How is Planning Related to Urges?

With drug use, intense urges seemingly come out of nowhere. However, it's possible to respond to urges in a healthy way. Your Confidant Health team can work with you to develop a solution that can help you move past them.

How Planning Can Convince You to Take Action

Sometimes people unconsciously make plans that accommodate an urge. Small, seemingly harmless decisions can steer us toward drug use even though that's not our primary purpose. 

You might choose to do your grocery shopping across town, closer to the person who helps you get drugs, or hang out with a friend who likes to party. Those choices may indicate that you are thinking about acquiring drugs somehow, even if you haven't worked out all the details yet. 

How to Use Planning to Control Urges

Examine each decision you make during the urge cycle. Is it wise to spend time with someone who you associate with drug use? Is there something this grocery store offers that you can't get nearer to home? 

Create alternative activities to help distract you when an urge hits. You might go for a walk or call a friend who understands your desire to stick to your goals. Perhaps you can start a project that you work on whenever an urge hits, like refurbishing a piece of furniture or painting. 

Confidant Health Can Help

You don't have to make your plan alone. We're here to help! In fact, we've found that talking over a plan can make a big difference in its success.

Your Confidant Health team will help you break down your urges into individual steps. The sooner you recognize an urge, the more time you have to distract yourself and ride it out. We'll also help you brainstorm for ways to respond to your urges. 

We also offer a safe place for you to talk about the instances in which your plan didn't work. We don't judge when this happens. Instead, we take an analytical approach and offer up suggestions for strengthening the plan for the future.