Relapse Prevention 101: Know Strategies to Stay Clean After Recovery

It is no small feat to get out of substance or alcohol addiction. However, contrary to common belief, the journey doesn’t end at finishing rehab. Completing the rehab program is just the start. For many people getting out of addiction, the most difficult part is staying sober after the program ends. The risk of relapse cannot be undermined. Understanding how it works is essential to preventing it. 

Understanding Relapse

Understanding properly what relapse is is necessary. This should be done before we get into dealing with it. Relapse doesn’t happen in one event. It is a process which unfolds in multiple stages:

Emotional Relapse: This refers to having emotions that resemble patterns of addiction. Having negative feelings, isolating yourself, or neglecting self-care are included in this.

Mental Relapse: this reflects the cognitive, inner battle. Your addiction fights to get into your head. Your idea of a sober life fights with it to defeat the temptations.

Physical Relapse: this refers to the final stage when you start using the substance all over again.

You must understand these stages well. Only then you’ll be able to deal with them effectively. 

How to prevent a relapse?

1. Build a Personalized Relapse Prevention Plan

Having a custom tailored plan cancel be a powerful tool in preventing relapse. Everyone has a different plan that works for them, however, it should include the following:

Triggers: identify what all acts as a trigger for you. It could be stress, certain people or places, simple boredom or something specific emotions. These can lead to cravings.

Coping Skills: make a lost of positive coping strategies that have proved to be effective for you. Keep going back to them. They will help you stay on the right path.

Support Network: keep contacts of people.who can help you in crisis situations. Use their help to stay on the right path in case you feel like a relapse is near.

Emergency Steps: create an action plan to follow when you think a relapse is coming. Review this plan to ensure that everything is effective and practical.

2. Stick to a Routine

Have a daily routine. Following a structured day can help a lot. Include meaningful activities in your day that help you stay productive and happy.

Include activities involving physical exercise or movement. Have regular and timely meals. Get good hours of restful sleep.

Also try to find hobbies or recreational activities that you enjoy. Spend some time doing these activities. This will help you stay entertained and happy. 

Having an unstructured day can cause boredom and negative emotions. This can increase chances of relapsing.

3. Avoid High-Risk Situations

It’s essential to stay away from people who use substances. This is especially valid in early stages of recovery. This may cause you to cut ties with some people. It may also involve not attending certain social gatherings. However, all this is absolutely vital to staying on the sober path. It is about prioritising your health. It is an extremely unfortunate situation if you relapse. It means all your hard work in rehab goes to waste. You must avoid suchan situation at all costs.

4. Build a Strong Support Network

During recovery, you must not isolate yourself. Isolating yourself can be dangerous. It has a higher chance of causing a relapse. You must connect with people you trust. Sharing your journey and updates of recovery can have a positive impact.

This can include getting therapy. A trained counsellor cam be very helpful. They can help you deal with trauma, negative emotions, co-occuring issues, etc well.

Joinimg groups like alcoholics anonymous can also be helpful. Sharing your story with others who have followed a similar path as yours can be beneficial.

5. Practice Mindfulness and Stress Management

In recovery, you must avoid stress. Stress in any form can be dangerous for a recovering person. Stress has the potential to cause relapse.

You must follow certain practices of mindfulness to prevent stress.

Mindfulness Meditation: meditating can help loads in staying free from anxiety. 

Breathing Exercises: slow and deep breathing can reduce stress by a lot.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation: this is a technique that gradually relaxed your muscles. It’s helpful with stress.

Creative Outlets: having modes of creative expression like art, dance, music etc can help you stay stress free.

6. Set Realistic Goals

Recovery cannot be achieved if you chase perfection. You must be realistic about your goals. Only then can you make sure that you actually meet them. Achieving your goals is the primary concern, and you can be flexible in some aspects in order to do that.

7. Stay Educated and Self-Aware

Recovery is a long and continuous path. It is not something you can just attain or achieve completely. You must always be open to learning new things about yourself and your habits. Stay educated about new studies and findings. Stay open to new ideas about handling recovery. 

8. Forgive Yourself and Learn from Mistakes

A relapse is unfortunate. However, it can happen. It is a very human thing. You should not see a relapse as an absolute failure. There is always hope as long as you are willing to improve. Even if you relapsed, you still have a chance to reach for help and get out of that situation. Yes, it will be harder, but with perseverance and dedication, it is completely attainable.

All You Know

Staying clean.after recovery can be very challenging. The risk of relapse is a lingering threat to your new sobriety. Staying aware and educated can help you stay on the right path after the rehab program ends. Keep your trusted and loved ones close. Keep them informed and make them a part of your journey. This way, you can have someone to be accountable to. You must understand that even if you have the right intentions, relapse is a human thing. You must remember that your brain has the capacity to fool you into going back into addiction. Being self aware is the most important aspect of staying sober.