What To Do When You Suffer A Relapse? 7 Strategies To Leave Your Addictions Behind
Relapses are part of the change process, and serve to help the affected person learn to identify and work on the signs that precede consumption in order to avoid them.
People who suffer from drug addiction symptoms They are usually very prone to ending in a relapse due to the difficulties that leaving these addictions behind can entail. Despite this, there are methods to avoid exposing yourself to relapses and finally leaving behind everything that this type of complicated situations entails. In this way, we let the brain recover from drugs and be able to enjoy life again without the presence of these substances that are harmful to our physical and mental health. So, how can we avoid relapses and overcome addictions?
A relapse implies the worsening of a condition that had previously improved. Therefore, when we are talking about overcome addictions, we are referring to a person resuming consumption of substances harmful to their health (such as alcohol and drugs). Despite having been able to get off drugs, the person, due to a series of factors, has returned to this type of harmful behavior.
In these cases, the symptoms of drug addiction They come back and the person also experiences a kind of failure because they have tried and failed. Therefore, it is important to know that relapses do not represent a failure, but rather an obstacle that we must overcome again to be happy in our lives again.
Situations that most frequently lead to relapse
A myth about relapse is that it occurs the moment a person starts using alcohol or drugs and, therefore, it is something that can never be avoided. In reality, relapses begin days before, with inadvertent exposures to situations that precede the consumption of these harmful substances. Changes occur in thoughts, emotions and behavior that signal the risky situation
Throughout the therapeutic process but especially in the action and maintenance stages, the person must learn to identify those situations or stimuli that most frequently lead to a relapse, in order to be able to work on the symptoms of drug addiction and avoid that a return to consumption occurs. In many cases, relapse to a addiction syndrome occurs due to the following.
persistent thoughts related to consumption.
Negative emotions such as frustration, anger, anxiety or depression.
Conflict situations in interpersonal relationships, whether with your partner, family or co-workers.
Isolation of loved ones, friends and family.
Resume contact with friends and places associated with alcohol consumption.
Personal control test: a very common error, perhaps caused by the still existing erroneous belief that “the person with alcohol dependence is weak“, is to test the ability to control consumption. A test of “willpower“which consists of trying to drink only one drink and then stopping consumption, without losing control.
Social pressure: One of the factors that is most frequently responsible for relapses is, without a doubt, the influence of another person or a group. Developing social skills should be considered a fundamental part in many cases in the treatment of alcohol dependence.
In order to know how to prevent a relapse and all the symptoms of a drug addict, it is essential to be able to identify the stages you can go through when you are in it. According to psychologists we can identify the following.
emotional relapse
During this relapse stage, people do not think about using the substance, but their behaviors and emotions can put them in a risk situation in the future. In these cases, people feel isolated, have feelings of anxiety, and feel little social support.
mental relapse
In this relapse phase people often think about using the substance and may even miss the people and places associated with those behaviors.
Physical relapse
Finally, all these emotions and thoughts around addiction They cause the person to relapse to the substance itself.
If you think you are in any of these stages and want to take action on the matter, you can always consult with a professional psychologist to be able to leave the addiction behind.
How can we avoid relapses?
There are a series of psychological tips that you can follow to not have relapses in addictions that have harmed you. According to experts we can do the following.
1. Become aware of the problem
You may have been in a period of withdrawal for a while but if you consider that what is happening to you is not a problem, as soon as you stop the treatment you will fall back into “temptation“. For the treatment to be effective and long-lasting, it is necessary awareness of addiction and value it as a problem.
In order to face a addiction syndrome, the person will have to discover the function of the symptom, that is, what void alcohol or drugs are intended to fill in their life. Sometimes it is consumed because the person is shy and needs to be uninhibited, other times it is consumed to not think and escape from reality, sometimes it is done as a self-punishment as a result of the feeling of guilt, also as something that is done out of habit or inertia. , because you don’t like the life you lead, etc. What is clear is that alcohol or drugs begin to be consumed for some reason and you have to discover what it is, that is, you have to learn to know yourself. Once the cause(s) has been detected, it is easier to be aware of oneself and therefore, when the person feels in a similar way again, they have to look for an alternative to consumption.
3. Learn to self-psychoanalyze
To avoid relapse and do the work that I have mentioned before, it is necessary for the person to learn to analyze themselves psychologically, that is, to be aware of ourselves at all times. You have to evaluate your emotional states in order to do therapeutic work and thus avoid the feared relapse. If, for example, you do your consumption to avoid feeling sadness and you have recently lost your job or a close person has died, it is essential to work on that sadness and the block to feeling it (in therapy if necessary) so as not to resort to alcohol again. alcohol or drugs as a means of escape.
4. Don’t throw in the towel
There are many differences between a setback and a relapse If, for example, you haven’t consumed a drop of alcohol in a year and Christmas comes (a difficult time for ex-addicts) and you consume alcohol on New Year’s Eve, that has been a setback. The most important thing is that you value it as such since the usual tendency is to say: “I’ve already screwed up, it doesn’t matter” and end up drinking as you did before, therefore ending up in a relapse when it was just a small setback. Work on each setback to detect what led you to use and learn to look for alternatives for the next time you feel the need to to drink.
If you see that your friends encourage you to use, talk to them and if they do not understand, distance yourself from them and interact with people who do not usually use. On the other hand, make social contacts that do not involve drinking, such as outdoor sports. If you do activities where it is very easy to access alcohol or drugs, you are more likely to that you relapse
6. Abstinence as a philosophy of life and not as a prohibition
The longer you spend abstinent, the less desire there will be and the easier it will be to accept life no alcohol and no drugs If you perceive the impossibility of consuming as a prohibition, it will be more difficult to overcome it, while if you experience it as a choice that you make, the experience may be much more positive and enriching. In reality, alcohol is not necessary to live, it does not provide necessary nutrients for the body, it is a poison that we have accepted in this society. Don’t be a slave to it.
7. Consult with a professional psychologist
For overcome relapses Perhaps you do not have enough support from your family and your resources, therefore, if you think you are in a risk situation, it is important to keep in mind that you can always turn to a professional psychologist. Sometimes going to a consultation can be what makes the difference.
Live without el alcohol and drugs It can be difficult in situations where negativity invades us. Despite this, effort and our self-control will be the keys to leaving behind these types of attitudes that harm us and resolving these moments through our effort. There are many healthy ways to escape without resorting to these harmful substances.
