Thinking about and romanticizing past drug use, hanging out with old friends, lying, and thoughts about relapse are danger signs. Individuals may be bargaining with themselves about when to use, imagining that they can do so in a controlled way. Coping skills can keep thoughts from escalating into substance use. There is an important distinction to be made between a lapse, or slipup, and a relapse. The distinction is critical to make because it influences how people handle their behavior. A relapse is a sustained return to heavy and frequent substance use that existed prior to treatment or the commitment to change.
Using positive psychology to support addiction treatment
One of the important tasks of therapy is to help individuals redefine fun. Clinical experience has shown that when clients are under stress, they tend to glamorize their past use and think about it longingly. They start to think that recovery is hard work and addiction was https://ecosober.com/ fun. They begin to disqualify the positives they have gained through recovery.
What are the psychological aspects of relapse in addiction recovery?
- There is a common misconception that relapse prevention skills should only be used when someone is having a desire to use.
- The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines relapse as the recurrence of behavioral or other substantive indicators of active disease after a period of remission.
- Interestingly, these rates are comparable to those for other chronic medical conditions like hypertension (50-70%) and asthma (50-70%).
- When recovering individuals do not develop healthy life skills, the consequence is that they also may be unhappy in life, but that can lead to relapse.
According to NIDA, 40-60% of individuals in recovery experience relapse at some point, similar to other chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension. This final stage of a relapse happens when you resume using substances. This might be a one-time slip-up or a more continual return to using drugs or alcohol.
Other Contributing Risk Factors
In mental health, they involve the return of symptoms after a period of recovery. Effective recovery programs incorporate Medication-Assisted Therapy (MAT) with counseling and behavioral therapies for a complete treatment approach. This combination addresses both physical dependence and psychological addiction patterns, resulting in higher success rates and fewer instances of relapse. No, a slip and a relapse are not exactly the same, though they are closely related.
Signs of a mental relapse
Relapse is a critical stage in the addiction cycle, which also includes experimentation, abuse, tolerance and dependence, addiction, and recovery. Understanding relapse within this context can provide valuable insights into the complexities of addiction and the ongoing challenges of maintaining a drug-free lifestyle. Constant relapse or chronic relapse is when a substance user has attempted to abstain from the habit several times but keeps resuming the addictive behavior. Constant relapse does not mean the person has failed or full recovery is not possible. Rather, with the right treatment process, full recovery is possible. Mental Relapse is the stage where individuals in recovery begin actively thinking about substance use, experiencing internal conflict between the desire to maintain sobriety and cravings to use again.
Medical Reviewer
Throughout recovery, there may be moments when one loses a sense of one’s values. If things are not going the way one expects and frustration takes over, it can be tempting to fall into the “screw it” mindset where nothing seems to matter. A regular meditation practice may be one of these effective skills. For more on this topic, see my article on The Benefits of Meditation for Addiction. Beyond lying to others and lying to oneself, deception, and conning to get what one wants marijuana addiction further separates an individual from others as they interact through persona masks.
Sunnyside Med offers access to compounded naltrexone (50mg + B6 5mg), paired with behavioral tools to help you Addiction Relapse: Risk Factors, Coping and Treatment reduce your drinking over time. Reach out to someone you trust as soon as you sense any of these feelings. Start your recovery journey with peace of mind, knowing your care is covered. Some substances, such as alcohol, can be dangerous to detox from alone without medical intervention. Unfortunately, addiction often comes with periods of sobriety and periods of relapse. But what should you look out for, and what can you do, if you suspect a relapse?
- However, it’s important to seek help in understanding what caused the relapse, which can be accomplished through a treatment program or within your recovery community.
- In later recovery, this overconfidence can also lead to relapse through rationalizations like, “why can’t I just be like normal people?
- They may also minimize previous substance abuse, convincing themselves that it “wouldn’t be so bad” if they returned to alcohol or drug use.
- Recent research shows that well-implemented rehabilitation initiatives yield improved outcomes, especially for high-risk individuals who may require targeted interventions.
Understanding the causes of relapse, recognizing warning signs, and learning effective prevention techniques can help individuals maintain their recovery and avoid returning to substance use. At Greater Boston Addiction Centers, we provide comprehensive relapse prevention programs as part of our structured addiction treatment plans. Recognizing early warning signs of relapse—such as changes in behavior, emotional distress, or withdrawal from support networks—is crucial.
Staying vigilant and committed to these strategies can significantly reduce the risk of relapse, paving the way for a sustained recovery. At this stage, working toward avoiding triggers or high-risk situations in which relapse could occur is critical. Therapy may focus on identifying high-risk situations and learning ways to avoid them. It may also involve normalizing occasional thoughts and relapse, and learning methods to let go of them quickly.
What Does Relapse Indicate?
Sometimes, a major “down” episode can put a recovering addict at risk for relapse because they don’t know how to cope with how they feel. During the earliest stages of emotional relapse, the individual may not consider relapse consciously. However, subconsciously they may begin to crave an outlet for their emotional pain. Various circumstances can trigger a relapse and it can be helpful to be aware of your triggers, to recognize and manage them. After experiencing a trigger, it can be helpful to check in with your thoughts and feelings to notice if any relapse signs have begun to occur. 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.
