Relapse – do you recognize the triggers and warning signs?

by Mark Ambrose Manager

Most people struggling to recover from substance addiction would agree that rehabilitation is a lifelong battle. You choose to get sober, but there's nothing more complicated than achieving this goal, and once you do it, it doesn't get easier to follow the clean path. The most common misconception about drug abuse recovery is that you've recovered and stay clean for life once you complete the treatment. Sadly, it's an ongoing journey, and you need strength to face the bumps along the way. Margaret Thatcher once said that you have to fight a battle more than once to win it, and this quote applies to drug recovery better than any other one. 

Relapses happen, but it shouldn't discourage you from getting clean. It should instead encourage you to prove you are strong enough to follow your path. The thoughts that tell you "it's only one time, it won't hurt" are heard by millions of other people who relapse daily. But you can be different; you can fight your way back and live a sober life. 

Prepare yourself for this fight and arm yourself with the needed tools to prevent a relapse from happening. Recognize the triggers and warning signs, and you can stop yourself before falling. 

Triggers

It takes time to relapse and usually triggers as relationships, interactions, or events that justify the substance use smooth the way. Relapse triggers fall into three categories, exposure, environmental, and emotional. Your old memories or routines can lead to a slip episode. 

Here is a list of the most common triggers:

- You seek a positive emotional state and remember that substances used to make you feel good and have fun

- You feel social pressure

- You experience negative emotions (loneliness, anxiety, depression, stress, frustration, fear, anger) that stimulate your drug-seeking behavior

- You are exposed to drugs 

- You see or sense an object of addiction (you watch an alcohol commercial, a movie featuring your addiction)

- You engage in activities that remind you of the drug, you meet with friends who are using it

- You use other substances 

- You experience a sudden change in your routine

- You have an irresponsible behavior

When you find yourself in one of the above situations and feel you can no longer stay sober, seek help at one of the drug treatment centers Los Angeles based. 

Warning signs

Certain signs warn you that you're heading to a relapse episode. Watch out for them, and you can control the circumstances that come your way. 

- You experience withdrawal symptoms like physical weakness, nausea, or anxiety

- You deal with post-acute withdrawal symptoms like poor sleep, mood swings, irritability

- You fail to eat, sleep, or manage stress

- You're visiting places where you used to buy substances

- You are struggling with uncomfortable emotions like hunger, anger, loneliness, and exhaustion

- You are stressed out because you cannot maintain a healthy relationship

- You isolate yourself and spend too much time with your own thoughts

- You feel you already beat your addiction problem and nothing can take you down

Remember, relapse is a process, not an event, and if you recognize the triggers and warning signs, you can reach help and prevent an episode. 

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Created on Oct 7th 2020 12:55. Viewed 212 times.

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