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Getting Clean Living Sober

  • Getting Ready
    • Hitting Bottom
    • Ability
    • Attitude
    • Motivation
  • Getting Clean
    • Getting Help
    • Drug Detox
    • Drug Addiction Treatment
  • Living Sober
    • Relapse Prevention
    • Emotional Self-Control
    • Life Coping Skills
    • Self Esteem
  • Your Health
    • Fitness
    • Nutrition
  • Addiction Education
    • Addicted Body
    • Addicted Brain
  • Articles
Category

Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention skills sustain living sober in moments of temptation.

Relapse Prevention

Drug Relapse Prevention Education: Common Causes Of Relapse In Each Phase Of Addiction Recovery

Do you have the drug relapse prevention education and tools to handle the most common causes of drug and alcohol relapse?

Despite the best of intentions, a large number of people entering addiction recovery will relapse.relapse prevention education

Addiction recovery can be looked at as having 3 phases, each with its goals and growth opportunities. In each phase there are certain dangers present that need to be identified and planned for. Forewarned is forearmed. Let’s take a look at each of these 3 phases.

Read on to learn the 3 phases of addiction recovery and the common, pitfalls of each that need relapse prevention skills.

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Phase 1, Early Drug Addiction And Alcohol Recovery

In early the early phases of recovery the goal at its simplest is abstinence from all mood altering chemicals. Stop using. This is the fundamental concept of getting clean In order to do that certain areas of knowledge drug addiction needs to be learned and addressed:prevent drug relapse

  1. Knowledge of addiction and its global effects must be learned. You are significantly altering your brain in three ways. You are messing with that chemical composition of your brain, the structure of your brain and function of your brain. You are introducing your poison into your body and affecting many systems. You’re trying to kill yourself your body is trying to keep you alive. Take the negative effect you think you’re having which is probably negligible on your family and friends multiply it by 10 you might be in the ballpark.
  2. Refusal skills and coping skills must be identified and learned. In the early phase of recovery quite simply you must learn how to say no. There is more to it than those hokey ad campaigns. You must learn to say no to yourself, just because you “feel” like doing something doesn’t mean that you have to actually do it. You must learn how to say no in situations where your drug of choice will be presented to you. The most essential coping skills you need to learn and practice is how to handle the inevitable drug urges and cravings that will occur.
  3. A sobriety based support system must be started and developed. “I can’t do it alone, but we can do it together.” Is a twelve-step motto. The fact of the matter is that lone wolves do not do well in recovery. You must have the support of people who are knowledgeable about addiction and are successful in recovery. People who are “normies”, though well-intentioned, simply do not have the experiential basis to provide the type of help you need in crisis.

People entering early recovery need to learn how to develop, thinking, feelings, and behaviors based in recovery principles to replace those formed while in active addiction.

The major cause of relapse during the phase 1, or the early recovery period is not developing effective recovery and social skills that are needed to build an abstinence and recovery based lifestyle.

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Phase 2, Middle Recovery Stage Of Drug Addiction Recovery

The major goal of development in middle recovery is establishing a balanced lifestyle. A major objective is to start to identify the wreckage of the past and start to address it. With abstinence established in phase 1, it is time to turn to developing personal growth and maturity. Stress can sometimes escalate as the person returns to ‘the real world’. Items often addressed are:

  1. Doing personal work to reestablish self-esteem and self-worth. There is not an addict alive who is not seriously damaged their self-esteem and sense of self-worth. A person simply cannot do what addicts need to do to get high and stay high without lowering the standards and dishonoring their word. In this phase of recovery the addict will start practicing a new way of living according to moral and ethical principles.
  2. Repairing damaged relationships with family and friends. This is a time when relationships with family and friends may start to improve. This is not due to you apologizing and saying you’re sorry, but more due to the fact that you are acting and living in a sober life. It’s called making a living amends. Let your actions speak for yourself.
  3. Moving back into society in a contributing and productive way. This may mean that you are working in a job or going back to school. The main point is that you are contributing to the world around you. You’re also growing and developing to be more productive.

The major cause of relapse during the middle recovery period is handling emotions and relationships generated by life problems.

