The 9 Therapeutic Strategies For Preventing Relapses In Addiction
Addictive disorders currently constitute one of the biggest public health problems in our society and increasingly affect young people and adolescents due to the normalization of habits that generate dependence: online gambling, drug consumption in entertainment venues. night, etc.
Faced with this reality, over several decades psychology professionals have developed and perfected psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological interventions aimed at helping people with addictive disorders of all types, and today they are the best option to treat this type of alterations. .
However, even when the person has already been helped to overcome the most problematic point of managing withdrawal, there is still a certain vulnerability to the possibility of relapsing into drugs or actions that generate addiction. This phenomenon lasts for years, and that is why it is necessary learn about a series of therapeutic strategies to prevent relapses in addictive disorder. Let’s see the most important ones.
Main therapeutic strategies for preventing relapses in addiction
There are various ways to treat an addiction, whether chemical, such as addictions to drugs, alcohol or pharmaceuticals; or behavioral (pathological gambling, video game addiction, etc.).
Within the intervention aimed at treating addictions, there are various stages that must be overcome to help the person completely overcome their problem and one of the biggest problems that we encounter in most of the process is relapses.
Relapses consist of a return to addictive behavior by the person who is breaking away from their addiction, and their appearance eliminates much of the progress made by the patient previously.
Luckily, there are some therapeutic strategies that can be carried out during the addiction rehabilitation process, below we present the most useful or effective ones.
1. Relaxation techniques
One of the first strategies that we can put into practice at a therapeutic level to prevent a relapse in a person’s addictive disorder is training in relaxation techniques. These therapeutic resources allow you to overcome excess anxiety and stress triggering factors for a possible relapse and ensure that the person once again reaches a state of relaxation and emotional balance that allows them to think more clearly and not succumb to the temptation to consume.
Some of the relaxation techniques most used in psychotherapy are diaphragmatic breathing, conscious meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation.
2. Exercise routines
Secondly, we can incorporate specific routines of intense physical exercise during our daily lives, which It will help us connect with the present moment and keep intrusive thoughts at bay.
This psychologically helps keep the mind busy and have greater daily organization; Physical exercise must be relatively intense so that it puts us in a position in which we must pay attention to the coordination of movements.
3. Avoid harmful social circles
In any process of weaning off addictions of any type, especially chemical addictions, there is a moment in which the person must be removed from their social context linked to drugs. Avoiding these problematic social circles where consumption occurred or where it may have started is the best way to start a new life for the person who has been rehabilitated or who is in the process of doing so.
Instead, it is advisable to frequent new social circles and healthier environments, far from the previous ones, where new social interactions and friendships can be forged.
4. Maintain a clear sleep schedule
Maintaining a regular sleep schedule with very clear beginnings and endings, at the same time every day, is also part of the therapeutic protocol to prevent relapses in addiction.
Correct night rest in people undergoing rehabilitation is essential. In addition to that, a rigid sleep schedule maintained over time will help us avoid being vulnerable to anxiety, lack of concentration or the discomfort of withdrawal, and in fact, it is a fundamental part of the treatment of psychopathologies prone to generating comorbidity. with addiction, such as bipolar disorder.
5. Go to group therapy sessions
Attending group therapy sessions is also an excellent way to successfully complete a process of de-habituation and rehabilitation from addictions of all types.
Group therapy has been demonstrated as one of the most effective intervention modalities in case of addictions, as it helps each participant to motivate themselves to leave the addiction behind and offers the possibility of having as references the examples of those who are part of the group and they have gone longer without relapsing.
6. Keep a personal diary
Keep a personal diary in which to pour painful feelings It is also very useful to dump everything that worries us, scares us or generates states of anxiety.
In addition to that, it allows us to verbally channel the discomfort that one feels, and it is also useful to prevent the psychological situation from overcoming us and ending up giving in to the temptation to relapse.
In a process susceptible to relapses, it is also necessary to rely on family and the people around us, since their support and love will make us stronger to overcome any adversity.
In addition to having support from psychological professionals, family, close friends and one’s own partner can help us in multiple ways to prevent relapses of all kinds.
8. Incorporate alternative behaviors to consumption
There are many alternative behaviors and activities to consumption that we can integrate into our daily lives as a mechanism to distract attention and avoid relapses into addiction.
These activities can be of all kinds, the important thing is that they are simple and accessible at almost any time, and keep us with a positive attitude.
9. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle
As indicated, in detoxification and rehabilitation processes it is important to maintain an active social life in healthy and positive environments, capable of offering us motivating projects. We must not fall into the trap of letting the activities most compatible with a passive lifestyle (watching television, being hooked on social networks…) take over all our free time.
This means that we must avoid a sedentary lifestyle at all costs, that is, staying at home all day without doing anything.
Are you looking for psychotherapy services?
Although all the advice presented is important, it should not be taken as a remedy that allows you to do without professional help. The involvement of a therapist specialized in psychology or psychiatry will always be the main way to avoid addiction relapses by a person in the rehabilitation process.
If you are looking for this type of services to start addiction treatment, contact us. In Liberadict Therapeutic Center we can help you.
