Relapse prevention for substance abuse

Recovery from an addiction is a life changing experience for the person that for years has been in its stranglehold.
For the first time in a long time the recovered addict experiences what it means to be in control of their own life and not live under the domination of an addictive substance. Although the grip of the addiction has been broken and the recovered person is now able to move forward with their life, the reality is that the addiction still lurks in the shadows waiting to once again reinstate itself in the person’s life. Recovering from a life of addiction is just the first step to a life long work of maintaining the new found freedom that comes with sobriety. For the recovered addict preventing a relapse into their former substance abuse should be their day to day mission.
Unfortunately, many recovering addicts don’t move beyond the initial stage of their recovery into the day to day work required to maintain it. Failure to develop a tight relapse prevention program for oneself inevitably leads to the collapse of the person’s recovery and their return to the addiction. What exactly then is relapse prevention and what does it entail? Relapse prevention is the deliberate effort made by the recovered addict to not lose the gains made in getting sober from their substance use. This, however, does not happen magically but requires careful and calculated planning by the recovered addict to do what needs to be done in order to keep from slipping back into the addiction.
What then should the recovered addict do to prevent himself/herself from relapsing? The following are some proposals from recovered addicts that they have found helpful in doing in order maintain their sobriety:
1. Access support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous where there are other recovering addicts who commonly share the desire of getting sober and staying sober.
2. Access counseling to help address personal problems related to the years of substance abuse and to help consolidate efforts made at maintaining sobriety.
3. Get into a new daily routine that does not involve people, places, and things that promote the use of alcohol or drugs.
4. With the help of counseling and other positive sources of support, learn to change addictive thinking patterns and self-defeating and dysfunctional behaviors.
5. Learn to identify distorted core believes about oneself, others, and the world, and learn to replace those distortions with realistic and healthy ones.
6. Be alert to high risk situations to use and have a ready plan to counteract those situations.
7. Learn how to deal with cravings and urges to use.
8. Take control of your choices and learn to say “no” to opportunities to use.
Getting sober and remaining sober requires serious work and commitment. Throughout recovery the addict will be faced with many situations that will be difficult to deal with, but working a well thought out and tight relapse prevention program will prove beneficial in maintaining that recovery. The recovered addict must bear in mind that there is no substitute for living sober, and that all good things in life come with sobriety.
Gaetano Cospito
Community Counseling and Addictions Services