You can spend several weeks in an addiction treatment center in California and complete a rigorous rehab treatment program only to relapse. However, a relapse doesn’t have to negate the months of hard work you put into your recovery. Furthermore, a relapse prevention plan can keep you on the right track regardless of whether your relapse or not.
Relapse typically doesn’t occur because of one single event. It is usually the culmination of a series of triggers that cause you to want to start drinking or taking drugs again. The triggers or warning signs are relatively evident. A relapse prevention approach can help you identify the warning signs and put a strategy into place to counter high-risk situations. Let’s take a closer look at how a plan can promote lifelong recovery.
Why You Need a Relapse Prevention Plan
If you have ever relapsed, then you are not alone. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 40 to 60 percent of all people recovering from addiction relapse at one point or another. The question is, however, how many of those people get back up and keep going. This reason is why a prevention plan is essential.
A plan helps you account for the myriad of stressors in your life. The stressors, commonly referred to as triggers, may include:
- Financial worries
- Health problems
- Mental disorders
- Family/marriage problems
- Specific people, places, or situations
- Withdrawal symptoms
- Being alone
In addition, you may not be able to assess your addiction threshold accurately. In other words, how strong you are in saying no to drugs or alcohol in a given situation. For instance, could you walk by a bar with an open door and not walk inside? Or, how well are you at handling fights at home without storming out and looking for a hit of cocaine?
The reason a prevention plan is essential is that it prepares you for those moments. A substance abuse treatment program in California can add a relapse prevention plan as a part of their overall treatment.
Relapse Prevention Strategies
A prevention plan involves more than just sitting down and brainstorming some ideas (although that’s a good start). It often includes attending addiction therapy programs to develop a long-term plan for dealing with your triggers or high-risk situations. Therapy-based strategies may consist of:
Understanding the Process That Leads to Relapse
Relapse rarely occurs instantly. There are usually a series of moments that finally make you give in. In a single day, you may face stress at work, car problems, financial problems, and arguments at home. When you are bombarded with this day after day, you may finally decide that you’ve had enough. Understanding the process can help you come with a plan for combatting it.
Learning How to Cope with High-Risk Situations
Your prevention plan begins with your therapy and carries through with your aftercare programs. Throughout each stage of treatment, you learn how to manage your cravings, triggers, and high-risk situations that can lead to relapse. You identify these situations or how you react to them and find solutions for healthily coping with them.
Implementing a Response Plan After a Relapse
So, you relapsed. What plan do you have in place to pick yourself back up and keep going? This is the reason that rehab programs in California exist. They help you continue your journey to recovery. By working with your therapist, you can develop a response plan after a relapse.
Get Help from an Addiction Treatment Center in California
Summit Estate is here to help you get clean and stay clean for life. We provide solutions for recovery by helping you develop a relapse prevention plan that works for you. To find out more about our addiction treatment therapies in California, contact us at 800.701.6997.