Highly Recommended:

  • The Recovery Book is the easiest to read reference book on 100’s of topics on addiction recovery. I know tons of couselors who have this on their book shelf and refer to it constantly.
  • The Happy Addict. The Happy Addict is the ultimate guide to achieving an amazing life after addiction. No more guilt. No more shame. No more feeling held back by the past or low self-esteem.
  • The Craving Mind. This ia an Amazon Best Seller. A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them.

The Recovery Book: Answers to Questions About Addiction and AlcoholismThe Recovery Book: Answers to Questions About Addiction and AlcoholismThe Happy Addict: How to be Happy in Recovery from Alcoholism or Drug AddictionThe Happy Addict: How to be Happy in Recovery from Alcoholism or Drug AddictionThe Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get HookedThe Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get Hooked

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Video Clip on Addiction Relapse Prevention Strategies

Phase 3, Later Drug And Alcohol Recovery Period

In the later phase of addiction recovery, people strive to make changes in ongoing issues that have continued to block or inhibit life satisfaction. This is the arrival at a ‘happy, joyous and free’ place in life. Choices are made according to a sound and newly developed sense of. Ethics, morality and purpose. preventing a drug relapseThis is a phase of personal growth and movement forward in life. The following items are best left to a later time in recovery unless a particular item is so prevalent in damaging it prevents sustain recovery or precipitates consistent relapses. Items worked on include:

  1. Identifying and changing self-sabotaging and self-defeating behaviors. Many addicts and alcoholics have identified the fact that their drug and alcohol relapse was preceded by a. Time where everything was going really well. Their life was just peaches and cream. And then, boom they sabotaged it. It is critical to identify these self sabotaging and self-defeating behaviors and work out strategies to handle them. These are generally keep seated issues and a person will need help in discovering and working through them.
  2. Examining sources of personality issues. Some people have personality issues which makes it very difficult for them to get sober and stay sober. Examples of these might be narcissism, bigshot-ism, an obsessive personality or a passive personality. Once a period of stability is established a person may take on consciously trying to change some of their personality traits or at least how they present themselves to the world and the people around them.
  3. Working through family of origin issues. Most people have family of origin issues whether they are mother issues her father issues. There may be even significant trauma or abuse issues from childhood. It may be important to do some work on these issues. These are extremely difficult and deep-seated. It is only recommended that you tackle this was some professional guidance. It is definitely not recommended to tackle these in early recovery because of the relapse potential of not being able to handle uncomfortable emotions in early recovery

The major cause of relapse during phase 3, or the late recovery period, is either the lack of ability to cope and process the emotional stress of unresolved childhood issues or avoiding the need to change one’s lifestyle and personality into one of health and growth.

Summary:

As was indicated in this article there are many causes of relapse. These can be broken down and correlated to the phase of recovery a person is in. It is important to understand that in each phase of recovery there are certain relapse prevention education items that must be learned and tasks that must be moved through. It is critical to make sure that you are tackling the correct task and lesson which is most appropriate to the phase of recovery you are in. Preventing relapse is an absolute must have skill in order to continue living sober.

Many relapses occur because a person is doing work that is too complex or too emotionally disturbing and cannot be handled by their current level of skills. I used to hate my sponsor for saying this, but he said it all the time – “time takes time”.

We would love to have you share your comments with us and our readers. Please leave a comment. The form is way down at the end of this post.

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Some Really Good Free Resources

Free Resources:

  1. Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (Drugabuse.gov) – In my opinion this is the best short read on addiction. I have used the content for many therapy groups and lectures…check it out.
  2. Substance Us In Women Women and men may face unique issues when it comes to substance use, as a result of both sex and gender.

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Drug Relapse Prevention Education: Common Causes Of Relapse In Each Phase Of Addiction Recovery was last modified: April 18th, 2017 by Bill_Urell
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Relapse Prevention

Relapse Prevention Education: Basic Concepts And Vocabulary Needed For Preventing A Drug Relapse

One of the key skills of living sober and preventing a drug relapse is acquiring relapse prevention education and utilizing it.relapse prevetion tools In this post were going to take a look at some common terminology and concepts in gain some clarity.

