Planning, or Projecting? Help Patients Differentiate

During a relapse prevention group at a pre-release center at a local jail, we were discussing goals for the future, when one inmate challenged: “You want me to live one day at a time, to stay 'in the day,' yet you want me to plan for the future. Which is it?”

Good question. Here's where we ended up.

Planning

We need to plan for the future. Our social networks, relationships, education, housing, health care, employment, major purchases, etc. We need to examine our goals and to craft a plan to achieve them.

As an example, “Joe Smith” wants to be president of Smith Construction Company, specializing in high-rise, high-end condo buildings. To achieve this goal, he'll need to examine the steps that will get him there.

How will he acquire the education, investors and real estate? Who will help him with strategic planning, organizational development and a marketing scheme? What about public relations and advertising? Where should he locate his headquarters? These and a thousand other questions will have to be addressed to create the appropriate decision-making chronology. All good stuff.

Projecting

This is where Joe might get into trouble, and where his sobriety could be in peril. By seeing himself sitting in the corner office on the 27th floor of Smith World Headquarters, chewing on a fat cigar and surrounded by young, attractive employees, Joe is not planning. He's projecting. He's imagining a monumentally successful financial future.

It's extremely tempting to dabble in such daydreams. We all do it to varying degrees. Our dreams might include catching the touchdown pass, marrying the ideal mate, winning the lottery, or being recognized as a great painter, author or musician. Having emotional daydreams is normal and not usually a problem.

But when we become emotionally invested in the future, we set ourselves up for disappointment. If Joe is unable to overcome any of the obstacles he'll certainly encounter, he might become so discouraged that he'll return to drugs for comfort. Staying in the “here and now” is a learned skill that will help us control our fantasies.

The bottom line: Planning is an intellectual exercise, done “above the neck.” Joe can plan his future—and keep revising his plan as challenges arise—but he must keep this a mental practice. Projecting, however, is an emotional endeavor that occurs “below the neck.” Emotionally, Joe must stay in the moment, fortifying his relapse prevention plan and embracing gratitude throughout each day.

Addiction professionals must reinforce this important distinction in order to help our patients stay in the day emotionally, while making plans for the future intellectually.

Brian Duffy, LMHC, LADC-I, is a mental health counselor at SMOC Behavioral Healthcare in Framingham, Mass. His e-mail address is bduffy@smoc.org.