In either case, understanding your triggers forms a significant part of a successful recovery journey. Preventing relapse isn’t as easy as saying no to opportunities to use again. Physical relapse is only preventable if you avoid high-risk situations. You must also develop healthy coping skills and an effective relapse prevention plan.
How Can I Prevent Relapse?
- In the absence of triggers, or cues, cravings are headed toward extinction soon after quitting.
- As a result, getting someone back into treatment as quickly as possible following relapse is crucial to their long-term health and recovery.
- If your current obstacle could have been bypassed with better planning, consider implementing an alternative approach to make your life simpler.
- Learning to recognize triggers, getting help from a counselor, and building a support network are all useful tools in preventing a relapse.
It’s an ongoing process that requires patience, persistence, and a whole lot of self-compassion. There’s no shame in seeking professional help – in fact, it’s one of the bravest things you can do. Therapists, counselors, and support groups are invaluable resources in your recovery journey. Read more to learn about types and stages of relapse in addiction, as well as relapse prevention strategies. Numerous studies have shown that mind-body relaxation reduces the use of drugs and alcohol and is effective in long-term relapse prevention 28,29.
- A friend doesn’t have to be facing substance abuse to be a trigger.
- Studies have shown that social support and connection play a crucial role in preventing relapse.
- For individuals who have previously used drugs or alcohol to cope with stress, encountering similar stressors can increase the risk of relapse.
- Reach out to family members or friends who are safe and encouraging or join a support group.
- At Discovery Institute, our team of professionals can help you gain some insight into how to recognize relapse triggers and what to do if you relapse after you’ve completed rehab and detox.
- Between 40 percent and 60 percent of individuals relapse within their first year of treatment, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Relapse Prevention Treatment at Discovery Institute
They can also help reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can be common during recovery. Developing strategies to manage personal triggers and emotional responses can play a significant role in preventing emotional relapse. The growth stage is about developing skills that individuals may have never learned and that predisposed them to addiction 1,2. The repair stage of recovery was about catching up, and the growth stage is about moving forward. Clinical experience has shown that this stage usually starts 3 to 5 years after individuals have stopped using drugs or alcohol and is a lifetime path. Equally important is to learn to identify situations that carry high risk of relapse and to develop very specific strategies for dealing with each of them.
- Therefore, a key aspect of recovery is identifying potential triggers and risk factors and avoiding them as much as possible.
- In bargaining, individuals start to think of scenarios in which it would be acceptable to use.
- Part of challenging addictive thinking is to encourage clients to see that they cannot be good to others if they are first not good to themselves.
Stress Increases Vulnerability to Triggers and Relapse
When individuals continue to refer to their using days as “fun,” they continue to downplay the negative consequences of addiction. Expectancy theory has shown that when people expect to have fun, they usually do, and when they expect that something will not be fun, it types of relapse triggers usually isn’t 15. In the early stages of substance abuse, using is mostly a positive experience for those who are emotionally and genetically predisposed.
Identifying Your Personal Triggers
They may not recognize that stopping use of a substance is only the first step in recovery—what must come after that is building or rebuilding a life, one that is not focused around use. In general, the longer a person has not used a substance, the lower their desire to use. No matter how much abstinence is the desired goal, viewing any substance use at all as a relapse can actually increase the likelihood of future substance use. It can engage what has been termed the Abstinence Violation Effect. It encourages people to see themselves as failures, attributing the cause of the lapse to enduring and uncontrollable internal factors, and feeling guilt and shame.
Positive coping skills include attending support groups, exercising, journaling, and eating healthy foods to minimize intense cravings. Often, relapse will be preceded by a trigger that causes someone to start thinking about relapsing or creates a craving for a substance that was previously used. These triggers can be difficult to recognize and can completely disrupt a recovery if they lead to relapse. Recognition and avoidance of potential triggers will be a key part of any recovery process.
