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How “Playing the Tape Forward” Helped Me Stay Sober
Why this visualization technique is one of the most powerful recovery tools that I know.
I got sober two-and-a-half years ago, ending a nasty drinking habit that had lasted throughout my twenties.
It wasn’t my first attempt to quit drinking, but it was the one that finally stuck.
I’ve been asked before what made this time different from all the others. One of the things that helped was a new visualization tool I learned, called “playing the tape forward.”
“Playing the tape forward” is a technique used to help cope with drinking cravings and urges. When a craving appears, I pictured what would happen if I gave in. I imagined buying that first drink, and asked myself what I would do next. Then I’d ask myself what would happen after that.
When I continued on in this way, “playing the tape forward” in my mind, it eventually showed me exactly how that first drink would inevitably lead me straight back into the depths of my addiction.
The goal of the exercise is to be as honest with ourselves as possible. We try to stay objective as we play through the “tape” of our possible future.
