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For anyone in recovery · Adults 18+

After a slip: the next 24 hours.

A slip doesn't cancel what you've done. What helps now is getting safe, telling someone and working out what happened, in that order.

First, get safe

If you or anyone else is in danger, or you've taken more than you meant to and feel unwell, call 999.

If you've had a break from opioids, your tolerance will have dropped. Going back to the amount you used before can cause a fatal overdose. The same caution makes sense with other drugs. Talk to a drug service, or call FRANK on 0300 123 6600, any time.

Then, in this order

  1. Tell one personSecrecy is what makes a slip harder to come back from. Try: "I drank last night. I don't want to hide it. Can we talk?" A helpline counts if there's nobody else.
  2. Look after your bodyWater, food and sleep. Big decisions can wait until tomorrow.
  3. Get rid of what's leftMake the next choice easier. Ask someone to help if that's hard to do alone.
  4. Make the next 24 hours smallOne person, one meal, one meeting or appointment. That's the whole plan.
  5. Look at what happenedDo this once you're steady, not while you feel at your worst.

Look at it without punishing yourself

I can treat consequences as information and ask what they are showing me.

Some questions to write down or talk through:

  • What happened just before it? What was I feeling?
  • Who didn't I call, and what stopped me?
  • What had slipped in the days before: sleep, meetings, answering people?
  • Where was the earliest point that I could have done something different?
  • What's one thing I'll change this week?

Then add what you find to your warning signs.

Common questions

Is it a slip or a relapse?

People use these words differently. What you do next matters more than the label. If it's happening more than once, or you've gone back to using regularly, that's a good time to bring in more support.

If I've been drinking again, can I just stop?

If you've gone back to heavy drinking and get shaky, sweaty or sick when you stop, get medical advice first. Read this before stopping suddenly.

Have I lost my sober date?

That's for you to decide, and nobody else. You don't lose what you learned during that time, or the people you met.

Where the facts come from

Service details checked against these pages on 4 November 2026. Tell us if something has changed.

Keep this on your phone

Quiet Strength Recovery has a private place to write this down, and a Support me now screen that opens without a passcode. It's free, with no account.

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If you need help now

EmergencyPolice, fire, ambulance999 SamaritansFree, any time, you can just talk116 123 All UK helplinesAlcohol, drugs, families, abuse, by nationOpen

From Chris Nugent, Quiet Strength Recovery. This comes from lived experience of addiction and recovery. How these guides are checked.

For adults 18+. Peer support and education from lived experience. Not medical treatment, and not a replacement for professional or emergency help. Outside the UK, use your local emergency number.