Addiction to drugs and alcohol by definition, is often referred to as a relapsing disease. That does not necessarily mean that having a relapse requirement for getting clean and living sober. Rather, it means that it happens with her frequency that should not and cannot be ignored. Relapse prevention is the field of study in identifying triggers and motivations for return to use.

After identifying individual triggers that might be situational, cognitive, or emotional; we develop a relapse prevention strategy and plan to handle them.

The whole topic of relapse prevention will be talked about many times in this blog. For right now let’s gain some clarity on key concepts.

The Key Concepts Abstinence and Living Sober

Abstinence From Drugs and Alcohol: Being abstinent for our purposes, means to stop taking all mood altering chemicals completely. You have stopped putting drugs in your body whether you smoke them, inhale them, swallow them, or stick them in your arms.prevent drug relapse

As a clinician this concept is so basic sometimes I forget the people don’t really understand it. Some addicts believe it means giving up the drug that they perceive is causing them the most trouble. For instance I heroin addict clearly sees the need to give up heroin but since Xanax or drinking isn’t that much of a problem, then we they can continue to use them that is not the type of absence we are talking about.

Let’s be adult here. Abstinent means you have stopped using drugs alcohol (including weed). Period.End.Of.Story. and A person who just using is abstinent. That is a necessary first step for all recovery. But just because you stop using does not mean that you are living sober or in recovery.

Living Sober – Being In Recovery: There is no definitive answer of what being in recovery actually means. You are not going to be able to look it up on the Internet or in a book and get a consistent answer. But here’s a good working concept of what being in recovery means.

Being in recovery means that a person has become abstinent and has started or engaged in a processor program of personal rehabilitation and change. It starts with abstinence and involves identifying and changing thoughts, feelings, and actions, which results in major lifestyle and value changes.

I had an old school therapist asked me to take a look at the word recovery and look at the root of the word which is ‘recover’. The statement he made and question he asked was “Bill, your attempting to do something really hard and life-changing than unquestionably will improve your life, my question to you is

What are you trying to recover?

It  was a way of asking what your motives are; why are you trying to get clean. I spent a lot of time thinking about that I suggest you do too.

The opposite of being in recovery is to be living with a “dry drunk syndrome”. This basically means a person is abstinent but is not growing or improving in their life. It is a topic for another article

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Identifying An Individuals Drug Relapse Process

Many people believe that a relapse starts with the return to drinking or drugging after a period of abstinence. Strangely enough this is the end of the drug relapse process. What happens at the point where somebody picks up and uses is they enter a using episode, which is a whole different kettle of fish.

Relapse process: the relapse process is that. Of time that precedes the actual return to drug use or alcohol use. It is a series of internal thoughts or feelings and outside events after starting a recovery program. It is a return to an the old addictive ways. This is what can cause a person to return to using alcohol or drugs.

In other words, it is the gradual return of old attitudes and behaviors that occur in the time before picking up the drink or drug, not afterwards. Often people surrounding the addict are aware of this return to the old state. They may ask questions such as “are you okay?”, Or “Are you using?’ Is a return to your old patterns of thinking and actions that they have seen when you are using that have them question whether you are using now. In other words they are seeing that manipulative sneakiness return the differences you just haven’t picked up …YET.

What old attitudes and behaviors could make you ready to return to using?

Relapse justification: to put it simply relapse justification is the story or BS an addict tells himself that makes it okay for him to pick up and use drugs. This is called rationalization. In rationalization you have already determine the outcome (go back to using drugs), now you are simply looking for creating arguments that exclusively support that side of the story. Here are some examples of rationalizations or addictive thinking “I wasn’t really that bad”, or “I’ve feeling so much better, surely just one or two couldn’t hurt”, “no one would know”, ‘I can handle it’. Addictive thinking is simply those thoughts that make it okay for you to return to using drugs or alcohol.

What thoughts or types of thinking would make it OK for you to use use?

Increase Your Relapse Prevention Education With These Really Great Books

Relapse Prevention Counseling Workbook: Practical Exercises for Managing High-RiskRelapse Prevention Counseling Workbook: Practical Exercises for Managing High-RiskStaying Sober: A Guide for Relapse Prevention, Terence GorskiStaying Sober: A Guide for Relapse Prevention, Terence Gorski12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery: Avoiding Relapse12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery: Avoiding Relapse

Video Clip on 7 relapse prevention strategies for Alcoholics and Drug Addicts

The Basic Elements Of A Drug Relapse Prevention Plan

Basically, or relapse prevention plan is sitting down and putting a few things in writing. A person is looking to identify individualized thoughts, feelings, and situations that they have historically used drugs and have caused them to use drugs. Once those factors are identified a plan is developed to handle the temptations when they occur.

