This worksheet is to be used in the wake of having compulsively acted. It is a means of deepening your awareness of the compulsive act, not as a measure of purging guilt.

1) If you have reached the part of the Recovery Workshop that describes ritualistic chains, include a brief chain of this compulsion here:

2) At what point did I realize that I was facing a compulsive urge and had the desire to act out?

3) What was my immediate reaction to this awareness?

For instance, did I take our my values list, intentionally try to minimize the urge so that it would have time to escalate...

4) How far did I get in engaging in healthy urge control before succumbing to my emotions?

5) How far did I get in engaging in a healthy decision-making process before succumbing to my emotions?

6) What mental games did I play that perpetuated my acting out?

For instance, I knew that I was going out of town — which is a known trigger for me — and I intentionally avoided taking the time to create an action plan to help me manage this trigger.

7) What pre-slip actions, if any, did I take to set up the physical and emotional environment that allowed me to act out?

For instance, I intentionally created emotional distance from my wife.

8) How will I use this experience to manage similar events in the future? Do I really want to learn from this?