Navigating life post-recovery means dealing with the fear of relapse. It’s important to keep in mind that you’re battling a chronic disease. The effects of substance abuse often end up altering your brain chemistry. Your brain needs to relearn how to process how you experience pleasure and make basic decisions. At a drug and alcohol rehab center, you’ll learn to recognize and deal with common relapse triggers and situations that potentially threaten your sobriety.
Experiencing Uncertainty
The reality of living a sober lifestyle can be a frightening thing. It’s often a difficult adjustment for those new to recovery, especially if you’re coming out of the structure of inpatient rehab. That’s why many professionals recommend that their clients move on to a sober living facility. An inability to function without control is a common relapse trigger.
Trying to manage the fear that arises at the idea of taking responsibility for your actions may be expressed through irritation or anger at the smallest inconveniences. It’s a result of trying to keep emotions in check without resorting to your substance of choice.
The idea of going back to your old lifestyle may start to seem more appealing. You start focusing on a romanticized vision of your past life instead of the grim reality that led you to seek treatment. Learning to navigate those experiences plays a significant factor in rehab success rates.
Getting Used to a Routine
Another relapse trigger for many in recovery is the mundane details of day to day existence. Things that regular people take for granted can seem like a big deal to people coming out of addiction treatment programs. They lack experience in handling the inconveniences that happen to everyone.
What should be a small thing turns into something catastrophic. Again, it’s a side effect of learning to regulate your emotions and responses in a normal way. You may feel tempted to have “just one drink” or “one more hit” of your drug of choice.
Having a reliable support system makes a big difference in how you navigate the temptation to use. So don’t hesitate to reach out to a loved one or locate a meeting nearby. Remember that what you’re experiencing is another side effect of your disease. Times like those are when you need to put the coping techniques learned in therapy into practice.
Feeling Overconfident About Sobriety
There’s a reason people often compare the experience of getting sober to undergoing a religious conversion. The newly baptized, so to speak, will rhapsodize to anyone who will listen about the wonders of being free of addiction.
Feeling cocky about the process of sobriety is another relapse trigger. It’s easy to lose perspective on how hard the road was that led you to this point. That could lead to the belief that you’ve “beaten” the disease and no longer need the support network you built.
You stop going to meetings, skip out on therapy sessions, and feel like you’re one of the lucky ones who found “the answer.” It’s probably one of the most dangerous headspaces for a newly sober person. Therefore, it’s important not to lose your sense of humility and recognition of the dangers you will face throughout your life from your addiction disorder.
Old Routines are Common Relapse Triggers
While you may not go as far as abandoning your 12-step program or giving up on your therapy sessions, it’s not uncommon for those in recovery to “test” themselves in the following ways:
- Visiting your old favorite drinking place
- Hanging out with friends who still use
- Attending a party where large quantities of alcohol will be served
It’s times like these where a strong support network is essential to surviving this specific relapse trigger. They can help you recognize the danger and help put you back on the right track.