A good drug and alcohol relapse prevention plan is kind of like in early warning system. The earlier you can identify the tendency to slip back into your old ways the easier it is to prevent, take stock begin, moving forward again.Relapse Prevention Education

Drug relapse triggers: Virtually every drug and alcohol rehab program has an exercise were a person identifies their own personalized relapse triggers. The definition of a relapse trigger is anything that gets a person thinking about using drugs. Some common physical or external triggers are seeing alcohol commercials on TV, watching a person do drugs, seeing a dealer etc. There are also internal relapse triggers which generally or for referred to emotional states. For some people being angry, lonely, depressed or having anxiety can be the thing immediately sets things in motion toward using drugs.

Identifying individualized relapse triggers is crucial for substance abuse relapse prevention. Handling triggers is the earliest and easiest intervention in the relapse process.

Relapse warning signs: as the title indicates, relapse warning signs are warning signs that are highly individualized. There are many identifiable red flags and warning signs. A good indicator is becoming restless, irritable and discontent. When that state exists, thoughts, feelings, and actions can be triggered (see above)by a situation or condition that lead can lead to alcohol or drug use. Relapse warning signs are a little bit different than triggers in that they are generally behavioral and most often are more easily identified by other people than by the addict themselves

One of the reasons 12 step programs and treatment rehabs emphasize building a sober support network so much is the ability to surround yourself with people to give you feedback on the observation of relapse warning signs. They made comment on you being a little prickly lately, or the fact that you have returned to isolation and become was social. The emergence of relapse warning signs can make a person very vulnerable to relapse triggers.

Relapse prevention: drug and alcohol relapse prevention is a process that helps a person to identify relapse triggers and warning signs. Once these are identified the person uses learned skills to change thoughts, feelings, and actions that have the potential to lead back to active alcohol and drug use.

There is a degree of relapse prevention education that must occur. It’s not enough simply to identify triggers and warning signs you have to know how to handle them. Counseling or a 12 step program can be of tremendous help with this essential component of recovery.

Do you have a plan in place to handle using thoughts, feelings, actions, urges and enablers?

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Highly Recommended:

  1. The Recovery Book is the easiest to read reference book on 100’s of topics on addiction recovery. I know tons of couselors who have this on their book shelf and refer to it constantly.
  2. The Happy Addict. The Happy Addict is the ultimate guide to achieving an amazing life after addiction. No more guilt. No more shame. No more feeling held back by the past or low self-esteem.
  3. The Craving Mind. This ia an Amazon Best Seller. A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them.

The Recovery Book: Answers to All Your QuestionsThe Recovery Book: Answers to All Your QuestionsThe Happy Addict: How to be Happy in RecoveryThe Happy Addict: How to be Happy in RecoveryThe Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to LoveThe Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love

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Summary:

An absolute necessity, a fundamental skill that cannot be skipped and must be mastered is learning how to prevent relapse. The object of the exercise is not to drink or drug, not simply “put a little time together.”

Sure as the sun will rise tomorrow the temptation to drink or drug will occasionally enter an addicts mind. Having a relapse prevention plan, learning the skills needed to not act on that crazy thought, is all a part of living sober.

In future articles we will get into the specifics of creating a relapse prevention plan, providing relapse prevention tools preventing drug relapse and provide some examples of relapse prevention plans.

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Some Really Good Free Resources

Free Resources:

  1. Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (Drugabuse.gov) – In my opinion this is the best short read on addiction. I have used the content for many therapy groups and lectures…check it out.
  2. Substance Use In Women Women and men may face unique issues when it comes to substance use, as a result of both sex and gender.

If You Like What You Read, Please Share It - Click Below

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Relapse Prevention Education: Basic Concepts And Vocabulary Needed For Preventing A Drug Relapse was last modified: April 28th, 2017 by Bill_Urell
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Relapse Prevention

Drug Relapse Prevention Planning: 3 Key Concepts To Prevent A Drug Relapse

What is the biggest factor in drug relapse planning and prevention?

