When an individual is working to overcome alcohol or drug addiction, relapse prevention strategies become one of the most crucial components of their healing. As explained in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, “By the time most individuals seek help, they have already tried to quit on their own and they are looking for a better solution.” Preventing relapse in treatment and sobriety can be challenging. Still, with professional guidance and support, each individual can discover and implement the most effective relapse prevention techniques to best prepare them for long-term sobriety.
The journey to lasting sobriety is also a journey of self-discovery. This is why we at Bright Mission Recovery are especially passionate about meeting each of our clients where they are in their unique healing journey. Using individualized care and holistic therapies, we can ensure that our clients have a wide range of relapse prevention techniques to use during the moments that they are feeling the most vulnerable to relapse. Furthermore, these efforts extend beyond the walls of treatment, as Bright Mission Recovery is dedicated to fostering long-term support and continuing care for relapse prevention in sobriety.
Addressing the Risk of Relapse in Sobriety
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction “as a relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences.” Moreover, “It is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control.” Despite what some people may believe, these brain changes caused by substance use do not merely disappear with sobriety. While treatment can work to address these changes and rewire neural pathways, an individual in sobriety from addiction will always be at risk of relapse.
More specifically, as noted in Current Psychiatry Reports, “Recent estimates from clinical treatment studies suggest that more than two thirds of individuals relapse within weeks to months of initiating treatment.” Not only are newly sober individuals uniquely vulnerable to turning back to old substance-using habits post-treatment in response to difficult cravings and withdrawals, but also in response to challenging situations and circumstances in daily life. For instance, according to the aforementioned journal, some of the most commonly reported reasons for relapse include:
- Negative mood and anxiety
- Stress
- Temptations and boredom
- Lack of positive environmental contingencies
- Job
- Family relationships
- Personal responsibilities
No matter how well treatment may set up an individual for managing withdrawals, cravings, and other unpleasant experiences in sobriety, it is vital to understand that the risk of relapse will always be present. Denying or minimizing this risk can lead to complacency, which can make an individual even more vulnerable to substance use or other destructive habits.
Relapse Prevention Techniques: Grasping the Five Rules of Recovery
According to the previously mentioned journal titled the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, there are five basic rules of recovery. Grasping these rules can help individuals who are working to achieve or sustain sobriety focus on the things they can control, as well as focus on what is important in their healing. The five rules are as follows.
#1. Change Your Life
Committing to sobriety requires each person to undergo major changes to the lifestyle they once knew. This may involve creating distance from friends and family who continue to partake in substance use, avoiding places (such as bars or parties) that may trigger substance use cravings, and altering one’s home environment to make it more conducive to sobriety. Additionally, it will involve incorporating healthier behaviors into one’s daily life. Some of these lifestyle changes may be necessary for early recovery, though for many individuals, these lifestyle changes may continue well throughout their long-term healing as well.
#2. Be Completely Honest
In active addiction, secrecy and lying can be common, and these experiences can trigger a disoriented sense of reality. To minimize the risk of relapse and improve quality of life, it can be helpful to practice honesty with professionals, peers in treatment, and close loved ones. These individuals are here to provide each individual with the unconditional support needed to strengthen self-worth and commitment to recovery. Thus, by practicing complete honesty with them, they will be able to provide an individual with the most appropriate guidance that they need to prevent a revisitation to substance use in the long term.
#3. Ask for Help
This rule goes hand-in-hand with the previous rule. If an individual can commit to asking for help when they need it, they can actively prevent relapse as soon as they feel it surfacing. Meanwhile, asking for help does not always require turning to a professional. Rather, seeking advice and suggestions from others who are also working to achieve sobriety in self-help groups or therapy groups can provide each person with healthy perspectives and effective relapse prevention techniques.
#4. Practice Self-Care
Arguably, one of the most important relapse prevention techniques is practicing and prioritizing self-care. Most often, individuals turn to alcohol and other drug use as a means of relaxation or reward. Thus, to reduce the risk of relapse, each individual must replace substance use with intentional time for self-care. Healthy self-care strategies can look like:
- Scheduling intimate time with loved ones
- Going for a walk in nature
- Practicing good hygiene
- Reading a self-help book
- Practicing meditation and yoga
#5. Don’t Bend the Rules
Lastly, as stated in the journal, “The purpose of this rule is to remind individuals not to resist or sabotage change by insisting that they do recovery their way.” Some examples of resistance to sobriety can include complacency, as mentioned above, as well as stopping participation in support groups, treatment, or other continuing care efforts. Each person can minimize the risk of bending the rules and the associated potential for relapse by remaining connected and engaged with sobriety groups and outings and making an intentional effort each day on their lifelong journey to self-discovery.
Establishing and sustaining sobriety requires more than abstaining from alcohol and other drugs. Rather, due to the high risk of relapse, it involves discovering and implementing effective relapse prevention techniques in your life. Efforts such as changing your lifestyle, being completely honest, asking for help, practicing self-care, and avoiding bending the rules can all be valuable techniques for preventing relapse throughout sobriety. Nevertheless, the journey to sobriety is also a journey of self-discovery, and such discovery will ensure that you feel confident and empowered as you heal from substance use. At Bright Mission Recovery, we offer treatment to individuals who are looking to embark on a journey of self-discovery in sobriety. Learn more by calling (747) 444-3284 today.