Common Reasons For Relapse & How To Avoid It Gateway Help

Negative feelings are a part of everyday life; it’s essential not to let them get hold of you. After you’ve been sober for a while, you might start feeling like you’ve got your recovery under control. To avoid becoming complacent, stay connected with other people who are in recovery. Sticking with therapy or a 12-step program is key to avoiding relapse.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, between 40 and 60% of people who receive treatment for drug addiction will experience relapse. This means that relapse is a common part of the journey to addiction recovery. If you’ve experienced relapse before, you are not alone, and it doesn’t mean that you’ll never have a successful recovery. Gatehouse Treatment would like to help you overcome your relapse triggers. We propose you take a moment to learn about how addictive triggers can impact your life. In doing so, you will be able to spot the different signs of addiction and protect yourself better in the future.

Substance Use Treatment

If addicted people could simply make the decision to get sober, snap their fingers, and turn their lives around, they would. Recovery is not easy and most people require addiction treatment to reclaim their lives once they become addicted to drugs or alcohol. And, many people who struggle with addiction turn to their substance or activity of choice as a maladaptive way of coping with it. Meaning, you can purposefully avoid certain places, cut off relationships with certain people, and take other intentional actions to limit your exposure to triggers. If you or a loved one is struggling with a substance abuse disorder or mental health problem, we want to help.

For those struggling with substance abuse and addiction, it isn’t uncommon for the affected person to return to alcohol or drug use. About 40-60% of those struggling with addiction relapse following treatment. During treatment, relapse prevention programs may be incorporated as part of the overall treatment plan. This can include education on triggers, coping mechanisms, and developing a plan for maintaining sobriety. Having a relapse prevention plan during recovery is essential for staying sober.

There are several ways to combat these triggers long before you ever experience them

Once a person has experienced addiction, it is impossible to erase the memory. But with good coping skills, a person can learn to let go of thoughts of using quickly. In bargaining, individuals start to think of scenarios in which it would be acceptable to use. A common example is when people give themselves permission to use on holidays or on a trip. It is a common experience that airports and all-inclusive resorts are high-risk environments in early recovery.

• But if you’re someone in recovery from a substance use disorder, cravings for drugs or alcohol can come on strong, throwing a wrench into your attempt to avoid relapse.
• External triggers are certain activities, locations, people, objects, images, situations, and events that can make you want to use drugs or drink alcohol.
• These subconscious responses and cues from the brain are particularly dangerous for people in recovery, as they reinforce the desire to use drugs or alcohol without the person even being aware of it.
• Loneliness and feeling isolated, social anxiety around others becoming unmanageable.
• Activities like breathing exercises that allow a person to clear their mind of thoughts and refocus their awareness can be powerful prevention tools.
• After transitioning out of rehab and heading back home or into a sober living program, every individual in recovery will encounter several triggers that can cause a relapse.

The way that the brain links memories is a powerful tool that is used to help you recall important information, but that may also affect your recovery process. While many triggers can types of relapse triggers be negative experiences, it is important to note that positive events can trigger relapsing as well. The good news about triggers is they lessen with time as you create new memories.

What are Common Relapse Triggers?

There is one benefit of self-help groups that deserves special attention. They can be obstacles to recovery, because individuals may feel that they have been damaged by their addiction and they don’t deserve recovery or happiness. Clinical experience has shown that self-help groups help individuals overcome their guilt and shame of addiction by seeing that they are not alone. In late stage recovery, individuals are subject to special risks of relapse that are not often seen in the early stages. Clinical experience has shown that the following are some of the causes of relapse in the growth stage of recovery. This is also the time to deal with any family of origin issues or any past trauma that may have occurred.

• These feelings can lead to impulse behaviors against the individual’s recovery plan.
• According to the latest data from a study at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 40 – 60% of people treated for substance use disorders will relapse at some point.
• The belief is that recovery requires some special strength or willpower that the individual does not possess.
• It is important to recognize the signs of emotional relapse early so the necessary steps can be taken to prevent a total return to addiction.

Mindfulness-based relapse prevention is essential for people in recovery. Anchored Tides Recovery center offers various treatment options to deal with stages of relapse. It is essential to understand what might trigger you to relapse and learn healthy coping mechanisms when triggered. If you are looking to quit your alcohol and drug addiction but fear that you might relapse and fall into the vicious cycle of addiction again, you are not alone. Statistically, it’s common for people who struggle with drug and alcohol addictions to relapse at some point during recovery. Unfortunately, drug relapse rates for individuals who leave rehab are relatively high.