Answer -having good relapse prevention tools.

Question what is the most important relapse prevention tool?

Answer: make a relapse prevention plan and use it.

drug relapse prevention plan
Are you aware of the dangers of a drug or alcohol relapse and 3 key concepts that can help prevent it? The answers are revealed further along in this post.

An absolute critical function of being able to live sober for the long run is to avoid the return to drug and alcohol use. I believe you can never learn enough about relapse prevention.

The time spent in learning about drug and alcohol relapse prevention will pay dividends far in the future. There are no dumb relapse prevention questions. If you don’t know the answer, please do the research and find out.

Keep reading and we’ll do our part by presenting three key concepts that can help prevent drug or alcohol relapse.

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Concept #1 Maintain Your Awareness Of Your Addiction. Stay Pro-Active In Your Recovery

Complacency sets the stage for more relapses than any other factor. With a lowered level of awareness the door is open for a return of denial. Many people who have relapsed identify complacency as the reason they return to drug or alcohol use. Variations on the statement “I knew what I was supposed to be doing and what it’s doing it and then I stopped.” Are a dime a dozen.preventing drug relapse

In a way complacency defies all logic. The addict was doing something that was working in a new is working they stopped doing it and then they wondered why they relapsed. Logically it doesn’t make sense, as an addict I get it, 100%

Complacency allows addictive thinking to return. Clinically, we call that the return of denial it is an attitude shift. People have gone to great extremes to realize that they have drug addiction and cannot use anymore. They have accepted it. Now, for some reason those same justifications for drug use come creeping back in the back door. Many describe it as a seductive whisper in their head.

Examples of these drug use inducing thoughts are are “ I’m doing great now, no problem”, “It wasn’t as bad as everyone made out”, “ I’ve been good for so long, I deserve just one”. If denial creeps in, the door is open to rationalizing a return to use, as well as, engaging in risky behaviors. Risky behaviors increase the chance of relapse.

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Further Your Relapse Prevention Education With Theses Selected Books:

Relapse Prevention Counseling Workbook: Practical Exercises for Managing High-Risk SituationsRelapse Prevention Counseling Workbook: Practical Exercises for Managing High-Risk Situations by T GorskiThe Addiction Recovery Skills Workbook: Changing Addictive Behaviors Using CBT, and Mindfulness, and Motivational InterviewingThe Addiction Recovery Skills Workbook: Changing Addictive Behaviors Using CBT, and Mindfulness12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery: Avoiding Relapse through Self-Awareness and Right Action12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery: Avoiding Relapse through Self-Awareness and Right Action

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Concept #2. High-Risk Factors And Triggers. You Need To Identify And Know How To Handle Them.

A trigger or high risk factor for relapse can be anything that was associated with drug or alcohol use and brings back those memories. It can be a person, place or thing, as well as things like rituals, smells or sounds. Some examples might be the smell of stale beer, seeing your dealer, or getting very emotional.relapse prevention planning

Basically there are 2 types of risk factors,

  1. Those that can be easily avoided
  2. Those that cannot be avoided

If a situation is known to be risky and can be avoided, do so. Don’t go into a bar in think you just drink Coca-Cola. Don’t call up your drug dealer just to say hi and see how he was doing. Don’t put yourself in situations with high stress use drugs to chill out.

On the other hand there are situations that cannot be avoided. Learn to set boundaries and limits. Just about every supermarket has a beer and wine aisle, there may be events where alcohol is served and your attendance is required. You may have family members that still use drugs and alcohol In these cases, forethought and planning is needed. This moves into the realm of setting limits and boundaries, topics for another article.

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Video Clip on 'Relapse Prevention: Early Warning Signs And Important Coping Skills'

Concept #3. Take The Time To Develop Preventive Strategies Before You Need Them - Have Plans In Place Before The Temptation.

