Triggers are social, environmental, or emotional cues that can remind you of drug use. These cues can lead to cravings for substances, increasing your risk for relapse.
Risk and triggers go hand in hand. Triggers can increase your risk of substance use. However, risk does not have to be associated with ‘danger’, but an opportunity to avoid triggers and to grow.
Triggers can come both externally from your environment and internally from within yourself.
External triggers are people, places, and things that are associated with substance use. Encountering these triggers can make you feel like you should seek out substances.
Some common examples of external triggers:
- People who you have previously used substances with. This can be family, friends, neighbours, and others in your life
- Places where you have used before or where others use. These high-risk areas can be bars, concerts, friends’ houses, and anywhere else where drug use is common
- Situations where substances are available and may be offered. This can be in gatherings, like parties or celebrations, or when you are alone
- Things personal to you that you associate with using drugs, like social media, certain music, or objects
Internal triggers are thoughts and emotions that your brain relates to using substances. When internal triggers come up, they can make you remember and crave the familiar effects of drugs. These internal triggers can be both positive and negative. You can learn more about these internal triggers in the emotions (LINK) and thoughts (LINK) of this module.
Below is a video summarizing the difference between internal and external triggers.