Creating a Relapse Prevention Plan: Step-by-Step Guide

The person that is recovering from addiction must develop skills that will help them to identify these cravings and gain the tools that are necessary to help them to manage in order to be able to be successful at preventing a drug or alcohol relapse. It is important for a former addict to realize that these intense cravings will eventually begin to decrease in frequency and intensity over time. Sometimes just calling someone from your support network that you can trust can be one of the strongest ways that an addict can be successful at arming themselves against a relapse. The goal of treatment is to help individuals recognize the early stages, in which the chances of success are greatest [1]. Second, recovery is a process of personal growth with developmental milestones. Third, the main tools of relapse prevention are cognitive therapy and mind-body relaxation, which change negative thinking and develop healthy coping skills [3].

“Staying in the moment” and being mindful of urges are helpful coping strategies4. Another factor that may occur is the Problem of Immediate Gratification where the client settles for shorter positive outcomes and does not consider larger long term adverse consequences when they lapse. Relapse prevention initially evolved as a calculated response to the longer-term treatment failures of other therapies. The assumption https://accountingcoaching.online/alcoholism-anger-management-mental-health/ of RP is that it is problematic to expect that the effects of a treatment that is designed to moderate or eliminate an undesirable behaviour will endure beyond the termination of that treatment. The initial transgression of problem behaviour after a quit attempt is defined as a “lapse,” which could eventually lead to continued transgressions to a level that is similar to before quitting and is defined as a “relapse”.

Collaborate to Create an Individualized Relapse Prevention Plan

Because of this worksheets open-ended nature, we suggest using it as a prompt for conversation in groups. The purpose of this rule is to remind individuals not to resist or sabotage change by insisting that they do recovery their way. A simple test of whether a person is bending the rules is if they look for loopholes in recovery.

Also, therapists can provide positive feedback of achievements that the client has been able to make in other facets of life6. Approach coping may involve attempts to accept, confront, or reframe as a means of coping, whereas avoidance coping may include distraction from cues or engaging in other activities. Approach oriented participants may see themselves as more responsible for their actions, including lapse, while avoidance-based coping may focus more on their environment than on their own actions14.

Relapse Prevention Strategies and Techniques for Addiction

It also helps train your body to reduce post-acute withdrawal symptoms in the weeks or months after getting sober. Relapse occurs when Sober Sayings and Sober Quotes you begin using a substance again after a period of sobriety. It can be due to various emotional, environmental, or social triggers.

It is virtually impossible to avoid all of these high risk situations, but, if you are acutely aware of them, they won’t catch be able to catch you totally off guard. It is a disorder that not only affects the brain and behavior, but also impacts every other area of life as well. They lose their support, sober friends distance themselves, and skills related to employment and establishing and keeping relationships. Substance use treatment involves building those skills again and establishing a sober lifestyle. This can be very difficult for individuals, and they can easily find themselves back in the same patterns that led them to substance use, so it’s important to have a plan in place for relapse prevention. Also critical is building a support network that understands the importance of responsiveness.

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Participating regularly in a support group, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) provides support, accountability, education, and the ability to meet peers who understand what you are going through. It further prevents relapse as it decreases feelings of loneliness and the risk of isolation, both of which can be common triggers for relapse. Whenever feeling a craving to use, or in general feeling anxious or “off,” ask yourself if you are feeling any of these symptoms.

It is often said that recovering individuals are as sick as their secrets. One of the challenges of therapy is to help clients practice telling the truth and practice admitting when they have misspoken and quickly correcting it. In the abstinence stage of recovery, clients usually feel increasingly better. But in the repair stage of recovery, it is not unusual for individuals to feel worse temporarily. They must confront the damage caused by addiction to their relationships, employment, finances, and self-esteem. They must also overcome the guilt and negative self-labeling that evolved during addiction.