Awareness is an extremely powerful relapse prevention tool. It is suggested to identify situations that can be avoided ahead of time, make a list. For example: it is not a good idea to hang out in a bar drinking soda, or to continue to hang out with people you used to use with. Identify these dangerous situations and plan to minimize exposure to them.relapse prevention planning

The same planning concept applies to possibly dangerous situations that may be unforeseen or unavoidable. For example: you have to shop for groceries, but can avoid going down the alcohol aisle. You can go to a wedding, perhaps go with a non-drinker, request ginger ale for the toast, etc.Thinking ahead and having plans in place is far superior than trying to react to temptation on-the-fly.

My sponsor used to say to me only 1 million times, “Bill, first thought wrong.” What he was implying is that my first reaction to a situation would probably be wrong. If you take the time to develop choices and alternatives for a situation that you know will occur your chances so making a better decision and living sober are vastly improved.

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Summary:

Relapse prevention recovery to a large extent is about relapse prevention planning and education.

Sitting quietly, ahead of time, when there are no temptations in developing a plan of action that can be utilized when there are temptations is the essence of relapse prevention planning.

We beg you to do yourself a favor in preventing drug relapse and think about making a relapse prevention plan. Become familiar with it and be ready to put it in action at any time.

We would love to have you share your comments with us and our readers. Please leave a comment. The form is way down at the end of this post.

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Some Really Good Free Resources

Free Resources:

  1. Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (Drugabuse.gov) – In my opinion this is the best short read on addiction. I have used the content for many therapy groups and lectures…check it out.
  2. Substance Us In Women Women and men may face unique issues when it comes to substance use, as a result of both sex and gender.

If You Like What You Read, Please Share It - Click Below

Drug Relapse Prevention Planning: 3 Key Concepts To Prevent A Drug Relapse was last modified: April 18th, 2017 by Bill_Urell
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Relapse Prevention

Get Rid Of Boredom In Addiction Recovery | Stop The Boredom Relapse Once And For All

boredom relapse

Question: Why did you relapse? Answer: ‘I got bored – I had a boredom relapse.’ Are you kidding me?

Rationally, logically, or to a person who is not addicted to drugs, the boredom relapse excuse for a relapse in addiction recovery just doesn’t make any sense.

That being said, boredom in addiction recovery is one of the most often cited reasons addicts give for relapse. On a superficial level an addict being bored is a breeding ground for the genius idea of “I got something to do I’ll go get high.”

There is a lot more to it than that.

Read on as we dig a little deeper into what this boredom relapse is really all about

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But What Exactly Is Boredom, Especially As A Drug Addiction Relapse Trigger?

Have you really thought about what boredom actually is?

Boredom is a feeling or state of mind. Life is very dull, that nothing is going on, everything is monotonous, not exciting, no actionand very tiring. Same old same old.

Sometimes a vacuum is created when we stop hanging around old people, places, and situations that used to occupy so much of our time in getting high and staying high.

Most addicts will take the often the advice of changing who they hang with and where they hand out. It’s a good thing to change their surroundings. The error that is often made is they do not replace old people places and things with new, supportive people places and things. So, sometimes a vacuum is created in that space between dumping the old people, places and things and acquiring new friends. Finding fun, safe people to hang out with can be a slow process. That in between period can be very dangerous.

Boredom simply means that nothing new is going on. The danger here is that one nothing new is going on, a natural inclination for addicts and alcoholics is to start thinking about stimulation and thrill seeking.  We all know something that works very well to change any mood and it works very quickly. Go get high. Overcoming boredom is a fundamental piece of drug relapse education.

There is a solution to avoid this deadly trap.

Boredom Relapse? Get Off Your Butt And Do Something!

First off, realize that being bored is not really a fact. It is a feeling and a mood that is generated by some type of thinking going on in your head at the moment. You can change your moods and feelings by changing your thinking.

For example, in my head I’ll say I’m bored. A question to ask myself is what am I thinking that is a leading me to the conclusion that I am bored at this moment? Chances are I might be having a thought of ‘I have nothing to do tonight’, or’ my family is not around’. Those thoughts lead to the feeling of being bored. Do some detective work and figure out what you’re thinking that has you feeling this way.

Here is a novel concept: change your thinking to change your mood.

