Relapse Prevention

As nearly everyone in recovery has seen, relapse can happen to anyone, at any time, particularly in early recovery, that's why relapse prevention strategies are crucial. Physical relapse frequently begins as an emotional relapse well before someone picks up. Emotional relapse grows into mental relapse which leads to physical relapse. Following are relapse prevention warning sign, tools and resources.

10 Most Common Triggers of Substance Abuse Relapse

The Stages of Relapse

Relapse is a process, it's not an event. In order to understand relapse prevention, you have to understand the stages of relapse. Relapse starts weeks or even months before the event of physical relapse. In this page you will learn the early warning signs of relapse and specific relapse prevention techniques for each stage of relapse. There are three stages of relapse.

Emotional Relapse

In emotional relapse, you're not thinking about using. But your emotions and behaviors are setting you up for a possible relapse in the future.

The signs of emotional relapse are:

The signs of emotional relapse are also the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal. If you understand post-acute withdrawal it's easier to avoid relapse, because the early stage of relapse is easiest to pull back from. In the later stages the pull of relapse gets stronger and the sequence of events moves faster.

Early Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention at this stage means recognizing that you're in emotional relapse and changing your behavior. Recognize that you're isolating and remind yourself to ask for help. Recognize that you're anxious and practice relaxation techniques. Recognize that your sleep and eating habits are slipping and practice self-care.

If you don't change your behavior at this stage and you live too long in the stage of emotional relapse you'll become exhausted, and when you're exhausted you will want to escape, which will move you into mental relapse.

Practice self-care. The most important thing you can do to prevent relapse at this stage is take better care of yourself. Think about why you use. You use drugs or alcohol to escape, relax, or reward yourself. Therefore you relapse when you don't take care of yourself and create situations that are mentally and emotionally draining that make you want to escape.

For example, if you don't take care of yourself and eat poorly or have poor sleep habits, you'll feel exhausted and want to escape. If you don't let go of your resentments and fears through some form of relaxation, they will build to the point where you'll feel uncomfortable in your own skin. If you don't ask for help, you'll feel isolated. If any of those situations continues for too long, you will begin to think about using. But if you practice self-care, you can avoid those feelings from growing and avoid relapse.

Mental Relapse

In mental relapse there's a war going on in your mind. Part of you wants to use, but part of you doesn't. In the early phase of mental relapse you're just idly thinking about using. But in the later phase you're definitely thinking about using.

The signs of mental relapse are:

It gets harder to make the right choices as the pull of addiction gets stronger.

Relapse Prevention Plans

While most relapse prevention plans have unique elements, there are foundational components of your recovery which should be in place to ensure success against challenging emotional times which may ignite triggers and cravings to use, drink or act out.

Foundational recovery components may include having a regular life schedule; having a regular 12-step or non 12-step meeting schedule; having a sponsor or someone who has successfully gone through early recovery to regularly communicate with; having a home group meeting: having a few clean and sober friends you speak with regularly; taking your programs steps and making a commitment to complete them: doing regular meditation or prayer: having a regular exercise routine: outlining your personal goals; and staying away from people who drink and use.

But, sometimes having a solid foundation isn’t enough. So, having additional tools is essential. These may include having a sober friend with you when you go places where you may be triggered; giving yourself permission to leave if you feel uncomfortable; having phone numbers of clean & sober people you can call any time day or night; knowing where a close by meeting is; having gum, chocolate, coffee or cigarettes on hand; carrying a small card with you that has action steps to take if you get triggered, like breathing; walking around the block; calling your sponsor; going to a meeting: pray, meditate, read, journal, exercise, eat chocolate, and don’t pick up no matter. You may also want to write the consequences of picking up on the back of the card, like damaged relationships, legal problems and financial issues.

Techniques for Dealing with Cravings

There are many additional techniques to prevent a relapse when dealing with urges and craving, including:

Play the tape through. When you think about using, the fantasy is that you'll be able to control your use this time. You'll just have one drink. But play the tape through. One drink usually leads to more drinks. You'll wake up the next day feeling disappointed in yourself. You may not be able to stop the next day, and you'll get caught in the same vicious cycle. When you play that tape through to its logical conclusion, using doesn't seem so appealing.

A common mental urge is that you can get away with using, because no one will know if you relapse. Perhaps your spouse is away for the weekend, or you're away on a trip. That's when your addiction will try to convince you that you don't have a big problem, and that you're really doing your recovery to please your spouse or your work. Play the tape through. Remind yourself of the negative consequences you've already suffered, and the potential consequences that lie around the corner if you relapse again. If you could control your use, you would have done it by now.

Tell someone that you're having urges to use. Call a friend, a support, or someone in recovery. Share with them what you're going through. The magic of sharing is that the minute you start to talk about what you're thinking and feeling, your urges begin to disappear. They don't seem quite as big and you don't feel as alone.

Distract yourself. When you think about using, do something to occupy yourself. Call a friend. Go to a meeting. Get up and go for a walk. If you just sit there with your urge and don't do anything, you're giving your mental relapse room to grow.

Wait for 30 minutes. Most urges usually last for less than 15 to 30 minutes. When you're in an urge, it feels like an eternity. But if you can keep yourself busy and do the things you're supposed to do, it'll quickly be gone.

Do your recovery one day at a time. Don't think about whether you can stay abstinent forever. That's a paralyzing thought. It's overwhelming even for people who've been in recovery for a long time.

One day at a time, means you should match your goals to your emotional strength. When you feel strong and you're motivated to not use, then tell yourself that you won't use for the next week or the next month. But when you're struggling and having lots of urges, and those times will happen often, tell yourself that you won't use for today or for the next 30 minutes. Do your recovery in bite-sized chunks and don't sabotage yourself by thinking too far ahead.

Make relaxation part of your recovery. Relaxation is an important part of relapse prevention, because when you're tense you tend to do what’s familiar and wrong, instead of what's new and right. When you're tense you tend to repeat the same mistakes you made before. When you're relaxed you are more open to change.

The Recovery HQ Team is here to help you!

It’s important to know that you and your loved one are not alone in your fight to recover and prevent relapse. Whether you choose to go to a recovery meeting, listen to a recovery speaker, read recovery literature, do meditation, or use another recovery resource, taking this first step toward securing your recovery has begun. Search Recovery HQ, use the SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator, or contact our dedicated team and we will help find the solution which best fits your needs.