Crestview Recovery is a full-service substance use treatment center in Portland, Oregon, and serves clients from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Our inpatient and outpatient programs help you break the cycle of addiction. “What is relapse prevention?” is one of the many questions we answer and give you the tools to explore.
What Is Relapse Prevention?
Relapse prevention is part of the Oregon cognitive behavioral program model and helps you identify and prevent situations that put your sobriety at risk. What is relapse prevention? It’s an approach that enables you to examine the obsessive-compulsive and other traits that make you crave alcohol or drugs.
Common Trigger for Relapse Prevention
It’s essential to understand what triggers you to use drugs or drink alcohol. Here are some of the most common reasons given by others with substance use disorder:
- Withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, weakness, and anxiety
- Hanging out with old friends who drink
- Going to places where you used to do drugs
- Powerful emotions hungry, angry, lonely, tired (H.A.L.T.)
- Relationships
- Isolation, intentional or otherwise
- Pride and believing you have conquered alcohol abuse disorder
Kinds of Relapse
When asking what is relapse prevention to you, remember that it’s a process that can’t be pushed. There are distinct stages to work through in recovery. Relapse begins weeks or months before a physical relapse.
There are three kinds of relapse, including mental, physical, and emotion relapse.
Emotional Relapse
During an emotional relapse, you don’t think about using, but feelings and behaviors may start to set you up for a potential relapse.
The signs of emotional relapse include:
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Defensiveness
- Intolerance
- Mood swings
- Poor sleep habits
- Not going to meetings
- Poor eating habits
- Isolation
Physical Relapse
What is relapse prevention for physical symptoms? Your counselors can help you come up with techniques to avoid the cravings for a drink or drugs.
Do what you can to avoid thinking about using to maintain your sobriety. If you notice early warning signs that you might be in danger of a relapse, contact someone you can trust before it’s too late.
Mental Relapse
The signs of mental relapse include:
- Glamourizing use
- Thinking about people you used to do drugs with
- Hanging out with friends who drink
- Fantasizing about drugs and alcohol
You Can Prevent Relapse Early
The earlier you begin to counteract the urge to drink, the better chance you have for long-term sobriety. It’s important to recognize when you’re isolating yourself and ask for help. You’re probably also anxious, so it’s a good idea to get plenty of rest and develop great eating habits.
What is relapse prevention? It can include Oregon’s holistic drug rehab center techniques, such as eating and sleeping well and practicing self-care. It can also include active participation in aftercare programs to build up your self-esteem and confidence to lead alcohol and drug-free life.
Practice Self Care
Practicing self-care is one of the ways to find out what is relapse prevention to you. You owe it to yourself to take better care of your body and your mind. Using drugs and alcohol to escape or reward yourself or just to relax doesn’t solve any problems.
Ways to Deal with Mental Craving
Sometimes, a mental urge makes you want to use drugs or drink again. This feeling is especially true if you think you can get away with it with no one else finding out. Perhaps your spouse went away for work, or your parents are out of town for the weekend. Keep your mind occupied and think about your recovery.
Using yoga, meditation, and other holistic practices to resist cravings improves your odds of living a productive life out of the shadow of cravings.
Drug and Alcohol Relapse Prevention in Portland, OR
At Crestview Recovery, we help those recovering from substance use disorder answer the question of what is relapse. We all do this with clients every day. The answer is different for each individual. Contact Crestview Recovery to find out what works for you. Call us at 866.262.0531 and learn more about our services and prevent relapses.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
