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For anyone in recovery · Adults 18+

The BRAVE tool: make a gap before you act.

Create a gap between the trigger and the next decision. BRAVE is one Quiet Strength tool. It is not compulsory and it is not the only route. Use it when it helps you slow an automatic reaction.

  1. Break the momentInterrupt the automatic reaction. Even a few seconds can create a gap.
  2. RecogniseName the feeling, thought, urge, fear, anger, isolation or behaviour.
  3. AccountabilityOwn your behaviour and your next decision without unnecessary shame.
  4. View the bigger pictureWhere will this decision take me? What matters more than this moment?
  5. Execute the better actionMake the healthier next move: walk away, call, wait, apologise, connect, write, or do not act on the urge.

What it can look like

A hard phone call ends, and the thought arrives: I need a drink.

  1. Break the momentPut the phone down. Stand up. Step outside if you can.
  2. RecogniseI'm angry, and I feel shut out. That's what this is.
  3. AccountabilityThat call wasn't all in my hands. What I do in the next hour is.
  4. View the bigger pictureWhich choice will I be glad of tomorrow morning?
  5. Execute the better actionText a friend, walk round the block, and decide again after that.

Use it afterwards too

BRAVE also works looking back. If a moment went badly, go through the five steps and ask where a gap could have come sooner. That isn't to punish yourself. It's to make the gap easier to find next time.

When it isn't enough

A tool can only do so much. If you keep ending up in the same place, or if you're not safe, bring someone in. Here's how to get help, and how to get through an urge in the meantime.

Keep this on your phone

Quiet Strength Recovery has BRAVE with space to write. Quiet Sisters Recovery has a version for families and partners. Both are free, with no account.

All guides

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.

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.