Mapping Cycles

Addiction is process-oriented and it is cyclical in nature. If there is a replicating pattern, we can use this knowledge to help end it because chains can be broken.

Published: October 27, 2023
Reviewed: February 19, 2025

Addiction involves a repetitious chain of events. You may have heard your support group refer to the "ritual" leading up to a slip, for example. We can use this knowledge to our advantage because chains can be broken. This exercise helps identify patterns that keep us in addiction (or any other struggle in life).

The infograph below is a representation of my addictive cycle as I understood it in my early recovery. It is general in nature—not ritualized steps I mentioned above—but it serves well enough as an example of what to do. Also, this is how I experienced my addiction; your experience may not be the same.

Notice I broke my addictive cycle into 5 segments: Obsession, Stigma, Hide, Guilt, Trigger. Each segment represents a significant act or state of being. The criticality and relevancy of the cycle is the connection between the segments. There must be an explanation of why one segment drives or influences the existence of the next segment.

Once the cycle is documented, the next step is to identify what it will take to "break the chain." Anyone in recovery has been taught the importance of honesty. Disclosing my obsession (rather than hiding it) breaks the sequence of events in the infograph's Hide segment. Disclosure breaks the replicating pattern by removing the guilt (or shame) which often drives the addictive cycle.

Now it's your turn to map your own cycle. You can do it on a scrap of paper. Self-examination is the most important part of this exercise. It's critical to identify the linkage (a causal relationship) that connects each event in the process to the next. There are no specific number of "segments." There only needs to be enough to show how the whole process repeats (a feedback loop).

The cycle doesn't have to be just about your addiction process; it can be about any part of your life. It's especially helpful for areas where you struggle understanding why things never seem to change.

About the author

Tony is co-founder of Oak Mountain Coaching, an online practice that helps men regain their sexual integrity from the throes of active addiction and helps their partners heal from betrayal trauma.