Recovery Self-Assessment
Understand Your Own Case — What You Know, What's Missing, What Comes Next
Let's Start Here
This assessment is not a quiz. There are no right or wrong answers. It's a way to understand what you actually know about your situation versus what you're assuming.
It takes about 20-30 minutes depending on your path. You can stop anytime and come back.
What brings you here today?
Substance Use & Recovery
When you think about your substance use — whether you're currently using, in early recovery, or further along — what's actually happening?
What Do You Know Right Now?
Let's separate what you actually know about your situation from what you're assuming or told.
When you look at your actual use patterns over the last month (or longer), what's consistent? What changes?
Recovery Stability Check
You're in a different position. Let's identify what's actually solid in your recovery and what's fragile.
What's the longest you've gone without using?
The Trigger Question
This is the real question: What changes right before you use?
Not why you think you use. What actually precedes it — feelings, situations, people, times of day, thoughts.
What's Threatening That?
If you relapsed (or came close), what was actually happening that time?
Mental Health Challenges
Depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, bipolar, OCD — these work differently in different people. What matters is your specific pattern.
What's the main challenge you're dealing with right now?
Understanding Your Depression
Depression isn't one thing. It's different for everyone. Let's find your pattern.
When did this start?
Understanding Your Anxiety
Anxiety is about threat detection. Your system is flagging something as dangerous. What?
When anxiety hits, what are you worried about?
Understanding Your Trauma Response
Trauma changes how your threat system works. Things remind you of the event, or trigger strong reactions.
What helps you know the difference between "I'm in danger now" and "this reminds me of something"?
Understanding Your Attention
Attention is about where your focus goes. Some people hyperfocus on interesting things but can't manage boring tasks. Others get distracted by everything.
What's the pattern for you?
Where To Start
If you're dealing with multiple things, one usually makes everything else harder.
If you could fix one thing right now, what would make everything easier?
Trauma & Recovery
Trauma changes how your system processes threat. Let's understand what happened and what's happening now.
Where are you in the recovery process?
Understanding Someone Else's Situation
This is different — you're outside the system looking in.
Who are you trying to understand?
How Recovery Works as a System
Good question. Most people think about recovery as willpower or treatment. It's actually a system problem.
Your Recovery Profile — Substance Use
Based on what you've shared, here's what matters for your case:
What You Know
You've identified your use patterns and (maybe) what precedes them. That's the real data. That's valuable.
What You Need To Know
Gold standard questions:
- How much are you using? (quantity, frequency)
- What happens when you try to stop or reduce?
- How is it affecting your body? (sleep, energy, health)
- How is it affecting your relationships and responsibilities?
Your unique questions:
- What's the specific trigger before you use?
- What happens right after — relief, shame, crash?
- When have you stopped? What was different?
Your Mental Health Profile
You've started identifying your pattern. Now let's get specific about what to measure and track.
Gold Standard Assessments
A professional will measure things like:
- Symptom severity (rating scales)
- Functional impact (work, relationships, daily tasks)
- Duration and frequency
- Response to treatment
Your Personal Metrics
But here's what matters for YOU:
- When is it manageable vs. unbearable?
- What actually helps (not what you're told should help)
- What triggers it? What eases it?
- How does it affect the things you care about most?
Your Trauma Recovery Profile
Trauma is a system recalibration. Your threat detection changed. Recovery is about bringing that system back into alignment.
What Recovery Requires
- A safe place to think about what happened
- Gradual re-exposure (at your pace, with support)
- Understanding the difference between "then" and "now"
- Rebuilding trust (in yourself, in others, in safety)
This usually requires professional support. Not because you're broken, but because your nervous system needs help recalibrating.
Supporting Someone Else's Recovery
You're asking good questions. The most helpful thing you can do:
Understand Their Case (Not Your Judgment of It)
- Ask them what they know about their situation
- Listen without judging or fixing
- Help them see patterns they might not see
- Encourage them to work with professionals
This assessment is not diagnosis. Use it to understand yourself better and discuss your case with professionals. If you're in crisis, contact a mental health professional or crisis line immediately.