Exodus Recovery Skills

Comprehending
Addiction

Addiction is a many-layered behavioural disorder that arises out of a number of dysfunctional biopsychosocial factors interacting in an unpredictable way. This module explores not only the common signs and symptoms of the Cycle of Addiction but also the underlying mechanisms that keep us repeating the same self-destructive patterns over and over.

Navigating
Recovery

The old adage of “once an addict, always an addict” is simply not true. Recovery is fully possible and achievable for all people, no matter how irreconcilable the situation may seem. This moduleclarifies what it means to recover in a meaningful way and provides a multifaceted framework for achieving sustainable change.

Life Recovery
Planning

Like with anything in life, recovery works best when we take the time to carefully plan our journey forward. This is why a strong Life Recovery Plan is vital to any sustainable recovery process. This module outlines the purpose as well as the structure of a Life Recovery Plan. ERS participants are also guided through the construction of their own individualised “roadmap” for recovery.

Tackling
Triggers

External and internal cues that have been neurologically paired with using over time are referred to as “triggers”. Triggers can initiate powerful automatic responses in us that could lead to relapse. In this module, ERS participants identify their own personal triggers, put plans in place to avoid them and set up strategies to increase resilience when encounters with triggers occur.

Exploring Emotional
Intelligence

When our Emotional Intelligence is underdeveloped, we regularly adopt dysfunctional coping strategies, such as self-medicating, to deal with our feelings. This is why learning to identify, understand and manage our emotional responses is vitally important in recovery. This module unpacks four fundamental components of Emotional Intelligence and provides opportunities for participants to reflect on their own emotional quotient.

Enhancing Emotional
Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is not something that we have or don’t have. It is an attribute that can be developed. It is possible to enhance our Emotional Intelligence with practice and with the help of some practical strategies. In this module, ERS participants learn about and apply techniques to improve self-awareness, to regulate emotional responses and to respond to emotions in positive, productive ways.

Mapping Your
Mind

Mastering our minds is indeed one of the most vital keys to mastering our lives. This is because of the profound and powerful impact that our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes have on our emotional, spiritual and even physical well-being. This module looks at the neuroscience supporting Descartes’ statement “I think, therefore I am” and explores ways to overcome the “thinking problems” that sustain self-sabotaging behaviour. 

Coping with
Cravings

Cravings in recovery can be unnerving but do not have to lead to relapse. Cravings are not a sign of “weak recovery” nor are they unsurmountable. What matters about cravings is not that we have them, but how we handle them. This module unpacks the physiology of cravings, disputes several myths about them and presents a number of effective “survival” strategies.

Maintaining Mooring
Lines

The patterns of thinking and behaving that keep recovery safely anchored and steady can be likened to the mooring lines of a boat. Often, when we find ourselves in a “relapse drift”, it is because one, or more, of our personal Mooring Lines has been dropped. In this module, ERS participants identify their individual Mooring Lines and determine ways of ensuring that their Mooring Lines are always securely in place.

Working on
Self-Worth

Self-esteem that is built upon self-worth is stable because it is not dependent on external variables. When we have self-worth, we believe that we are deserving of love and respect, irrespective of what we may, or may not, have achieved and regardless of what others think, say and do. This module focuses on practical strategies that can be applied to intentionally nurture an enduring sense of personal significance and value.

Watching for
Warning Signs

Relapse does not happen “out of the blue.” In the lead up, there are always signals, or Warning Signs, that indicate a relapse may be on its way. Typically, significant cognitive, emotional and behavioural shifts precede a physical return to using. In this module, ERS participants reflect on past patterns to determine their own personal Warning Signs. Intervention strategies, to apply when Warning Signs arise, are also applied.

Attitude of
Gratitude

Gratitude is a fundamental pillar of recovery that benefits us in a multitude of ways. Unfortunately, gratitude doesn’t always come naturally to us. Staying grateful is something that most of us need to work on. This module explores what it means to live with an “attitude of gratitude” and provides practical tools that can be applied to foster a lasting perspective of thankfulness.