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My Warning-Sign Behaviors (Middle Circle)
The middle circle is where relapse actually begins. It's not the behavior itself - it's the on-ramps: the moods, situations, and small choices that reliably lead you toward your inner circle. Most slips can be traced back to a middle-circle behavior that went unnoticed. Map yours, and you can catch yourself early, while it's still easy to turn around.
Relapse starts in the middle circle: By the time you're at the inner-circle line, you're fighting uphill. The middle circle is where you still have plenty of room to change course - if you've named what it looks like.
My on-ramps
Tick the middle-circle behaviors and situations that lead you toward trouble.
- [ ] Staying up alone late at night
- [ ] Mindless scrolling / following a trail of content
- [ ] Skipping meetings, check-ins, or sleep
- [ ] Letting resentment or stress build without addressing it
- [ ] Secrecy creeping back in
- [ ] Isolating from supportive people
- [ ] 'Testing' myself near old cues
My most common middle-circle behavior - the one that most reliably leads me toward the edge:
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My early-exit plan
When I notice a middle-circle behavior, here's what I'll do to turn around:
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Catch it early, turn easily: Noticing the on-ramp is a recovery win, not a failure - it means the tool is working. The earlier you spot the drift, the smaller the course-correction needs to be.
Go deeper
Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.
- The Three Circles, from Sex Addiction Recovery. The Three Circles turn 'stop' into a usable map: bottom lines, warning signs, and a life worth protecting.
- Relapse Prevention: Seeing the Warning Signs, from Sex Addiction Recovery. Relapse is a process, not an event.
- Riding the Wave: Emotions & the Window of Tolerance, from Sex Addiction Recovery. Acting out is often an attempt to escape a flooded or numb nervous system.