Here are a couple questions I asked myself when my thoughts might be getting myself in trouble:

  1. Is _____________(whatever I’m thinking) really true?
  2. Do I have to do something about it right now?
  3. How I feel about myself if I don’t do anything about this situation? Better, worse, stay the same.
  4. How I feel about myself if I do something about the situation and change it? Better, worse, stay the same.

Once you decide you want to change your mood, don’t JUST think about it. You must take action for yourself. Get your butt off the couch or out of bed, stop eating Cheetos and start finding some new people and fun activities.

Get interested in other people, extend interest or a helping hand to others. One of the best ways to get out of your own head is to start helping another person, they get the help they need and you feel good about yourself and giving it.

Put yourself in the position of being able to meet new people. Here is a crazy, off-the-wall suggestion (being sarcastic): go to 12 step meetings, go to lots of 12 step meetings. Here is will you find people who understand addiction and better yet are succeeding in recovery. Here’s a line that works beautifully to start a conversation with almost anybody at a meeting stick out your hand and say “hi I’m new here I don’t know what’s going on but I could use some help” I have never known that to fail to start a conversation.

Highly Recommended:

250 Fun Things To Do With Your BFF250 Fun Things To Do With Your BFF250 Things to do with your BF, Boyfriend, The250 Things to do with your BF, Boyfriend, The250 Things To Do Before You Turn 25250 Things To Do Before You Turn 25

Being Bored Is Just A Lame Excuse To Go Get High. You’re Just Got Stuck And Are Staying Stuck

Okay, I hate to be mean about this but…If you have had a period of being clean and abstinent and had a drug relapse and the best excuse who can come up with was “I was bored” something is definitely wrong. You are sorely in need of drug relapse prevention planning.

The thing that might be wrong is that you had already made your mind up to go get high and were just waiting for an excuse to do so. Boredom is one of those negative or non-events that a person can use to justify or rationalize getting high. The opposite of boredom as an excuse to get high is having some catastrophe or significant event happen and then use that as an excuse to get high.

People who get bored in their recovery have gotten stuck. They have become abstinent, just saying no to the drug for a while, but have stopped growing in the recovery and developing social and life skills. People often say that addiction recovery is a journey process not a destination. process or journey means you are moving, arriving at a destination means you have stopped. That means that you must be moving forward all the time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re going faster slow, you just can’t stop and get stuck and stay stuck. The most often  quote from someone who has stopped growing and moving forward is:

I got this.

My sponsor said to me one time “Bill, if you want to relapse just don’t do anything.”

Living sober and sustaining a sober life actually means continued to personal growth. People who have long-term sobriety have mastered the skills of not using drugs and saying no to them. But, more importantly they have mastered the skills of exploring, trying new things, and enjoying life to the fullest.

Watch This Video - He Attacks Boredom From A New Angle And Nails It (5 minute video

Summary

The boredom relapse excuse is one of the most often talked about reasons addicts will give after the fact, when they return to drug use. The reality is that boredom in addiction recovery need not ever happen. If you find yourself sliding into that boredom mentality for goodness sake change your thinking. Tribe are being grateful for everything that you have. Remember the pain of using and the pain of stopping. There is an old saying that says “move a muscle change a thought”.

To alleviate boredom either change your thinking or do something.

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Some Really Good Resources

Free Resources:

  1. Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (Drugabuse.gov) – In my opinion this is the best short read on addiction. I have used the content for many therapy groups and lectures…check it out.
  2. Lets Talk About Craving Cravings may have their beginnings outside conscious awareness.

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Get Rid Of Boredom In Addiction Recovery | Stop The Boredom Relapse Once And For All was last modified: April 17th, 2017 by Bill_Urell
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Relapse Prevention

3 Scary Truths About Living Sober And The Threat Of Relapse

The whole point of getting clean and living sober is to stop using drugs and alcohol for good. Get stopped and stay stopped, as opposed to get high and stay high.

Part of the definition of addiction to alcohol and drugs includes the fact that it is a relapsing disease. That means that while it is not necessarily a fact that all people will relapse, it does happen with a frequency that cannot and should not be ignored.

Unfortunately, there are three scary truths concerning the difficulty of staying abstinent and living sober.

