How To Avoid Relapses Into Addiction: 10 Useful Tips
The word addict comes from the Latin term “addictus”, which can literally be translated as “slave” or “debtor”. It supposes, therefore, a relationship of obeisance to an external element (drugs in this case), which becomes the creditor of a very expensive existential debt.
In this same sense, addiction subjects the person to a succession of changes at a neurological and behavioral level (investment of a lot of time and effort searching for and consuming the substance) that end up depriving it of its genuine freedom and agency.
The process through which a consumer history is abandoned is not simple, and involves facing many difficulties that must be successfully overcome. The best thing, in this case, is to have useful tools at our disposal that make the path more bearable.
In this article we will reflect on how to avoid relapse into addiction in order to offer keys that can contribute positively in this time of difficulty.
Dependence on any drug implies the appearance of two basic processes: tolerance (need for increasingly greater consumption of the substance to perceive effects equivalent to those of the beginning) and withdrawal syndrome (discomfort due to its absence in the body).
Craving (or desire) describes a pressing need for consumption at the moment in which we find ourselves faced with stimuli that have been associated with it over the years (places, people, etc.). His participation is common in a very high percentage of slips and relapses.
Quitting drugs is not an easy process, but it can also be a path full of satisfaction. In order to help facilitate and enhance such an effort, below we propose 10 keys based on the available scientific evidence on how to avoid relapses in addiction.
1. Seek a socially stimulating life
Many studies clearly indicate that Living in socially impoverished environments is a very important risk factor so that recreational consumption evolves directly into dependence.
This finding has even been reproduced in animal models, with research in which the addictive behavior of mice was compared depending on whether they had the company of other rodents or whether they lived alone (and with few incentives, such as tubes and wheels with those who move and exercise).
Thus, it is known that Having an adequate social network is essential to reduce the risk of relapses in those who are going through the process towards completely abandoning drugs. It is essential to have people nearby who offer emotional support (sincere understanding, active listening, etc.), instrumental support (material help in cases of need) and affective support (hugs and positive interactions).
Likewise, it is important to keep your distance from friends whose consumption habits may contribute to a later relapse, especially at the beginning of the process.
2. Avoid risky situations
When a person enters the process of quitting a drug, it is recommended that at first they avoid any individual or situation that could have been related to their use. Such a strategy is known as stimulus control and its purpose is to make changes in the environment and behavior aimed at reducing the presence of craving (intense desire to consume that arises when exposing ourselves to places or people with whom the substance used to be used).
As time goes by (and as the person gains greater control over their ability to inhibit the urge to use), it may be helpful to expose themselves to the situations they were avoiding (since they will not always be “running away” from the situation). reality), doing it initially with the company of a trusted person. In this way he will acquire a superior sense of control and develop strong self-efficacy to manage the affects related to desire.
It is also a perfect opportunity to train some assertive behaviors like saying “no” to an offer.
3. Go to therapy
Substance use can erode motivation toward activities that were rewarding in the past, to the point that there is often an abandonment of everything that linked the person to others. The process of recovering everything we once were involves facing a difficult reality in which many of the sources of reinforcement and satisfaction may have vanished, so a deliberate effort must be made to recover them or look for different ones.
In this process it is important to have the help of a therapist, with whom to enhance the available coping strategies (or learn new and useful ones) to adapt to the environment and enrich it in a way that is personally satisfying. Also it may be necessary to address possible deficits in impulse control and decision making two common problems among those who have lived a long history of consumption.
4. Be careful with microdecisions
During the first months of abandoning a substance, the person acquires increasing control of the situation and progressively feels more emotionally distanced from their stage as a user. Thus, all the precautions that you used to adopt in order to maintain abstinence enter a period of greater laxity, in which it is more likely that there will be some slip in consumption (isolated and punctual use of the drug) or a relapse. complete.
This is due to the assumption of decisions that on the surface may seem innocuous, but that harbor a real threat: “nothing is going to happen to me for one more”, “it has been a very hard day, so today I deserve it”, etc. There is ample evidence in the literature about this effect, so the person must remain with some caution despite having gone through the most critical stage. While it is true that the first few months constitute a period of special risk, relapses that occur later are usually directly associated with these microdecisions.
