Relapsing after alcohol treatment is common. Over 50% of people relapse in the first year after treatment. However, there are many things a person can do to avoid relapsing and maintain sobriety after alcohol treatment. This article provides tips and strategies to help prevent relapse.
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Have a Relapse Prevention Plan
One of the best ways to avoid relapse is to develop a detailed relapse prevention plan. This plan should identify personal relapse triggers, warning signs of relapse, and list healthy coping strategies and support systems to utilize when triggers arise. Having a solid plan in place ahead of time provides a roadmap to refer to when facing challenges in sobriety.
Some things to include in a relapse prevention plan are:
- A list of individual relapse triggers like specific people, places, emotions, situations or thoughts that may lead to cravings.
- A list of personal warning signs of relapse such as romanticizing alcohol, lying about drinking, isolating from friends and family, or dropping positive habits like exercise.
- Emergency contact numbers like sponsors, therapists, supportive friends and family or recovery group hotlines.
- Healthy activities for managing stress and triggers like exercise, mediation, writing in a journal, calling a sober friend, attending a support group meeting or using a relapse prevention app.
- Commitments to daily recovery practices like prayer, meditation, reading recovery literature or meeting with a sponsor.
Having all these prepared ahead of time means the plan can be followed readily when challenges arise during recovery.
Avoid Triggers and High-Risk Situations
After treatment, it’s important to avoid people, places and things that trigger alcohol cravings or make drinking more likely. This may mean finding new hobbies, activities and social circles that don’t revolve around alcohol. Identify bars, parties, friends, family members or other social settings that increase relapse risk and try to avoid them, especially early in recovery.
Let friends and family members know you are avoiding alcohol and ask for their support. Ask them not to offer you drinks, keep alcohol out of sight, and help provide alcohol-free activities and social events. Turn down invitations where alcohol will be present. Avoiding triggers and high-risk situations removes temptation and conditions that could lead to relapse.
Practice Self-Care and Manage Stress
Taking care of physical and mental health is important for managing stress and avoiding relapse triggers like negative emotions. Things like getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, exercising, and practicing relaxation techniques help reduce stress. Developing healthy self-care habits replaces the need to use alcohol to cope.
Ways to incorporate self-care and manage stress include:
- Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Lack of sleep increases the risk of relapse.
- Eat a balanced, nutritious diet and stay hydrated. Poor nutrition can worsen mood and emotional state.
- Incorporate exercise like cardio, weights, yoga or sports into daily routine. Exercise reduces stress hormones and improves mood.
- Practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, massage or prayer on a regular basis.
- Take relaxing baths or enjoy hobbies like reading, gardening, or listening to music.
- Avoid procrastination and stay organized with daily responsibilities and tasks. Disorganization breeds stress.
- Talk to a counselor or therapist about emotional struggles, trauma, or mental health issues.
Stay Accountable and Attend Support Groups
Having regular accountability is motivational and provides camaraderie in recovery. Joining a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous provides both accountability through having a sponsor as well as a supportive sober community. Being accountable to a counselor or trusted friend can also help provide support.
Share your high-risk situations and triggers with your sponsor or accountability partner, and talk regularly about your recovery challenges and milestones. Check in with them before going into challenging situations. Receive advice, wisdom and encouragement from those further along in recovery.
Learn New Coping Skills
Unhealthy coping mechanisms often lead people to abuse alcohol. Learning new healthy coping skills provides alternative ways to manage difficult emotions, relationship problems and other personal issues without turning to alcohol.
Having new coping strategies makes it easier to deal with stress, handle triggers and avoid giving in to cravings and impulses to drink. Healthy coping skills to learn include:
- Talking to a friend or counselor when experiencing difficult emotions
- Using “I feel” statements to express emotions vs. yelling or exploding in anger
- Walking away from arguments that are escalating
- Practicing assertive communication and compromise during conflicts
- Replacing negative self-talk with positive affirmations
- Practicing mindfulness and staying present during triggers
- Using cognitive restructuring to shift unhealthy thought patterns
- Learning to tolerate distress and discomfort without trying to escape through alcohol
Get Back on Track Quickly After a Lapse
A small slip or lapse doesn’t mean full blown relapse. If you do drink during recovery, get back on track right away. Being hard on yourself can make things worse. Analyze what led to the lapse, talk to your support system, and put additional protections in place. Refocus on your recovery plan instead of giving up. See a lapse as a learning experience.
Use a lapse as an opportunity to uncover triggers, identify areas of weakness, and implement strategies to prevent it from happening again. Avoid feelings of guilt or shame and instead take responsibility by making appropriate changes. Be accountable and honest to your support system. Get back into regular recovery routines, address underlying issues leading to the slip, and move forward stronger and wiser.
Relapse is common after alcohol addiction treatment. However, having a solid relapse prevention plan can help avoid full blown relapse. It’s important to get back on track quickly and learn from any lapses without shame. With preparation, support and resilience, long term sobriety is achievable after treatment.
