Substance Abuse
The second C is Capture every thought. At this point you will want to start a trigger list. A trigger list is kept on a small notebook that you keep in your pocket to record wrong thoughts and what circumstances occurred that might have induced them. The reason for keeping a list is so that you can examine it for patterns that emerge, and you can avoid those things in the future. Proverbs 1:17 says, “Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” Often in the past you have walked through your day blind to the fact that there are traps set out there to trip you up and draw you into your addiction. However to gain lasting freedom you must stop being blind to these snares. The more watchful you are to see the traps the fewer you will fall into. This will be discussed in greater detail in future material but at this point it is enough to say that you must learn to be watchful of the snares if you are going to avoid them and the trigger list is a helpful tool to learn how to identify the “thought snares” that trip you up on a daily basis.
A trigger list may look like this:
7/2/12
10:45 a.m. — Thought about how good a beer would taste right now. I just walked by the beer cooler in the store.
11:20 a.m. — Remembered a party that I was at a few months ago. I saw someone wearing a Corona shirt.
11:50 a.m. — Started to think about drink mixes — caught some citrus smell.
When you have that imagination come into your thinking, STOP! Say to yourself, “I will not indulge this! I reject this thought!” Then take out your trigger list and record it, along with the thing that happened which might have triggered you to think the damaging thought. The day and time are good things to record, because you might find that you have more trouble on certain days or at certain times as you develop your list. You also might find that certain senses trigger more thoughts than others. A trigger may be anything around you — sights, odors, sounds, songs, certain people or people dressed a certain way. You may not be able to eliminate all these things from happening around you, but if you are aware of the link you can begin to sever the tie that those things have on your thinking.
It is a good idea each week to have someone who is an approved counselor review this list with you to see if they notice a pattern that you might have missed. I recommend asking your pastor or H.O.P.E. Director about getting this set up. Do not show this list to just anyone — only to those who are in spiritual leadership that can give you Biblical direction.
