Reaching out for support is important, but it’s also crucial to do so with proper etiquette to make sure the help you get is effective and the group remains supportive for everyone. When someone sends an alarming message like “An urge is about to eat me up!!!!!! 😭🔥 Help ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️”, it puts a lot of pressure on the people you’re reaching out to. No one wants to deal with an overwhelming, last-minute panic message when they may not have the energy or mental space to respond well.

Here’s the etiquette: reach out when the urge is still manageable, when you’re at 1% and not 99%. It’s much easier for others to help you when they’re not caught off guard by an intense, last-minute request. Reaching out early allows for a calmer, more supportive conversation and increases the chances of you overcoming the urge.

When you wait until you’re at the brink of relapse, you put your support network in a difficult position. It’s not that people don’t want to help, but responding to a high-stress situation requires mental clarity and time, which is not always available in a crisis moment. By catching the urge early, you’re giving your community the chance to provide the support you need in a more balanced and effective way.