Slips in use, and even relapses, can be part of the normal process of quitting any substance. When they are assumed in a constructive sense, can provide valuable information about the precipitating factors in which the, and provide an incentive to articulate strategies aimed at promoting personal resources with which to reinforce abstinence in the future. However, many times the opposite result is triggered: the effect of violating abstinence.
This effect describes the painful appearance of deeply negative thoughts about oneself as a result of the slip or relapse, such as “I already knew I couldn’t handle it” or “in the end those who thought about me that I was right were right.” He was a horrible person”, which precipitate an adverse emotional state and episodes of uncontrolled consumption (binge). Addressing the issue, and contextualizing it within reasonable limits, is essential.
6. Learn to regulate adverse emotional states
Feelings such as shame, fear or anger can contribute to relapses among people who have learned to combat them with the strategy of consumption. And it is relatively common for there to be some relationship between drug use and emotions that are difficult to bear or manage. It is because of that the basic regulatory processes must be delved into which involve the identification, discrimination, acceptance and communication of internal states (for which the help of a good therapist may be needed).
In this sense, it is also often important to learn appropriate relaxation strategies, with which to mediate difficult emotions and anxiety (especially in their physiological dimensions). The most used are diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation as they have proven to contribute positively to the process and increase the feeling of control over one’s emotional life.
7. Develop a hobby
When drug use takes hold, it not only dramatically displaces the rest of the things that previously caused happiness, but it also emerges as a motivated behavior that provides some degree of “satisfaction” (despite the negative consequences that almost always lead to it). accompany). And this is because its effects directly affect the brain reward system (ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens), a circuit related to positive reinforcement and the sensation of pleasure.
Giving up drugs can leave a very important void in your life, which will have to be counteracted with an activity that allows moments of recreation and enjoyment. In any case, it is possible that for some time you will live with an annoying feeling of inertia, but as the weeks go by you will set new goals to pursue (or the old ones will be recovered). In this process, the support of others and the deliberate search for moments in which to enjoy simple things are essential.
Even if you have not suffered from alcohol dependence, but rather a different substance, it is very important to avoid its consumption. It is a drug that exerts depressant effects on the central nervous system, inhibiting the prefrontal cortex and stimulating impulsive behaviors. Thus, under its effects it is much easier for the effort to maintain abstinence to weaken, and for a slip or a complete relapse to occur.
On the other hand, there are many people who, during their time as consumers, combined alcohol with another substance (such as cocaine, for example). In these cases, Subjective sensations of intoxication can function as precipitating stimuli for the desire for the other drug In the specific case of the combination of alcohol and cocaine, the effect can be devastating, since within the body they are chemically transformed into cocaine ethylene (related to acts of violence and even sudden death).
9. Communicate your decision to others
Talking to others about the decision to stop using has two very important effects: can motivate social support from the environment and generates new expectations about the person who is ready to get out of addiction. Such expectations may be very different from those that existed until now (since it is not uncommon for frictions to have occurred in interpersonal relationships that could have contributed to a gray shared horizon) and promote the desire to act in a manner consistent with the commitment acquired. .
10. Draw a decisional balance
Decisional balances are a useful exercise when people are preparing to make a change in their lives. It involves dedicating some time to write on a piece of paper about the expected advantages and disadvantages of the new scenario, which details all the good things you want to achieve by abandoning drug use (both in the medium and long term). This activity allows you to clarify the initial confusion and establish a much clearer goal to pursue.
Once everything is written on paper, it can be useful to keep it in your pocket when you foresee the imminence of a risky situation (visiting a place where you used to consume, going to a party where others will use drugs, etc.) and read it when it is considered appropriate (especially if you perceive that the desire is increasing and you are about to give in to it). Is a very good way to reactivate the neurological processes (prefrontal cortex) that oppose craving and continue maintaining abstinence and enhancing the feeling of self-control.
