Keep pushing forward and remember that you are not alone in this journey – together with experts at Lantana, we can overcome the challenges of addiction and embrace a healthier, happier future. It’s essential to work with a healthcare professional or counselor to identify and develop coping skills that work for you and to continually practice and refine these skills over time. By building a strong set of coping skills, individuals can improve their chances of maintaining sobriety and leading a healthy, fulfilling life. In the course of this blog entry, we’ve traversed the turbulent waters of relapse and examined its stages—emotional, mental, and physical.
- Regular meditation practice can provide a sense of inner peace and clarity, which helps ease some of the emotional and psychological factors that drive many relapse events.
- Whether through structured therapy sessions or informal practices, managing stress will help you maintain focus and avoid relapse.
- Including accountability as part of your relapse prevention plan is a way to make sure you stick to the plan, as well as reviewing and refining it over time.
- That’s why having a relapse prevention plan in place is part of a successful recovery effort.
What are the three stages of relapse?
Feeling conflicted is typical – you may feel that you want to use but are trying to talk yourself out of it. At this stage, the thought of using can be very strong and you may experience cravings or seek out other users. Adi Jaffe, Ph.D., is an expert in mental health, addiction, and personal transformation and the author of The Abstinence Myth and Unhooked. Emotional triggers like guilt, shame, boredom, or anxiety are just as powerful. Group support, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, offers community and accountability. These peer groups allow sharing of experiences and mutual encouragement, relapse prevention skills which helps participants commit to recovery.
Relapse Prevention Techniques & Coping Skills to Use in Recovery
Meditation helps improve focus, reduce stress, and enhance emotional well-being for many people. Regular meditation practice can provide a sense of inner peace and clarity, which helps ease some of the emotional and psychological factors that drive many relapse events. By taking care of themselves, individuals can better navigate the challenges of addiction recovery and maintain their sobriety over the long term. By cultivating a strong and reliable support network, especially in early recovery, individuals can improve their chances of staying on the path to long-term recovery. Stress, negative emotions, social situations, exposure to substances, and complacency are common triggers. When someone is suffering from the effects of drug and/or alcohol abuse and/or addiction, relapse is a common occurrence.
Step Recovery Focus
Try to imagine the bad things that could happen if your sobriety is compromised. The HALT alcoholism symptoms strategy encourages you to address feelings of hunger, anger, loneliness, or tiredness, which can all be relapse triggers. Gratitude is a powerful tool for drug addiction recovery that involves acknowledging and appreciating the positive aspects of life, even in the face of challenges or adversity.
Greater Boston Addiction Centers
- Keep pushing forward and remember that you are not alone in this journey – together with experts at Lantana, we can overcome the challenges of addiction and embrace a healthier, happier future.
- Involving loved ones helps mend relationships and creates a supportive home environment.
- It is critical to check in with yourself daily, to be honest with yourself if you are slipping, and to have techniques for getting back on track.
Whether it’s a daily walk or a workout, staying active can be a key factor in relapse prevention. When an urge comes, it can be difficult to manage it, especially in the beginning of recovery. A very helpful relapse prevention skill is making a list of healthy family members or friends who are also in recovery that you can call for support. Having a safe person to talk to can help you get past the craving and remember why you do not want to return to previous behaviors. Keeping that list on you at all times is important because it is a readily available resource you can use by quickly calling someone safe.
