Relapse Prevention Plan Template (Free Printable)

A relapse prevention plan is not a contract you sign with your worst day. It's a soft map you draw on a good day, so the next hard one has somewhere to land. Use what helps. Cross out what doesn't. Come back and edit it often — recovery changes shape, and your plan is allowed to change with it.

← Back to resources

step one

My triggers

Triggers are the people, places, feelings, times of day, or memories that make the old pull louder. Naming them is not the same as avoiding them — it's just turning the light on.

People who tend to pull me under:

Places, times, or situations that are riskier for me:

Feelings I know I am most vulnerable to (lonely, tired, ashamed, bored, angry, hungry):

step two

My early warning signs

The small tells — before things get loud. Sleep, food, who I am or am not talking to, the tone of my own self-talk.

In my body, I notice:

In my behavior, I notice (isolating, skipping meals, scrolling for hours, picking fights, over-working):

In my thinking, I notice (all-or-nothing, "what's the point," romanticizing, secret-keeping):

step three

My coping skills

What actually helps me come back to myself. Be specific — "go for a walk" is good; "walk the back loop with the dog for 20 minutes" is better, because future-me will be too tired to improvise.

Five-minute resets (breath, cold water, step outside, name 5 things I can see):

Thirty-minute resets (a walk, a shower, a meal, a nap, a chore I can finish):

Half-day resets (a meeting, a friend, a long bath, a body of water, a craft, a chapter):

step four

My support people

The ones I can text on a hard night. Write the name and the number — future-me will not feel like scrolling for it.

Person I can call any time (name + number):

Peer support / sponsor / group (name + how to reach):

Clinician / prescriber / care team (name + number):

step five

My reasons

On a clear day, write down what you are staying for. On a hard day, you will not have to remember.

People, places, animals, work, art, mornings I am staying for:

step six

My crisis plan

If the warning signs get loud, this is the plan I do not have to think about.

Tell one person. (Name from step four.)
Remove the means if I can — what is in the house, the car, the cabinet.
Go to a safer place. (Where: ________________________)
Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US) or go to the nearest emergency room. International readers: please use your country's crisis line.
Stay with my person until the wave passes.

If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, please call your local emergency number now. This template is a companion to professional care, not a replacement for it.

A small permission slip

You are allowed to use this plan and then change it. You are allowed to fill in some sections and leave others blank. You are allowed to re-do it next month when you know more about yourself. Recovery is not a test. This is just a softer way to keep showing up.

— Briana