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8 • personality
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substance use
•
Take medication as prescribed.
Avoid mixing prescribed medication with alcohol,
tobacco or other drugs, as this could have dangerous consequences, such as making
prescribed medication ineffective or increasing the effects of alcohol or other drugs.
•
Seek support.
Everybody needs support. Talk to family members or friends that you trust
about your feelings, or write them down in a diary. The services listed at the end of this
booklet may also be useful.
•
Plan to do something each day that brings a sense of achievement.
These
activities are often the ones that pile up when a person is going through a hard time, but
can be a real source of stress if left alone. Activities like this include household chores
(cleaning, vacuuming, floors, washing clothes), paying bills, returning phone calls, and so
on. By just choosing one of these activities to do each day, you can prevent things piling
up, which can help you feel a bit more in control of your life. The flow-on effect can be a
real sense of achievement (or relief) that this activity has been completed.
•
Monitor your emotions
. Try keeping track of your emotions in a diary. Write down how
you have felt at different times of the day. When were your moods lowest, when you felt
the worst? When were your moods highest, when you felt best? What were you doing
and what were you thinking at those times? When did you have cravings to use alcohol,
tobacco or other substances? How much sleep did you have each night? Keeping a diary
of your emotions can help you learn the patterns between the way you feel, the things
you do and the way you think.
What strategies do you find help manage your emotions and your
alcohol, tobacco or other drug use?