Why addicts relapse

Alcohol, drugs, or addictive behaviors used to provide temporary relief from those feelings, but you can't rely on them anymore. Realize that those negative feelings you're having don't have to be a sign of an impending setback. Everyone feels negative or challenging emotions. The key is how you deal with them. View these emotions as an opportunity for growth and understanding. You can learn a lot about yourself by taking an inventory of what you're feeling and asking yourself why.

In fact, learning how to face your emotions without escaping into addiction is invaluable. So, try journaling, meditating, or even praying when you are feeling negative. Find a healthy way to release your negativity and boost your mood. An addictions specialist or another mental health professional can help you develop additional coping strategies.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database. Reminders of your addiction can trigger relapse during recovery. A whiff of cigarette smoke , watching people sip cocktails in a bar or restaurant, or a couple locked in an erotic embrace are reminders that seem to be everywhere in the early stages of quitting.

Wanting to fall back into your addiction is normal. After all, it's a familiar place for you. But, recovery is not just about "quitting" and "abstaining" as much as it's about building a new life in which it is easier—and more desirable—not to use.

Focus on the new life you're building and the changes you're making. Think about the negative consequences that you experienced while participating in your addiction—the people you hurt and the relationships you lost. You may think you miss your old life when you see these reminders, but in reality it only brought you pain and hardship.

Embrace the idea that you're creating a new, healthier version of yourself with no room for the things of the past. Having a substitute behavior like going to a yoga class or taking a long bath also can be helpful when you're feeling triggered. For additional ideas, work with your counselor or therapist about how to effectively deal with these reminders. Positive situations, such as birthdays and holidays, can be triggers too.

You may feel happy, in control, and confident you can handle one drink, one smoke, or one mild flirtation with the attractive stranger. But can you really keep it under control? People who struggle with addiction frequently lose their capacity to know when to stop. Therefore, that one drink could turn into a binge. Or, treating yourself to one, unnecessary new pair of shoes could lead to a shopping spree.

Having a buddy can help in situations where you are at risk of relapse. Find someone you trust and respect to kindly, but firmly, persuade you to stop what you're doing if you do start to relapse. A treatment facility paid to have their center promoted here.

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As such, it is highly recommended that individuals who stop using drugs or alcohol seek out a medical detox where they can safely and more comfortably get off of the substances they were using under medical supervision and using medically assisted treatments such as Suboxone or Valium. Alcoholism and drug addiction are a problem in and of itself, but there is also a problem underlying the substance dependence. Without addressing the underlying issues and simply stopping substance use, it is like putting a band aid on severed limb.

Oftentimes there are unaddressed or hidden mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, mania, personality disorders, or post-traumatic stress.

If an individual receives proper alcohol and drug addiction treatment, therapists, psychiatrists and other addiction specialists will work with the patient to address underlying mental health issues. As with alcohol and drug addiction, mental health issues often require long-term attention to sustain recovery.

If mental health issues go unaddressed, or if an individual does not know how to properly cope, they can trigger an alcohol or drug relapse. Individuals with alcohol or drug addiction are not used to experiencing psychological issues such as depression or anxiety without using alcohol or drugs as their primary coping mechanism. With proper guidance from a mental health professional, and in some cases with the aid of prescribed psychotropic medications, individuals can live a thriving life with a mental health diagnosis.

Individuals with an alcohol or drug addiction often surround themselves with likeminded individuals who also enjoy drinking or drugging. Being around the same people who are engaging in substance use while you are in recovery can trigger a relapse.

Part of the recovery process is setting healthy boundaries with friends, family or colleagues who do not respect your sobriety enough to stay sober while they are around you. Ideally you want to reach a point in your recovery where you can enjoy social gatherings where other individuals are drinking alcohol and not be triggered to relapse, but this often takes time and effort.

One should not surround themselves intentionally with other people who are using alcohol or drugs unless they have a stable foundation in their own recovery. It is also helpful to have a plan in place when surrounding oneself with people who are using alcohol or drugs, and bring a sober support and accountability partner with them when possible.

Bars, liquor stores, wineries, strip clubs, casinos, and parties are some obvious places that individuals in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction may want to avoid, but there are many others.

The place will be dependent on the individual. Any place that you may have associated with your alcohol or drug use is a place you would ideally want to stay away from. The impacts of addiction on the human brain are so far-reaching that miniscule things may trigger an individual in recovery that may not even enter their conscious minds. If an addicted individual was frequently using alcohol or drugs in their own home or apartment, their own residence in and of itself may be triggering for them.

For obvious reasons their own home may not be a place they can simply avoid although, this is why Sober Homes are very helpful in early recovery. Priory Hospital Bristol. Priory Hospital Chelmsford. Priory Hospital Glasgow. Priory Hospital Hayes Grove. Priory Hospital North London. Priory Hospital Roehampton. Priory Hospital Southampton. Priory Hospital Ticehurst House. Priory Hospital Woking.

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