. Build the plan calmly, two weeks in advance, with another person. Then live the plan when the day comes.
You are not being neurotic. You are being a person who has done the math. The math is that the planned event almost always survives. The unplanned event very often doesn't.
Your worksheet
A year-long map of the days that need a plan, and a template you can apply to all of them.
Session 11 · Worksheet
Ten quiet minutes. Answers save on this device as you type — no account, no upload.
Three reflection prompts for the week
For the calendar
For the next twelve months, mark every event, anniversary, and recurring weekly window that will be higher-risk than an average day. Tag each with two-week-advance alerts. The map by itself reduces risk, because you stop being surprised.
For the template
Pick the closest high-risk event. Write three sections: Before (two weeks of preserved structure), During (exit time, sober contact, drink in hand, nearest meeting), After (next morning meeting, sponsor call, normal sleep). Show it to your sponsor or coach.
For this week
Identify the highest-risk window in the next seven days. Build a plan for that single window. Specific. Written. Sent to one other person. Then live the plan. Doing it once for a small thing builds the muscle for the big things.
Up next
When the substance is gone but the pattern isn't. Cross-addictions, process addictions, and how to recognize when the disease has found a new door.
Continue to session 12If this brought up more than it answered
CVR recovery coaches work with one client at a time. Private, one-on-one, no scripts. If you want to talk to someone, we can usually get back to you within a few hours.
If you need help right now
These lines are free, confidential, and open 24/7 — for you, for your person, or for anyone you love. You don't have to be in the worst moment to call.
Overdose or medical emergency
911
Signs of overdose: slow or stopped breathing, blue or gray lips or fingertips, gurgling, unresponsive. Call 911, give naloxone (Narcan) if you have it, and roll them onto their side. Stay on the line.
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
988
Call or text 988 any time you — or someone you love — is in emotional crisis, thinking about suicide, or just can't carry it alone tonight.
SAMHSA National Helpline
1-800-662-HELP
Free, confidential treatment referral and information for individuals and families dealing with substance use. In English and Spanish.
Never Use Alone
1-800-484-3731
A person answers, stays on the line while someone uses, and calls for help if they stop responding. No judgment — harm reduction, not intervention.
Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
Substance use and abuse often overlap. If you're being hurt, threatened, or controlled — physically, emotionally, or financially — trained advocates can help you think through what's next.
Naloxone (Narcan)
Get it free
Naloxone reverses opioid overdose. It's available over the counter, and many programs mail it for free. Keep it in your house, your car, your bag — even if you don't think you need it.
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