As an addict, the strength it took to not only confront your addiction, but to also successfully complete treatment is commendable beyond measure. Leaving rehab and adjusting to your new, sober life probably had your feelings in a complete knot.
Exciting? Yes. Overwhelming? Of course. Intimidating? Absolutely.
As any recovering addict knows, completing rehab isn’t the magic ingredient to life-long sobriety. Life after rehab demands your complete dedication and determination.
While it would be great to finish treatment and never confront substance use again, that is rarely the reality.
According to a 2014 publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry, between 40 and 60 percent of individuals who successfully complete addiction treatment end up relapsing.
Additionally, recent studies have shown that approximately 70 to 90 percent of recovering addicts experience at least one mild to moderate relapse before they are able to remain sober for any extended period of time.
Relapse, however, never means you have failed. If you have relapsed, or are concerned about a loved one relapsing, it’s crucial to get back on track as quickly as possible. While relapse may be common, it must be addressed right away.
With the right support, treatment approach and relapse prevention techniques, overcoming a relapse is more than possible.
You Can Recover from a Relapse
Your addiction fundamentally altered your brain’s chemistry, necessitating a life-long recovery journey. Triggers lurk everywhere and with just one sign of weakness, your addiction is ready to seize control again. That’s why sobriety is always so much harder than your addiction ever was. In sobriety, you are relearning how to think, act and react.
While every answer to every problem used to be your substance, it must now be a well thought out solution; an advantageous response.
At Covenant Hills – a renowned, Christian-based drug rehabilitation center in Southern California – we believe that a relapse is an opportunity to revisit your treatment and relapse prevention plan, review what tripped you up and why and formulate a stronger strategy to move forward with.
Ultimately, relapse is a learning opportunity with a built-in second chance to forge a sober life stronger than ever.
To recover and build a thriving, sober life after relapse, learn what to do after a relapse and how Covenant Hills can help you get back on track:
What to Do After a Relapse
Overcoming a relapse demands swift action to get control of the drug or alcohol use before any more is consumed and the situation spirals.
If you’re looking for help with relapse, we offer three simple steps to recover from a relapse:
1. Take Responsibility for Your Actions
Before you can course correct from a relapse, you must first acknowledge and accept what happened and take full responsibility for your actions. This is the first, crucial step in learning from your mistake in order to live a sober life.
Wasting time on pointing fingers and thinking, “What if I never relapsed?” is an act of utility. Embracing your imperfections and striving to improve your decision patterns is a more productive plan of attack, and one that’s sure to aid in you achieving sustained sobriety once again.
2. Lean on Your Healthy, Supportive Relationships
In addiction rehab, you learned that you need to permanently remove the toxic relationships in your life and only focus on building and maintaining a strong social support system.
When you relapse, the positive relationships will help reduce your stress, anxiety and depression about your current situation. They will also help you glean perspective, remind you of the coping skills you learned in treatment and encourage you to participate in relapse treatment to further reclaim control of your life.
3. Seek Expert Help with Relapse Immediately
While overcoming relapse on your own is possible, committing to relapse prevention treatment can be the difference between life-long sobriety and experiencing another relapse.
Additionally, when you find the right help with relapse – a program that is focused on healing your entire being from your mind, body and soul – you will be better prepared to evade triggers and prevent future relapses.
Furthermore, you could still be contending with an undiagnosed, co-occurring mental health disorder or past traumas that were never fully addressed or discovered throughout your last treatment journey.
Without being aware of these conditions, and without learning how to fully manage feelings associated with these situations, life after relapse can easily be doomed without you even knowing.
When you seek expert relapse treatment, you will ensure your complete healing. Seasoned addiction and relapse professionals will:
- Guide you through relapse prevention therapy
- Help you identify your stage of recovery
- Establish an amended relapse prevention plan
This is what you’ll find at Covenant Hills.
Life-Changing, Christian-Based Addiction Treatment and Recovery Assurance Guarantee at Covenant Hills
Sobriety is a life-altering journey. It takes an all-encompassing approach to navigate the entire addiction recovery process and arrive at a healthy, sober mental and physical state.
At Covenant Hills, we offer world-class therapy, an unparalleled relapse prevention curriculum and a safe, inspiring place to reconnect with God. Your mind, body, soul and spirit will be met with expert support that can help you reclaim overall health that not only benefits you, but also your entire family.
Furthermore, our Recovery Assurance Guarantee allows you to come back for a free week of stabilization if you relapse for any reason. We cannot provide a cure for addiction, but we can arm you with the tools and treatment needed to help you get back on track and prevent relapse.
Learn about our relapse prevention groups, including how we approach relapse prevention therapy. Or contact us for a free and confidential assessment.
Resources:
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry. Relative Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, Standard Relapse Prevention, and Treatment as Usual for Substance Use Disorders. Accessed September 17, 2018. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1839290.
Psychology Today. Why Relapse Isn’t a Sign of Failure. Accessed September 17, 2018.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/where-science-meets-the-steps/201210/why-relapse-isnt-sign-failure.
