Alcohol Addiction Support Group

Topic: Understanding Alcohol Dependence & My Drinking Pattern
Objectives
- Develop an understanding of alcohol dependence and the cycle of alcohol use.
- Identify personal drinking patterns, triggers, and consequences.
- Increase awareness of the relationship between situations, thoughts, emotions, and drinking behaviour.

Time Duration: 15 Mins
Activity: “My Drinking Pattern” Participants privately reflect and share, according to their comfort:
- When do I usually feel the urge to drink?
- Where and with whom do I usually drink?
- What emotions are commonly present before drinking?
- What do I experience immediately after drinking?
- What are some consequences I have noticed?
Group reflection:
- What does alcohol give me temporarily, and what does it cost me in the long term?

Time Duration: 15-20 Mins
Topics:
- What is alcohol dependence?
- Physical, psychological and social effects of alcohol.
- The alcohol-use cycle: Trigger → Craving → Drinking → Temporary Relief → Consequences → Repeated Use
- Tolerance, withdrawal and loss of control.
- Understanding dependence as a health condition rather than a moral failing.

Time Duration: 20- 25 mins
Activity: Trigger Mapping
Participants complete:
- Situation / Trigger
- Thoughts
- Emotion
- Craving Level 0–10
- Usual Response
- Alternative Response
- Facilitator helps participants identify 2–3 high-risk situations and one possible alternative response for each.

Time Duration: 5- 10 mins
Awareness Before Action
- Recognising the pattern is the first step toward changing it.
- Triggers can be identified and managed.
- A craving is an experience—not a command to drink.

Take-home task: Maintain a brief 3-day drinking/craving awareness log

Topic: Understanding & Managing Cravings
Objectives
- Understand what cravings are and how they develop.
- Identify internal and external craving triggers.
- Practise practical strategies for managing cravings without drinking.

Time Duration: 15 Mins
Activity: “My Craving Story”
Participants reflect:
- When was my strongest recent craving?
- What happened immediately before it?
- What was I thinking?
- What was I feeling?
- What did I do?
- What happened afterwards?
Reflection question:
“What could I have done differently during those first few minutes?

Time Duration: 15 Mins
Topics:
- What is a craving?
- Internal vs. external triggers.
- Craving as a temporary wave.
- The relationship between stress, emotions and craving.
- Common thinking patterns that increase the risk of drinking.

Time Duration: 25-30 Mins
Activity: CRAVING SOS Toolkit
Introduce and practise:
- C: Check the trigger
“What triggered this urge?”
- R: Recognise the craving
“I am experiencing a craving; I don't have to act on it.”
- A: Allow & observe
Notice the craving without immediately reacting.
- V: Vary the situation
Move away from the trigger, change the environment or contact support.
- I: Interrupt the urge
Use slow breathing, grounding, distraction or physical activity.
- N: Notify support
Call/message a trusted person when needed.
- G: Give it time
Delay the decision and allow the intensity to reduce.

Time Duration: 5-10 Mins
Participants identify their Top 3 craving-management strategies.
Take-home task: Practise one craving-management strategy during the week and record: Trigger → Craving intensity → Strategy used → Outcome.

Topic: Managing Emotions, Thoughts & Social Pressure

Objectives:
- Understand the connection between thoughts, emotions and drinking behaviour.
- Identify unhelpful thoughts associated with alcohol use.
- Develop healthier responses to emotional distress and social pressure.

Time Duration: 15 Mins
Activity: “Pause & Reflect”
Participants choose one recent difficult situation and explore:
- What happened? → What did I think? → What did I feel? → What did I want to do? → What did I actually do?
- Group discussion focuses on identifying alternative responses without judgment.

Time Duration: 15 Mins

The Thought–Emotion–Action Cycle
Situation → Thought → Emotion → Urge → Behaviour → Consequence
Discuss common triggers:
- Stress
- Anger
- Loneliness
- Boredom
- Anxiety
- Relationship conflict
- Social pressure
- Celebrations or peer drinking
- Introduce common unhelpful thoughts:
- “I deserve a drink.”
- “One drink won't matter.”
- “I can't relax without alcohol.”
“Everyone else is drinking.”
“I've already failed, so I might as well continue.”

Time Duration: 25-30 Mins

Activity 1: Thought Challenge
- Unhelpful Thought
- Evidence For
- Evidence Against
- Balanced Thought
- “I need alcohol to relax.”

Activity 2: Social Pressure Toolkit Practise practical strategies:
- Say “No, thank you. I'm choosing not to drink.”
- Give a brief reason if desired.
- Change the topic.
- Keep a non-alcoholic drink in hand.
- Move away from high-risk situations.
- Contact a support person.
- Leave the situation when necessary.

Time Duration: 5-10 Mins

Pause → Identify → Challenge → Choose
Participants identify:
- One unhelpful thought they want to challenge.
- One healthy coping strategy.
- One boundary they will practise.

Take-home task: Use the Thought–Emotion–Action record for at least one challenging situation.

Topic: Relapse Prevention & Personal Recovery Plan

Objectives:
- Recognise early warning signs of relapse.
- Develop a personal relapse-prevention plan.
- Strengthen support systems and commitment to recovery.
- Consolidate learning from the previous sessions.

Time Duration: 15 Mins
Activity: “My Relapse Warning Signs”
Participants identify:
Early warning signs - Emotional, Mental / Thought related, Behavioural, My high-risk situations

Reflection: “What usually happens before I move closer to drinking?”

Time Duration: 15-20 Mins
Topics:
- Lapse vs. relapse.
- Relapse as a process rather than a single event.
- Emotional, mental and behavioural warning signs.
- High-risk situations.
- HALT: Hungry – Angry – Lonely – Tired
- Importance of early intervention and seeking support."

Time Duration: 25-30 Mins
Activity: My Personal Relapse Prevention Plan
Participants complete:
1. My Top 3 Triggers:
2. My Warning Signs:
3. My Coping Strategies:
4. People I Can Contact:
5. Places/Situations I Need to Avoid or Manage:
6. What I Will Do When a Craving Reaches 7/10 or More:
7. My Reasons for Recovery:
8. My Next Recovery Goal:

Facilitator reinforces that participants should seek professional/medical support when withdrawal, severe cravings, or other safety concerns arise.

Time Duration: 10 Mins
Activity: “One Commitment Forward”
Each participant completes:
- “One thing I understand better about my alcohol use is ____.”
- “One skill I will continue using is ____.”
- “One step I will take toward my recovery this week is ____.”