Understanding Relapse Planning in Addiction Recovery
Relapse is often a “dirty word” in the addiction world. But that’s a viewpoint for anyone on the outside looking in. For therapists and those within the addiction community, relapse is a component of the recovery process. It’s not something to fear, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve failed. But you do need the tools and resources to avoid it and work through it if it happens.
At Victory Recovery Addiction Center, we offer relapse planning as a component of the recovery process. That means we create a plan to address relapse early and have the tools in place to act if it happens. It’s preventative measures like this that can make a substantial difference in the outcome of your life.
Will I Relapse If I Get Addiction Treatment?
Many people suffer from relapse, which means they start using a substance after working through addiction. According to some statistics and research, between 40% and 60% of people relapse. That is about the same as many other chronic conditions, such as heart disease and asthma.
Relapse happens for many reasons:
- High levels of stress or intense emotions, whether from depression, anger, fear, or boredom
- Environmental factors such as exposure to the substance or the people and places where there are significant memories
- Untreated mental health conditions, which is why co-occurring addiction and mental health treatment is so important
- Unprocessed trauma that you may have pushed to the side or not worked through in a healthy manner
- Isolation, loss of support, or no longer getting the therapy you need
Relapse can occur after a single incident or during a period of intense stress. Sometimes it happens suddenly. It’s treatable. The relapse consequences do not have to define your future.
What Is Relapse Planning?
Relapse planning is the process of creating a personalized strategy to help you avoid relapse. It’s a step-by-step guide that allows you to recognize when relapse is a very real risk so you can take action to prevent it from occurring. These are highly effective ways to prevent relapse that you’ll learn in treatment.
Every person’s plan is a bit different, but they all revolve around helping you to avoid stepping back into addiction. Consider the common components of your relapse planning process.
Identify All of Your Triggers
Addiction triggers are people, places, things, emotions, times of the day, or other very specific factors that put you at a higher risk of using a substance. These are things that create an urge or craving to use a substance. Sometimes they are a memory, while other times it’s being tired or hungry. We identify each of these so we can create a plan for avoiding or managing them.
Learn Your Warning Signs
You’ll learn how to identify your specific warning signs for addiction relapse. For many people, these may include:
- Thinking about alcohol or drugs frequently
- Skipping support meetings
- Pulling away from family and friends
- Feeling irritated more commonly
- Not sleeping well or sleeping often
By knowing what these are, you gain awareness of what’s at risk. If you find yourself making excuses not to go to meetings, for example, you’ll recognize that as a warning sign that you may need additional help and support.
Develop Coping Strategies for High-Risk Situations
We can’t eliminate all of the stress you feel throughout your lifetime. But we can provide you with a way to handle the most common risks. This includes:
- Effective ways to manage stress in your specific life
- How to deal with cravings should they occur
- Utilizing exercise and breathing techniques to calm your negative thought processes
- Performing a HALT check (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)
- Knowing when to call a sponsor for help
These strategies allow you to deal with those feelings and thoughts of using again. But you still have to react and take action to get the help.
Build a Support Network
You’ll work with our team to create a strong network of support for your life. That support network is like a list of people to call when there’s a need. That includes family and friends but also professionals within our team.
Create a Daily Routine
Routines help those in addiction recovery to work through the high stress and intense moments more effectively. Routines help you avoid bad decisions. You’ll work with your therapist to create a plan that aligns with the following goals:
- Eating
- Sleeping schedules
- Physical activity opportunities
- Counseling and therapy
- Support group attendance
Through this process of relapse planning, we provide you with tools that work in the real world to solve problems as they happen. You develop skills to react when your body and brain need more help. This leads to fewer instances of relapse.
Set Up Some Time to Speak to Us
Contact Victory today to explore what your current needs are. We’ll work with you to address the health and mental well-being needs you have and get you on the road to relapse planning. Contact us now.