Seeking professional help and joining support groups can also provide guidance in managing high-risk situations and preventing relapse. Helping individuals think about their past drinking or using experiences to identify environmental triggers is central to preventing recurrences of use. Our model highlights four types of environmental triggers — people, places, things, and situations.
Create an Action Plan
External triggers are often easier to identify, as they are people, places, things and activities that make someone want to use drugs or alcohol again. Internal triggers can be more difficult to identify as they are feelings that are often complex. Some people experience a whirlwind of emotions when seeing old friends and loved ones, which can trigger the desire to have a drink. Other people may become so stressed out by the push to perform at school or work that they are tempted by the feelings produced by stimulants. Expecting triggers and planning to cope with them effectively is the best way to defend against addiction relapse.
- Therapy can help people overcome the cognitive challenge of acknowledging the difficulty of recovery but realizing that sustaining an addiction is far harder.
- If the urge to use has become strong enough, reinserting someone into the very environment in which their recovery began could be what is needed to keep them on the path to recovery.
- Stay cognizant of your emotions and be prepared to regulate them accordingly.
- Therapists and counselors will document, share, and regularly update these strategies throughout your treatment.
The Stressors Of Daily Life
One such neurotransmitter, dopamine, reinforces the connection between drug use, pleasure, and any external triggers that remind the user of the substance. Over time, these dopamine surges teach the brain to seek the drug or alcohol any time the user encounters a trigger. There is one benefit of self-help groups that deserves special attention. They can be obstacles to recovery, because individuals may feel that they have been damaged by their addiction and they don’t deserve recovery or happiness.
Learn to Recognize Your Personal Relapse Triggers at Discovery
By engaging in holistic practices, individuals can cultivate a sense of inner balance and well-being, which can contribute to the prevention of emotional relapse. These approaches can also complement traditional therapy and medication-based treatments, providing a more comprehensive approach to addressing emotional relapse and ensuring a successful recovery. Effectively addressing emotional relapse and ensuring a successful recovery journey can be achieved by exploring various treatment options and selecting the most fitting approach. The HALT checklist, which stands for Hunger, Anger, Loneliness, and Tiredness, is a useful tool for recognizing basic needs that require daily attention and can help prevent emotional relapse. Attending to these needs and maintaining overall well-being can effectively mitigate the risk of relapse for individuals. Understanding the distinctions between emotional and mental relapse stages enables individuals to recognize types of relapse triggers their unique characteristics and take appropriate action to prevent a full-blown relapse.
It typically follows stages one and two if prevention strategies have not been utilized and may occur days, weeks, or months after the initial relapse signs have begun. 7 This stage is often considered in terms of a ‘lapse’ and a ‘relapse’. Addressing mental urges can be an effective tool for preventing relapse, at least on a short-term basis. Speaking to someone about the urge to use can often help to reduce that urge and bring rational thinking to the forefront of the equation.
- Reminiscing about or dwelling on memories of past substance abuse is one of the brightest red flags in terms of triggers and relapse.
- These might seem like small potatoes, but trust me, they can make a world of difference in your emotional resilience.
- Or they may be caught by surprise in a situation where others around them are using and not have immediate recourse to recovery support.
- Relapse can be divided into three stages, each with specific signs.
- Cocaine and several other illicit drugs also boost levels of dopamine.
Recovered is not a medical, healthcare or therapeutic services provider and no medical,psychiatric, psychological or physical treatment or advice is being provided by Recovered. Ifyou are facing a medical emergency or considering suicide or self harm, please call 911immediately. Naomi Carr is a qualified mental health nurse with several years of experience working with children and adults in the UK. If you are facing chronic pain, reach out to your recovery center, if you haven’t already.