The sad truth is that many people who try to recover from addiction to alcohol or drugs do not stay in recovery. Although relapse may be common, rarely does it occur without warning. There are usually significant behaviors that can signal that the recovering person is at high risk for relapse. It is critical for anyone in recovery to understand these warning signs.
Here is a recipe for relapse that will give you a good visual of what too look for when you’re heading into the danger zone.
Recipe for Relapse
- Cut out all the good things – Don’t go to church, Celebrate Recovery or meetings. Stop all the things that have been working for you.
- Isolation and self-pity – Throw away all those tools that have been working for you. The calls to your sponsor, mentor, pastor or trustworthy friend. You don’t need those anymore.
- Resentment – Get bitter and angry at everyone for your current predicament. Embrace the “it’s everyone else’s fault” mentality.
- Toxic influences- Replace the healthy relationships that you have recently developed with the toxic relationships that contributed to your addiction. Start calling those friends that you swore off.
- Old influences – Go back to your old stomping grounds; the bars or clubs where you would “use” freely.
- Risk and temptation – Just one. I can have just one. What’s it gonna hurt? I’ll stop at one.
- Lying to yourself – Keep the mirror off yourself. You can handle this.
Obviously, this is not what you should be doing. This is ultimately a recipe for failure. We want to give you a visual of all of the warning signs that you’re headed towards relapse, so you won’t go there.
Studies show that 50%-90% of people who have experienced some sort of addiction recovery, end up relapsing. That’s half to almost all of those. That’s a scary number. We don’t want that to happen to you. We don’t want you to be another Facebook RIP post.
Creating a relapse prevention plan will be an important part of recovery from addiction.
- What are you going to do if you’re around drugs or alcohol?
- What are you going to do if old friends come around?
- What are you going to do if you’re put in a stressful situation and/or you receive bad news?
- What are you going to do when you’re feeling lonely?
You need a solid plan to deal with triggers, temptation, and all the other challenges that come with sobriety so you can navigate these experiences successfully. 
The rehab programs at Life Transformation Recovery incorporate relapse prevention planning into all of our recovery treatment programs. Our treatment and housing facilities maintain a warm, welcoming, and caring environment for our clients. If you would like to learn more about our Extended Addiction Treatment Program in Prescott, AZ, call Life Transformation Recovery at (844) 582-FREEDOM or contact us online.
