Relapse Prevention in Bonham, TX

Addiction is a chronic and relapsing disease, which means that while it can't be cured, it can be sent into remission by remaining abstinent. Since using again once you're in recovery can quickly lead back to the addiction, relapse prevention in Bonham is essential for helping you stay on the road to recovery.

How Common is Relapse?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, relapse rates for addiction are similar to those for other chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

Between 40 and 60 percent of people in recovery from addiction will turn back to drugs or alcohol at some point. Relapse prevention programs reduce your risk of relapse and improve your chances of successful, long-term recovery.

How Relapse Prevention in Bonham Works

Relapse prevention in Bonham isn't one single program. Relapse prevention takes place through many avenues during treatment, including:

Group, individual, and family therapy.
Complementary therapies like art and nature therapy.
Psychoeducational classes, which are part education and part therapy.
Support group participation.
Aftercare plans.
Sober living facilities.

The programming offered through our drug and alcohol rehab in Bonham helps people in recovery:

Identify their relapse triggers and develop coping skills and techniques.
Identify high-risk situations and develop a plan to cope with or avoid them.
Develop an arsenal of skills and strategies to reduce stress, cravings, and other triggers.
Build motivation and momentum to maintain sobriety.
Understand the stages of relapse and recognize their warning signs.
Develop a plan to reduce the severity of a relapse if it occurs and to get back on track with recovery quickly.

The Three Stages of Relapse

Relapse occurs in three predictable stages, and an important key to addiction relapse prevention is understanding that relapse is a gradual process that starts long before you actually use again.

Stage One: Emotional Relapse

Emotional relapse is the first stage. During emotional relapse, you're not consciously thinking about using again, but your emotions and behaviors are setting you up for a lapse. Signs of emotional relapse include:

Suppressing emotions.
Feeling isolated.
Skipping meetings.
Focusing on other people's problems.
Unhealthy eating and sleeping habits.

Stage Two: Mental Relapse

The second stage of relapse is mental relapse. During mental relapse, you begin to think about using again, but part of you doesn't want to. This internal war intensifies as your resistance to a lapse begins to wane and your need to "escape" increases. Sign of mental relapse include:

More frequent cravings.
Thinking about people or places associated with your past use.
Glamorizing your past use.
Minimizing the consequences of your past use.
Lying to yourself and others.
Trying to think of ways to be able to control your drug use.

The mental stage of relapse ends with looking for opportunities to use again and planning your lapse around loved one's schedules.

Stage Three: Physical Relapse

The last stage of relapse is where the lapse occurs. It usually happens when you've allowed yourself to enter a high-risk situation at a time when you're unlikely to get caught by loved ones.

Common Relapse Triggers

A trigger is a feeling, thought, memory, person, or place that your brain associates with your past use and causes intense cravings. Relapse prevention in Bonham is largely about understanding common relapse triggers and identifying your own personal triggers, which may include driving past your favorite bar or going to a certain type of event, like a concert or party.

Some common relapse triggers include stress, negative thought patterns, unchecked negative emotions, overconfidence in your sobriety, and hanging out with people who are using. Relapse prevention programs through drug and alcohol rehab helps you develop a toolkit of strategies for preventing a relapse, including:

Regular exercise and maintaining good health.
A high level of self-care.
Reducing stress.
Letting go of false beliefs, such as thinking you can't deal with life sober or that life won't be fun without drugs or alcohol.
Making healthy lifestyle changes that support a life in recovery.
Coping with cravings through meditation, exercise, and other strategies.
Understanding how to get help after a lapse.

Relapse is Not the End of the World

One of the most important things to remember in recovery is that setbacks--which are events that lead you closer to using again--are a normal part of the recovery process, and a lapse or relapse is not the end of the world. Rather, it should be viewed as an opportunity to identify and develop the missing skills that led to the lapse so that a similar incident doesn't occur again.

An article published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine stresses that approaching a setback or lapse with a positive attitude rather than feelings of guilt, shame, frustration, and self-hatred, which can lead to abandoning long-term recovery goals. A positive approach includes focusing on the progress you've made so far rather than on the setback.

Programs for relapse prevention work, and engaging in our high quality programs for addiction treatment in Bonham will go a long way toward helping you maintain sobriety for the long-term. Call us today at (877) 804-1531 to get started.