Window of Tolerance and Addictive Behavior Rainbow
It’s not just negative feelings that can prompt a relapse- positive emotions can, too.
Whether the addictive behavior is substance use, self-harm, gambling, shopping, or something else, relapse prevention involves understanding that triggers can come from unexpected directions. Understand how expanding our capacity to feel, process, and cope with a wide range of emotions can help prevent or reduce relapses.
Using the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse’s resource called “Words Matter – Terms to Use and Avoid When Talking About Addiction“, I specifically designed this resource- with a little help from patrons- to be a non-pathologizing and empowering resource to support people living with substance use disorders or other addictive behaviors.
In order to help this resource be helpful to folks in many types of recovery I’ve released this mental health art in formats tweaked slightly for SUD and behavior-based addictions. This download also includes art reimagined into a worksheet to help people learn to identify positive and negative triggers.
Image Description for Screen Readers:
Image of a vibrant, multi-layered rainbow that has clouds on each end, one light grey and the other dark grey. The background of the image is two-toned: light blue on the left side and dark blue on the right side. Beneath the rainbow is written, “Window of Tolerance and Addictive Behavior.” The rainbow has text written in various spots, showing where on the rainbow a person may fall in their window of tolerance. The top/center of the rainbow is labeled, “Able to cope, grow, listen, and learn.” On the left side of the rainbow, the labels continue down the curve: “Feeling great!” “Maybe ‘too’ good.” “Overwhelmed by the positive emotion.” “Feelings of doubt or unworthiness or overconfidence.” The last label sits right above the grey cloud at the bottom and reads, “Relapse.” On the right side of the rainbow, the labels continue down the curve: “This is mildly uncomfortable.” “Ok, this feeling really sucks.” “Overwhelmed coping skills.” “Feeling out of control.” The last label sits right above the grey cloud at the bottom and reads, “Relapse.” Image created by Lindsay Braman.
