A 10-Minute Pause

Before
You Pour

A moment to notice.
A chance to choose.

SECOND STATE

Before
You Decide

You have a choice right now.

Take a moment to notice what's true before you decide what to do next.

SECOND STATE

What Brought
Me Here?

  • I'm ready to relax
  • I'm celebrating
  • I've had a stressful day
  • I'm feeling anxious
  • I'm meeting people who are drinking
  • I want to have fun
  • I want a reward
  • I'm bored
  • I'm lonely
  • I'm at brunch with friends
  • I'm at a work lunch or meeting
  • I'm cooking or winding down at home
  • It's a wedding, holiday, or celebration
  • I'm doing something I associate with drinking
  • Nothing really happened — I just feel like I need a drink
SECOND STATE

What Do I Want
The Drink To Do?

  • Help me relax
  • Make this more fun
  • Keep a good feeling going
  • Help me feel more social
  • Give me something to do
  • Make me feel more comfortable
  • Take the edge off
  • Change how I feel
  • Numb what I'm feeling
  • Let me escape for a while
  • I'm not really sure
SECOND STATE

What Usually Happens
After The First One?

  • One is enough
  • I have another
  • Two often becomes more
  • It depends
  • I stop paying attention to how many I've had
  • I already know what happens next
SECOND STATE

Give Yourself
10 Minutes

10:00

While you wait, try something different from what you'd normally do:

Change something.

Your environment. Your body. Your attention.

SECOND STATE

Check In Again

Do I still want the drink?

What did I notice?

The goal of the pause isn't perfection.

It's awareness.

SECOND STATE

Keep
Noticing

You gave yourself ten minutes to notice.

That's the whole practice — not perfection, just awareness, one pause at a time.

This tool is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.

If you drink first thing in the morning to feel normal, or have ever had shaking, sweating, racing heart, or anxiety when you tried to stop, please talk to a doctor before changing your drinking on your own. Stopping suddenly after heavy regular drinking can be medically dangerous, and this tool isn't a substitute for that care.

Free, confidential help is available 24/7:
SAMHSA Helpline — 1-800-662-4357

SECOND STATE