Many People Relapse - Go Back to Drinking and Drugging

  1. Relapse is extremely common after drug and alcohol treatment.

There really are no reliable statistics on what percentage of people actually stay clean long-term after drug addiction treatment, but is certainly a fact that a far larger number of people relapse. The good news is that relapse is not necessary, and it need not be part of anybody’s recovery. Some people believe that having the occasional relapse okay and it is expected. I disagree. Relapse need not be part of anyone’s long-term sobriety. However, common sense states that you should have an action plan to handle the threat of relapse and just in case relapse occurs.

Relapse justification is simply rationalization or creating a story in your mind that make it seem okay to return to using alcohol or drugs after starting a recovery program.  Some common B.S people believe…for example: I wasn’t really that bad, or I’ve feeling so much better, surely just one or two couldn’t hurt. This part of relapse is all in your head.

My own tempting thoughts were – ‘I’m a grown man nobody can tell me what to do’ and alcohol is my problem, I can do cocaine and smoke weed’.

Heading Toward A Relapse? - The Signs Of Impending Doom Are Clear

  1. Relapse is predictable if you ignore warning signs.

One of the advantages of attending drug and alcohol rehab treatment is gaining the drug relapse prevention education to recognize the distinct warning signs and symptoms of a person who is get engaged in the relapse process. A lot of people believe that relapse begins with resuming drug use. The fact is that the relapse process is the time before the actual using episode. The relapse process gradually involves slipping back to old ways of thinking acting, and emotional dysregulation that facilitated the drug used to begin with. It is usually a gradual slide not evident to the addict but evident to all those around him. Many people are unfamiliar with even the basic concepts of preventing a drug relapse.

Relapse process:  This all that happens before actually picking up. It is the set up. You begin to drift back to old ways of thinking and acting. In other words, it is the gradual return of old attitudes and behaviors that occur in the time before picking up the drink or drug, not afterwards. People around you usually notice it before you do ad may even ask if you are using. Why? Because you’re acting like it?

No One Needs To Relapse Ever...(or Ever Again)

  1. Relapse is absolutely preventable.

Staying sober in living clean is not simply a matter of willpower. There are certain skills that need to be learned, practiced, and woven into the daily fabric of one’s lifestyle change. Some of the necessary skills are learning to take responsibilities for one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Dangerous situations and both external and internal triggers must be identified and dealt with strategically. Coping skills must be learn to handle uncomfortable emotions. Sobriety and living sober should be identified as a process not as a destination.

Relapse prevention: This is a process that helps a person to identify relapse triggers and change thoughts, feelings, and actions that have the potential to lead back to active alcohol and drug use. Counseling or a 12 step program can be of tremendous help with this essential component of recovery. Do you have a plan in place to handle using thoughts, feelings, actions, urges and enablers?

Highly Recommended:

  • The Recovery Book is the easiest to read reference book on 100’s of topics on addiction recovery. I know tons of couselors who have this on their book shelf and refer to it constantly.
  • The Happy Addict. The Happy Addict is the ultimate guide to achieving an amazing life after addiction. No more guilt. No more shame. No more feeling held back by the past or low self-esteem.
  • The Craving Mind. This ia an Amazon Best Seller. A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them.

The Recovery Book: Answers to Questions About Addiction and AlcoholismThe Recovery Book: Answers to Questions About Addiction and AlcoholismThe Happy Addict: How to be Happy in Recovery from Alcoholism or Drug AddictionThe Happy Addict: How to be Happy in Recovery from Alcoholism or Drug AddictionThe Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get HookedThe Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get Hooked

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Summary:

In conclusion, we would like to note that sustaining long-term recovery is simply not about saying no to drugs (although that is the object of the exercise). It is about gaining an education of the nature of drug addiction, how it personally applies to you, and formulating strategic prevention awareness and actions.

We would love to have you share your comments with us and our readers. Please leave a comment. The form is way down at the end of this post.

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Short Video Clip From HBO - The Science of Relapse

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Some Really Good Resources

Free Resources:

  1. Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction (Drugabuse.gov) – In my opinion this is the best short read on addiction. I have used the content for many therapy groups and lectures…check it out.
  2. Substance Us In Women Women and men may face unique issues when it comes to substance use, as a result of both sex and gender.

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3 Scary Truths About Living Sober And The Threat Of Relapse was last modified: April 18th, 2017 by Bill_Urell
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