An adult version of “red light, green light” for living a safe, healthy life …

“Unchaining” from an addiction is a challenge for anyone facing such an issue, and for many it will be one of the toughest trials in their lives.

In the addiction world, some teach, “Relapse is a process, not an event. Stopping an addiction is the first step but staying stopped is the more difficult part.”

To help prevent relapse, Dr. Daniel Amen and the Amen Clinics teach in his “Unchain Your Brain” (from addiction) program those going through addiction recovery to use three colored circles to identify and develop the following:

GREEN CIRCLE – In this circle, identify some things that help you maintain sobriety and prevent relapse, such as:

• • Getting good sleep.
  • Eating a healthy diet.
  • Being connected to community.
  • Correcting the ANTs (automatic negative thoughts).
  • Physical exercise(but not obsessive exercising).
  • Preventing brain injuries (or treat any you have).
  • Attending church and meeting.
  • Mental exercise to keep your mind agile.
  • Losing weight (if you’re overweight).
  • Living a brain healthy life.

YELLOW CIRCLE – In this circle, the “yellow light” or yellow circle serves as a warning for when you are vulnerable and need to be cautious. It includes behaviors such as:

• • Overworking.
  • Holding on to resentments.
  • ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) getting out of control.
  • Being too isolated.
  • Missing meetings.
  • Not following the HALTprinciples (don’t get too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely, too Tired).
  • Staying up too late.

RED CIRCLE – The red circle is where you list behaviors that put you in danger of relapse, for example:

• • If you have a sex addiction – watching or reading pornography.
  • If you have a food addiction – working in a food service capacity.
  • When you start lying and keeping secrets.
  • Spending time with those who are still engaged in their addiction.
  • People who are “pushers.” Ask family and friends to help support you with your goal and not offer you things like sugar or alcohol that interfere with your recovery.

By making the time to think through those “zones” of life that are safe, that are treading into areas where you need to be cautious because you’re making yourself vulnerable, and areas that are danger zones you really should stay out of, you can better guard your positive recovery efforts.

This exercise can be used in other areas of life, including in business. For example, it can be a great tool to add to your personal Bible study. Scripture helps us understand what “safe” and “healthy” places are for Christians, desires and behaviors that make us more vulnerable to sin, and danger zones we should stay out of. Let me close with encouraging you to take time to do an exercise of identifying green, yellow, and red “circles” for living out your Christian life in a “safe” and spiritually healthy way (this could also be a good exercise to do as a couple, a family, or in a church small group or Sunday school class).

Scotty