Is it possible to find out how to avoid relapse, so you never have to worry about using drugs or alcohol again? Many men and women who have a history of drug use find it impossible to eliminate the risk of use 100% unless they have a plan in place to support them through this process. When you get clean, you feel empowered and want to remain there. Yet challenges in daily life can increase your risks, pushing you towards relapse. At Bayview Recovery, we have tools and resources to help you maintain your recovery long term.
Learn How to Avoid Relapse by Understanding Its Risk
It’s not possible to cure addiction. Every person who develops addiction will need to manage it for the rest of their life. It is treatable in most people, though. At the same rate, it’s also important to know that relapse is a genuine threat. It occurs in 40 to 60 percent of people with addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Those rates of relapse are just as common as relapse from conditions such as hypertension and asthma, though. Like any other disease, a relapse may occur, but you can work towards preventing it.
Simple Strategies for Avoiding Relapse
To learn how to avoid relapse in your specific case, work closely with your therapist, who can provide guidance and support to you. However, these strategies may help you, as well.
Have Immediate Support Available
Life is tough. When things get complicated, you need to have a system of getting help. Getting this support may mean reaching out to a drug treatment center like Bayview Recovery for immediate help from a trained counselor. This option is the best if you are on the verge of using and want to find a way to stop it fast. Outside of a treatment center, you can also have friends and a mentor to call. Having those phone numbers in hand can be empowering in times that you need immediate help.
Work to Remove Triggers from Your Life
Whenever possible, remove things that cause you to want to use or things that are challenging to manage. These triggers may include:
- Specific locations where you used to use
- People you used to use with
- Relationships that you cannot fix that are high stress
- Situations where you feel helpless or vulnerable
- People even family members who put you down
There are many reasons to break relationships that are unhealthy if you are working on your recovery. Breaking free of unhealthy relationships is one of the most powerful ways to learn how to avoid relapse. You need to remove that which caused your drug use from your life.
Gain Health and Happiness
During recovery, a key component of your success will focus on your ability to build useful things in your life. These things may mean creating resources that can help you to gain physical fitness, improve your job outlook, build new relationships, and create opportunities to do something you enjoy. By focusing on the good, you can avoid some of the bad.
Why Drug and Alcohol Treatment Helps to Prepare You
While you are receiving care throughout intensive outpatient treatment or traditional outpatient treatment, you’ll learn a great deal about who you are and what your triggers are. You’ll develop tools to help you to avoid the use of drugs and alcohol after you leave as well. These tools may include cognitive-behavioral therapy that can help teach you how to change negative thoughts into better ones.
In addition to this, we also provide a full drug and alcohol aftercare program. We design our programs to support you as you continue through recovery and need help from time to time. For many people, ongoing outpatient care can also help to strengthen their ability to remain relapse-free for years throughout their recovery. The key is reaching out for help.
You Can Learn to Manage Your Addiction at Bayview Recovery
Learn how to avoid relapse by putting yourself in the best position possible for recovery. Turn to our team at Bayview Recovery to learn more about our treatment plans, including how we can help you to maintain your recovery long term. You are not alone. Call our experienced therapists at 855.478.3650 for immediate help.
