Recovery from addiction can be a long, sometimes challenging, road. While sobriety brings new joy and opportunities into life, there will be bumps along the journey. Recovery does not mean perfection. Sobriety is a new way of life that brings uncomfortable feelings along with it. Sometimes, these feelings can be overwhelming, and you may be tempted to turn to the comfort you once knew–drugs or alcohol. Cravings can be intense, and, unfortunately, there is no magic switch you can flip to turn them off. However, by taking the time to create a solid relapse prevention plan, you can effectively avoid losing the sobriety you’ve earned.
What Is a Relapse Prevention Plan?
A relapse prevention plan is a strategy created to help you from falling into the trap of relapse by intervening at critical moments in your recovery. Depending on what works best for you, plans can be detailed, written outlines, or general verbal techniques. The only thing necessary to a relapse prevention plan is to provide yourself with the tools needed to maintain your sobriety. However, before creating a relapse prevention plan, you should have a thorough understanding of what relapse can look like.
There are three stages of relapse:
- Emotional Relapse: Emotional relapse is the first stage. During an emotional relapse, you may not be actively thinking about using drugs or alcohol. However, your emotions and behaviors may be setting you up for relapse down the road.
- Mental Relapse: When you do not work to get out of emotional relapse, there is a chance to fall into mental relapse. During this stage, you are at high risk for physical relapse. One part of you may want to use drugs or alcohol, while the other part of you doesn’t. Fantasizing about using is common in this stage. As you go deeper into the mental relapse stage, your cognitive resistance to relapse diminishes, and your need for escape increases.
- Physical Relapse: When you don’t take the time to acknowledge and address the symptoms from emotional and mental relapse, it doesn’t take long to lead down the path to physical relapse. This final stage includes the act of drinking alcohol or using other drugs.
Learn Your Triggers
Once you have sufficient knowledge regarding relapses and how they work, the next step is to know yourself and allow others to know you as well. Each individual has different potential triggers, meaning things that might cause you to relapse by accelerating the effects of the emotional and mental stages. These could be people you used to associate with, locations where you formerly used drugs, or being in the presence of drugs. Triggers can also be things or events that are likely to make you feel emotionally unbalanced and thus more susceptible to emotional relapse.
List the Signs of Relapse
While everyone who relapses goes through the three stages, these may outwardly surface in different ways for different people. Consider what kind of behaviors you exhibit when battling painful feelings. Do you become overly withdrawn or start showing more aggression? Recognizing how you react will help you identify those moments of weakness and push you to seek the support you need. They can also help others realize that your sudden behavior changes are a significant warning sign and should be regarded seriously.
List Solutions for Triggers and Warning Signs
There may be scenarios where you cannot avoid your triggers. In those cases, you must have some sort of alternate plan in place to prevent yourself from falling into the temptation of using drugs or alcohol. Physical activity, art, reading, DIY projects, or a change of scenery are all great outlets that can be used to relieve some internal pressure.
Another solution is to have a clearly defined reason that led you to quit drugs. Reminding yourself of that reason can ground you. These exercises also help distract you during powerful cravings.
If you start to recognize signs that you’re already going through an emotional or mental relapse, make a plan to address those symptoms. Ensure you have someone you can call, whether that’s a close person in your life or a member of a support group. Surrounding yourself with positive influences and supportive people is critical.
Have a Plan for Relapsing Too
While, ultimately, the goal of a relapse prevention plan is to prevent a relapse from happening, preparing for relapse can help you get back on the path to recovery far more quickly. It’s important to know who you can contact and what the immediate next step should be, whether that involves a one on one meeting with a sponsor, attending group meetings regularly, or entering treatment.
Recovery can be challenging. Life without drugs or alcohol is new and can be uncomfortable; you may even crave the life you had before. Cravings can be intense and overwhelming, but creating a relapse prevention plan can help you avoid losing the sobriety you’ve worked hard to earn. It is crucial to know what relapse is, know yourself and your triggers, know the signs of relapse and have solutions to create the most effective relapse prevention plan. It also helps to have a plan for a possible relapse too–this way, you know what to do if it happens. If you or a loved one are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, Rancho Milagro is here to help. We provide individualized, patient-based planning along with supportive, compassionate, and respectful care. Your journey begins here; one step at a time, we will get you there. To learn more about our program, call us today at (951) 526-4582.