An addiction is a disorder that is based on the inability to stop carrying out impulsive behaviors, even if these are contrary to the will of the person who performs them. It is said that it is a disorder that affects both psychological and biological levels, since it brings a series of negative consequences for health in both areas.
The incidence of addiction in a person’s life is transversal. Therefore, in a recovery process there is the possibility that people will experience a relapse. In this article we will see What are the effects of addiction and how to avoid addiction relapses in a safe way.
Firstly, dependence on a substance or activity produces an intense need and dependence due to the satisfaction it generates in the person; which triggers a series of thoughts and behaviors in the addict that will play out in the different areas of his life. Addiction undermines social relationships, routine activities, work life and, ultimately, mental health. On the other hand, the effects also affect a biological level, since the “pleasure” that the person experiences when carrying out the problematic behavior implies a repeated activation of the reward systems, which will mean a reinforcement for the repetition of that behavior. And, of course, many of the substances that people become addicted to have negative effects themselves.
Definitely, the psychological and the biological feed off each other to generate a loop from which the addict has difficulty getting out. If you try to break this loop abruptly, you may experience high levels of anxiety and fall back into the habits of addiction. For that reason, let’s see how to avoid addiction relapses safely.
Relapses involve “setbacks” that occur during a behavioral change process, such as making progress toward initiating or maintaining a specific goal (for example, maintaining abstinence from alcohol). The idea of regression, however, could be questioned as the process of recovery from addiction is dynamic and as such is always subject to ups and downs. A relapse does not mean that the treatment has failed.
Living with an addiction can be difficult since the person is trying to change deep-rooted behaviors, so it is important to emphasize empathy during this process; and although an addiction is not curable, can be treated to still build a full and meaningful life. These are some strategies to achieve this.
Accompaniment by a team of health professionals
Firstly, the best way to avoid a relapse into the problematic behaviors typical of an addiction is to be accompanied by a team of health professionals who attend to the particularity of each case. The treatments, likewise, are different according to the substance or activity to which one is addicted and involve more than one professional (to mention just a couple, psychiatrists and psychologists), so an addiction requires an interdisciplinary approach. For example, In drug addictions, pharmacological treatment is usually combined with psychological therapy generally of a cognitive-behavioral type.
Avoiding a relapse involves maintaining new behavior over time, different from old consumption habits. However, in this task the person will probably experience anxiety, fear, insomnia, among other symptoms. It is essential to have a team behind you that operates as a support and support network when these difficulties arise.
When a person recovering from addiction faces complex moments during psychological treatment, it is likely—according to clinical experience—that they tend to embellish their past. And under stressful situations it is common to have thoughts like “I knew I couldn’t handle this”; or that “recovery is very hard work, on the other hand, consumption was fun.” This idea is important to redefine, since having positive expectations regarding the consequences of consumption is a risk factor which could imply a relapse.
What underlies these phrases is an underestimation of the consequences of addiction. That is, the person remembers the addiction as an easy and enjoyable moment; because let’s remember that perhaps, for him or her, it is very likely that consuming has meant a certain amount of fun (momentary, of course). However, through these statements you are not weighing the negative consequences of addiction on your partner, at work, in your family, or with your friends; nor the high amount of suffering that comes with not being able to abandon problematic behavior. Yes, treatment can be very difficult, but one of the strategies to avoid addiction relapses involves the person realizing that prolonging consumption is always worse.
Have a support network
To avoid relapsing into addictions, it is essential that the person has a network of contacts that serve as emotional support. As we have insisted in this article, recovery brings with it the possibility of feeling unstable and vulnerable on a mental level. One of the challenges of recovery is learning that Experiencing discomfort will be part of the process and that does not mean that the treatment is failing or that you are doing something wrong
In fact, some authors have emphasized that, ultimately, learning to stay with our unpleasant emotions and thoughts is a challenge that all people must take on, even those who do not have an addiction. For their part, those who are recovering may mistakenly assume that only they feel anxious or sad, often coming to believe that this experience is not common to all humans and, therefore, feeling alone. Consequently, having an emotional support network is key to avoiding a relapse.
Reduce accessibility: review of links and risky situations
Finally, something that many teams, groups or institutional groups that work with addictions point out is that During treatment it is better to stay away, at least temporarily, from old friends who are immersed in consumption habits that the person in recovery tries to eradicate. Research indicates that remaining in the social ties gathered around consumption – colloquially called in many countries as the “bad meeting” – is a predictor of relapse.
In line with this, it will also be important (at least at the beginning of treatment) to avoid risky situations in which the problematic behavior would be easy to execute. For example, a person who is just beginning the recovery process from an alcohol addiction might avoid going to a party where everyone will be drinking. Of course, she will eventually acquire the skills to expose herself to events in which the substance in question is present, always with the accompaniment of her support network and a team of professionals behind her.
