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Overcoming the Hidden Dangers of Addiction Relapse: Practical Strategies for Navigating Sobriety

Overcoming Addiction Relapse

Understanding the relapse process is crucial for addiction recovery. It’s rarely a straight line to sobriety, and there are plenty of subtle emotional and mental forces that can set you back. 

Setting personal guardrails, retraining your brain from instant gratification, and understanding the importance of long-term goal-setting can help you avoid potential pitfalls.

No matter where you are on your journey, these strategies can help you progress towards a healthy life.

The Silent Danger of Relapse:

You may not even think about relapsing when you first quit, but your emotions can undoubtedly lead you there.

Behaviors like bottling up emotions, social isolation, and mood swings can be early signs of a spiral and are common at this stage.

For couples dealing with addiction, these emotional changes lead to a decrease in physical and emotional intimacy as mistrust, secrecy, and avoidance behaviors become more common.

For those in recovery, processing specific feelings or situations can be extremely difficult when a substance was previously used to escape them, especially when combined with withdrawal symptoms.

Without an understanding of how to manage these feelings, it often leads to frustration, anger, and sadness. As tension builds, this emotional deterioration can escalate to a mental relapse.

Typically, during a mental relapse, people will fantasize about using and minimize past consequences. As time progresses in this phase, a physical relapse becomes more likely.

Research indicates that 40-60% of individuals in recovery will experience at least one relapse.

In my life, all those I’ve lost to substance abuse were people who’d gone through rehab, made progress in their recovery, then relapsed.

However, relapse doesn’t have to signify failure. Instead, we can use it to emphasize the need for proper strategies and support.

Guardrails – Protecting Your Sobriety:

Personal guardrails are proactive measures to prevent slip-ups. Think of each guardrail as armor; the more you put in place, the less likely you’ll get hurt.

Guardrails can look different for everyone, but the purpose remains the same – minimizing risk.

Some practical examples of guardrails are:

  • Accountability Partners: Have someone you trust to check your well-being and progress.
  • Change Your Phone Number: Delete any old contacts associated with drug use.
  • Flag Yourself at Hospitals/Pharmacies: This can prevent impulsive decisions if you’re tempted to seek out prescription medications in the future.
  • Don’t Combine Old Faces and Old Places: Limit who you see from your past. If unavoidable, ensure complete control over the setting and situation.

Maintaining these takes genuine effort, but it makes all the difference.

Here are some actionable steps you can take to start:

  1. Identify Your Triggers: These include emotions, times, events, physical locations, and social circles.
  2. Personalize Your Guardrails: Based on your list of triggers, consider specific actions you can take to protect yourself. For example:
    1. If social situations are triggering, limit your attendance at specific gatherings.
  3. Set Limitations: Once you’ve identified where you’re vulnerable, set strict boundaries. For example:
    1. “I will not attend social events if x, y, or z is there.”
  4. Communicate Boundaries: Let trusted friends and family know so they can support you.
  5. Keep Yourself Busy: Occupy your time with tasks, work, or hobbies. Boredom is when trouble happens.

Setting guardrails is a powerful yet simple act of self-care. By staying committed, you’re giving yourself the best chance to succeed.

Rewiring Your Brain: Breaking Free from Instant Gratification

Addiction often trains people to seek instant gratification even after active addiction, and breaking free from this cycle requires a mental shift.

You must develop the discipline to embrace healthier gratification and accept that happiness comes from long-term accomplishments.

Practical Strategies for Retraining the Brain

This process takes time and effort, but there are practical strategies that can help ease the transition:

  1. Mindfulness Practices:
    1. Try staying present by acknowledging your thoughts without immediately acting.
  2. Delayed Gratification Exercises:
    1. Try to wait 15 minutes before checking your phone.
  3. Healthier Forms of Dopamine Release:
    1. Exercise, hobbies, and social connections are healthy ways for the brain to release dopamine.

When seeking instant gratification, it’s easy to fall into old patterns that feel comforting but can ultimately lead to an emotional, mental, or physical relapse.

Long-Term Goals: The Key to Lasting Sobriety

Long-term goals give you something to strive for, providing direction and motivation.

Setting and maintaining long-term goals can be incredibly challenging for those in recovery, especially those conditioned to immediate gratification.

That’s why it is so important to recognize and celebrate all progress toward achieving your goals.

Tips for Setting Achievable and Inspiring Goals:

  1. Break long-term goals into smaller steps.
  2. Focus on Growth: Choose goals that support your sobriety and personal development, like learning new skills or improving your health.
  3. Make Goals Specific: Aim for clear, measurable objectives.
  4. Recognize and reward small victories.
  5. Stay Flexible: Be bold and adjust your goals.
  6. Keep the Big Picture in Mind: Regularly remind yourself of the future you want to create.

Understanding how these strategies fit together will help you avoid getting discouraged and falling back into an emotional or mental relapse.

Each step you take toward achieving these goals reinforces healthier patterns of thought and behavior.

Going Forward:

Take a moment to reflect on your journey.

Where were you a year ago? A month ago? or a week ago? Where do you want to be? Do you have any goals or guardrails? Are you where you want to be? Have you been strict about your boundaries?

Reaching sobriety is a fantastic goal, but if you let yourself stop there, you may run the risk of burning out, losing momentum on your recovery walk, and relapsing. Take time to slow down and set new life goals to be the best version of yourself possible.

Be aware of your actions and reactions. Note what’s changed in your life, and consider how those changes have affected your progress.

Every day is an opportunity for growth. Be kind to yourself, and understand that recovery isn’t about moving fast but keeping consistent.

The more you understand yourself and what influences your behavior, the better you can align your journey with your guardrails, mindset, and long-term goals.

Share your story, connect with others, and seek help. You don’t have to walk the path to recovery alone.

If you or someone you know experiences mental health issues, it is important to seek help from a qualified professional. Our Resource Specialists can help you find expert mental health resources and support in your community. Contact us now for more information on this free service.

Contact a Resource Specialist

About the Author: Colby Flood is the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer at Eume, an app that fosters meaningful connections for those seeking support.

Nine years clean from opiate addiction, Colby brings a personal understanding of the challenges of recovery and is passionate about helping others navigate the path to sobriety with practical strategies.

Photo by Chinmay Singh: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-hoodie-sitting-on-bench-near-green-trees-819635/

The opinions and views expressed in any guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in the article or linked to therein. Guest Authors may have affiliations to products mentioned or linked to in their author bios.

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