Stumbles, slips, and relapses defined

[soloadmin]

In SoberLogic, we use the following definitions for various levels of deviation from our recovery goals:

Stumble: This is a very small "oopsie," such as taking just a single sip of something we shouldn't, buying a single $1 scratch ticket, or the equivalent for whatever our own addictive behavior of choice may be. It doesn't require resetting our sober time, but we should report it to our peer group and other support systems right away.

Slip: This is a bigger incident, such as having 1 or two whole drinks, or using whatever our addictive behavior is to an extent that we get some effect out of it (a "buzz" or dopamine boost) Again, sober time is not necessarily reset, but one may want to voluntarily reset it, and the slip should definitely be reported to your recovery peers and supports ASAP.

Relapse: This means "falling off the wagon." We have a whole bunch of drinks, buy a whole bunch of lottery tickets, do a whole bunch of drugs, or whatever our behavior of choice is. We go full-on and have a bender. This DOES reset our sober time, and we should reach out for help from our recovery peers and supports immediately.

Also keep in mind that an ongoing pattern of stumbling and/or slipping, if it continues for more than a few days, also constitutes a condition of relapse. We can't cheat the system - we can only cheat ourselves.

[soloadmin]

I once had a court-ordered breathalyzer that would test me every five hours. Through trial and error, I found that one or two drinks would be metabolized and "burn off" before the next test if I had them *immediately* after each test. It worked, and I thought I was beating the system, but when the breathalyzer was finally removed and I immediately crashed into full-blown relapse with a terrific bender that landed me back in jail, I discovered the only thing that had been beaten was myself. I had relapsed and was in denial about it the whole time.

Don't try this, or anything like it. Let one of my mistakes prevent one of your own.