Relapse Prevention: 10 Relapse Triggers
The staff at Mark Houston Recovery knows all about drug and alcohol relapse prevention as well as what causes it. Recovery is a journey that lasts a lifetime. Just because you go through a drug and alcohol rehab program doesn’t mean that you’ve successfully rid yourself of the bad habits that landed you there in the first place. Recovery, instead, is something that you will need to be mindful of for the rest of your life if you are ever to remain “drug or alcohol free”. For this reason, relapse can occur at any time if you are not mindful of what you are doing as well as the situations you put yourself in. The following is a list of 10 Common Relapse Triggers. For the full list of relapse triggers as well as advice on how to avoid relapse, visit Mark Houston’s web page on relapse.
10 Common Drug and Alcohol Relapse Triggers
- Putting Yourself in Difficult Situations: This can be anything from visiting your favorite bar to hanging out at a particular friend’s house while there is a party going on.
- Isolation: Keeping yourself isolated is one of the worst things anyone can do. This is especially bad for recovering drug or alcohol addicts. Make sure that you attend all of your meetings and work with your sponsor (if applicable).
- Keeping Drugs and/or Alcohol Where You Live: If you are recovering from a drug and/or alcohol addiction, NEVER keep any sort of substance in your house. If need be, a close friend or family member should know that you are in the process of recovering and should volunteer to hold on to any necessary medication should you need any.
- Obsessing: Many recovering drug and/or alcohol addicts find themselves craving, even obsessing over drugs and drinking. This is not unusual but can be avoided by staying busy. Join a local community organization, meet new people. Do things to enrich your life so that you are not always focusing on negative things that will hurt you.
- Skipping Appointments: This is a one way trip to getting yourself in trouble. Always make it a priority to keep up with doctor’s appointments and any other form of therapy that you may be receiving. If you fail to keep up, you are only failing yourself by not following your relapse prevention treatment plan.
- Am I Strong Enough? This is a hard question that many recovering drug/alcohol addicts find themselves asking. If you are having doubts, talk to someone about it; let them know how you are feeling. Realize that you had the strength and foresight to go and seek help in the first place and let this guide you!
- Relationship Strain: Being an alcoholic or a drug addict can put a significant strain on a relationship because there are a lot of emotionally draining things to deal with. If you are a recovering alcoholic or drug abuser who has went through the recovery process but who is still living with someone who abuses drugs, your best bet is to either get them the help that they need or walk away. You will be unable to take care of others if you haven’t taken care of yourself first.
- High Expectations: It’s great that you went through the whole drug and alcohol rehab process and were a success. However, setting your expectations too high can lead to disappointment. Don’t be too hard on yourself though. Remember that recovery takes time!
- Changing Your Routine: Maintaining a set schedule is absolutely vital to recovery. If you constantly make sure that you have something to do every minute of the day, then you’ll never be bored. Idle time is what gets most people into trouble after all!
- Ignoring Sudden Changes: Any sudden changes in your mood or attitude should be noted. Try keeping a journal to record your thoughts and how you are feeling. Also, make sure you let your therapist know, this way different causes can be ruled out.
For more information on drug and alcohol relapse prevention, contact Mark Houston Recovery today!
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[…] Relapse prevention is such an important part of the recovery process for recoverin drug and/or alcohol addicts. Whether you’re just entering into a drug and alcohol rehab facility to get over a cocaine addiction, meth addiction or heroin addiction OR if you’ve been through the entire drug rehab process and are now back to living on your own and trying to function, the temptation will always be there to start doing drugs or drinking alcohol again. It takes a lot of self discipline and mental strength not to mention strength of character to shy away from drugs. Many people fall into the drug scene when they are young because of outside pressures such as peer pressure or family environment. This is why it is so important to teach your children at an early age about the dangers of drug use. My dad started smoking for fun when he was a teenager- it was something that he and his friends would do. However, years later, he hasn’t been able to successfully quit. […]