Addiction never takes a day off. Your support shouldn’t either.

When a craving arrives, set a timer for three minutes and label it without fighting: “This is a wave of craving, not an instruction.” Place your feet on the floor. Notice where the urge sits in your body — perhaps your throat, stomach or hands — and silently describe its shape, temperature and movement. Breathe steadily without trying to make the feeling disappear.

Every thirty seconds, check whether the sensation has changed location, intensity or quality. Imagine observing a wave that rises, breaks and falls at its own pace. When the thought says “I must do this now”, add, “I am having the thought that I must.” When the timer ends, delay the decision for another ten minutes and change your surroundings immediately.

Move somewhere without access to the substance or behaviour, drink water and contact a person chosen in advance: “I have a strong craving; stay with me for ten minutes.” Repeat short intervals rather than promising yourself a whole day. If there is a risk of overdose, severe withdrawal or another immediate danger, seek urgent medical or emergency help.

In the morning, begin with safety rather than blame. Stop further use or risky behaviour, do not drive, and do not combine substances. Check for worrying symptoms and contact your treatment provider, someone you trust or a local addiction service. If there is a risk of overdose, severe withdrawal or immediate danger, call emergency help.

Once you are safe, write only the sequence of events: what happened beforehand, which thought or emotion appeared, where you were, and what made access easy. Use facts instead of labels. “After an argument, I was alone with cash” provides a point to work with; “I ruined everything” does not identify the next action.

Choose one change for today: remove access, ask someone to stay in contact this evening, return to a meeting or arrange professional support. Then plan your next meal, sleep and one calm activity. Avoid punishing yourself with excessive effort or grand promises. A relapse needs attention and an adjusted plan, but it does not erase the work already done.

Shame says, “If anyone knows, they will reject me,” and encourages you to hide cravings, spending or a relapse. Secrecy also removes the chance to ask for help before a difficult moment. Start with a safety map: list professional and personal contacts who can listen without ridicule, threats or using the information against you.

Choose one person and prepare three sentences: the fact, the effect and the request. For example: “I used again yesterday. Shame makes me want to hide it. I need you to speak with me tonight and help me contact a professional.” You do not have to share every detail or speak to someone around whom you feel unsafe.

After disclosing, agree one next contact and put it in your diary. If the response was judgemental, try another person, group or professional service; their reaction does not prove that asking was wrong. If you fear violence, overdose, severe withdrawal or harming yourself, contact professional or emergency help urgently.

Prepare the plan before evening, when decisions are easier. Divide the difficult hours into three short sections and give each one activity: a meal, shower, walk in a safe place, a film with someone or a group meeting. Remove things that make use easier, and avoid the place, route or app that usually starts the loop.

Add two if–then rules. “If the craving reaches the point where I start negotiating, then I go to a well-lit place and call Anna.” “If nobody answers, I contact my group or a support line.” Prepare numbers, water, food and safe transport in advance so that the plan does not depend on memory at the peak of tension.

When the urge arrives, delay any decision for ten minutes, take six long exhales and begin the first written activity. After each section, mark only “done” and move on; do not assess your whole life. If there is a risk of overdose, severe withdrawal, violence or another immediate danger, contact professional or emergency help at once.