Three Stages of Relapse – Athena Behavioral Health

Relapse is a slow process. It does not hit a person immediately. A person falls trap of it gradually. It begins with positive thoughts and feelings re-occupying his/her mind related to use of alcohol/drugs which then culminates into deterioration of his/her condition over a period of time.

A person may relapse into using alcohol or drugs in two ways – traditional and Relapse. Traditional lapse is when the person intentional begins to reuse the alcohol/drug. Relapse is when someone begins to use the substance accidently and had no intention of using it.

Relapse is dangerous whether it occurs in traditional or Relapse form. Therefore, it is important to keep a note on the signs that one develops so that it gets easier to identify the current stage of relapse. Basically, relapse occurs in three stages:

1.    Emotional Relapse

During this stage, a person does not begin to reuse the drugs or consume alcohol but finds it difficult to manage his/her emotions and feelings. Negative emotions like anger, irritability, and anxiety are on the rise that in turn makes the person abandon the coping mechanisms and relapse to using alcohol/drugs. Self-care takes a sideline during this stage. Some of the warning signs of this stage include:

• ·         Poor eating and sleeping habits
• ·         Abandoning family and friends
• ·         Preventing being a part of group meetings
• ·         Not sharing emotions during group meetings
• ·         Mood swings
• ·         Focusing on other’s life and their problems to avoid their own
• ·         Inability to manage emotions
• ·         Preferring to stay in isolation 

You can prevent your risk of emotional relapse by practicing deep breathing. It is also important to accept the changes in your emotions and seek help before the condition worsens. Avoid falling trap into the fear of being judged or failing as these would only increase your chances of relapse.

2.    Mental Relapse

When a person ignores his/her signs of emotional relapse or fails to manage his/her emotions effectively, it is very likely for him/her to relapse mentally. He/she develops thoughts that are contradictory to staying sober and begins to find happiness in the memories associated with its past use. Hence, the person is at high risk of relapse. The person’s cognitive resistance diminishes, and he/she begins to think of using the substance again. Some of the other signs of mental relapse are:

• ·         Craving or psychological urge to use drug/alcohol
• ·         Thinking about the people/places associated with their use
• ·         Hanging out with friends who are present consumers of alcohol/drugs
• ·         Thinking of consuming it occasionally
• ·         Fantasizing about using it
• ·         Planning how to relapse

To avoid mental relapse, it is important to distract oneself from the urges of using these substances. Remind yourself of how using this drug/alcohol had harmed you in the past. Remember that reusing this substance is not going to benefit you in anyway rather would only have negative effects on your physical as well as mental health.

3.    Physical Relapse

A physical relapse occurs when you have not dealt with your symptoms of emotional and physical relapses in a timely manner. It is the situation in which the person begins to reuse the substance in a full-blown manner. A substance full-blown use implies that you have no control left over its use. Physical relapse begins with the consumption of one drink or one dose of drug and then worsens over a certain time.

If you want to prevent this situation, make sure to take the right steps during the first two stages or seek the right kind of help.

Help is Available!

Relapse is a time-taking process. It does not occur in a single incident or within a matter of minutes. Therefore, if you keep a close check on the symptoms developed by you over a period of time or take some self-care steps, you can avoid the situation of relapse. In case, you have already fallen trap into physical addiction, help is available at our treatment facility.

Athena Behavioral Health is one of the leading addiction and De Addiction Centre in Gurgaon facility across the globe. With the best-in-class infrastructure and trained doctors, we make sure that the treatment offered to our patients is customized as per their needs. Our experts also understand that relapse can occur at any point in time and therefore, are available with the right kind of help as and when you need. Want to know more about our plans? Contact us at 919289086193.

 

Five Common Causes of Relapse

Relapse can occur at any point in time. It is not necessary for an individual to stay sober once he/she has stopped using the substance of abuse. In fact, many people relapse once, twice or even multiple times before completely abandoning the use of drug/alcohol.  Therefore, it is essential for the recovering person to be aware of the common factors that might trigger relapse. Some of the common causes that have been identified over the years by the experts are as mentioned below:

1.      Stress

Stress has been identified as one of the biggest factors that triggers one to reuse the substance of abuse. This is more prominent if the person used to abuse the substance to cope up with his/her stress. To avoid this trigger, it is important to identify what stresses him/her out – whether it is a toxic relationship, a financial debt, or something else. While he/she cannot get completely rid of stress, he/she can certainly minimize its causes.

2.     Lack of planning

Prior to leaving the treatment facility, it is important to have a proper plan in place regarding the environment he/she plans to live in, his/her friend circle, his/her family members who would surround him/her, and others. This is to ensure that he/she does not end up going into the same environment that encouraged him/her to use the substance earlier. If not pre-planned, there are high chances that he/she would relapse and begin reusing the substance.

3.     Not enough support

Having positive people around the recovering person is as important as a positive environment for him/her to stay sober. If he/she is surrounded by the same group of people who encouraged him/her to use drugs/alcohol or accompanied him/her in his/her act, then he/she can never stay sober. Relapse is sure to occur within a few days. Therefore, it is necessary for him/her to make sure to have a positive support from his/her family members and friends so that they may inspire him/her to stay sober and avoid using drugs/alcohol.

4.      Inability to deal with post-recovery challenges

Neither the road to recovery is easy nor the life after recovery. There are multiple challenges that one has to face post recovering from his/her addiction to any substance. Therefore, it is important that a person sets realistic expectations from his/her path to recovery as well as the life after recovery. There will be situations that are likely to shake his/her determination to attain and lead a healthy life post recovery and therefore, he/she must be prepared to deal with them diligently.

5.      Low self-confidence

Having a low level of self-confidence increases one’s chances of relapse. If he/she thinks that he/she cannot succeed in life or get easily tensed in stressful situations, it is possible that he/she would relapse and begin reusing the substance of abuse. Therefore, it is important for him/her to trust his/her abilities and have enough self-confidence that he/she can cope with the challenging situations in life to stay sober.

Seek Professional Help

Recovery is a lifelong process. Therefore, if a recovering addict can learn to recognize the situations/places/events that may slip him/her into reusing the substance of abuse, there are higher chances for him/her to stay sober. Building a positive network and surrounding oneself with people who support him/her in him/her measures to prevent relapse work as a great help. But one must never get demotivated if he/she stumbles while walking on the path to recovery.   

If one thinks that he/she has already relapsed and cannot recover on his/her own, it is necessary for him/her to seek professional help immediately. Athena Behavioral Health is one of the reliable, safest, and secure treatment center for mental health and addiction recovery. Offering its patients, a custom-made treatment plan, our treatment experts ensure that they attain recovery in the minimum time possible and begin leading a healthy life.

Relapse prevention and its treatment is another area of expertise of our experts. They closely monitor each case and plan a proper plan so that one may get rid of addiction to any form of substance easily. If you or someone you know would like to know more about our treatment plans, contact us at 9289086193 or drop us an email at info@athenabhs.com