Recovery from substance use disorder is a process that requires patience, diligence, and commitment. It also requires the right skills to identify triggers that may cause relapse and the tools to avoid them. Finding a substance use treatment program that prepares you for life after treatment will help you prevent relapse down the road.
Treatment Connection is an online resource designed to help those who suffer from addiction to navigate the stresses and triggers of life after recovery. We can help you find treatment centers, aftercare facilities, and support groups to help prevent substance misuse and avoid relapse after recovery.
Triggers to Avoid to Prevent Relapse
While people who struggle with addictions are at risk of relapse, the goal of a developed and customized prevention plan is to give clients the skills to avoid relapse altogether. Understanding those things that could trigger relapse is one of the first steps.
Triggers may include:
- Stress from work, family, or finances
- Locations where you used to drink or do drugs
- Media such as movies and shows that feature excessive drug or alcohol use
- Friends with whom you associated while using
While identifying triggers is just one step in the process, it is crucial to living a life in sobriety. Avoiding these triggers may not always be as easy.
Manage Your Overall Wellbeing for Relapse Prevention
Like so many things, substance use disorder is a chronic disease that, if not managed, can rear its ugly head at any time. However, there are healthy ways to prevent substance use relapse, including:
Environment
Recovery is about breaking old, negative habits and learning or re-learning healthy, positive ones. Something that many don’t consider is how their environment–where one lives, works, or relaxes–can encourage or discourage new, positive habits. For those in recovery, hanging out with the same people or going to the same places may be triggering. They make is easy for a person to turn to the substances they are looking to remain sober of and make it especially challenging to resist cravings. The best route to is either remove oneself from the triggering environment or actively look to change it to reduce its triggering effect. While changing your environment may be uncomfortable at first, it will help you avoid some of those things that may tempt you to use again. Pick up a new hobby, meet new people, try a new restaurant or hang out.
Healthy Eating Habits
Healthy eating habits are not only beneficial in preventing relapse but are essential for your overall health and wellbeing. Substance abuse may have taken its toll on your body, and it is now time to replenish some of the vitamins and nutrients that your body may have been missing while it was addicted. Setting regular mealtimes, consuming fresh, wholesome foods, and drinking plenty of water is key to developing healthy eating habits.
Nutrition is a key component not just for recovery but maintaining sobriety. For those struggling with certain substance use disorders like addictions to stimulants such as meth or cocaine, the dependency leads to extreme weight loss. Thus, it’s vital to restore one’s diet to something balanced and providing the necessary nutrients. For those who abuse marijuana, the foods consumed are routinely lacking in vitamins and minerals encouraging obesity. Similarly, alcohol addiction often suppresses the appetite while an opioid addiction causes significant issues with digestion. Once in recovery, it’s vital for individuals to invest time in creating a healthy diet.
Get Plenty of Exercise
Exercise can help to reduce cravings, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce the risk of relapse. If you have not done any form of exercise for a while, start slowly and increase your activity level as your body becomes stronger.
Mental Health
Maintaining a healthy sense of self is one of the most important components of your recovery journey. Even if you’ve suffered a relapse before, focus on the future, think positively, and that with each day, you are stronger and more prepared to stay sober for the long haul.
Mindfulness
Practicing meditation and focusing on the present can help you maintain a clear mind and bring awareness to your surroundings and the temptations that may lie around you. From yoga to breathing exercises to rest in a quiet space, being mentally present can help prevent relapse.
Find More Relapse Prevention Ideas at Treatment Connection
Long-term sobriety and relapse prevention go hand-in-hand and, for many, can be a life-long struggle. However, help and support are available from the treatment facilities identified on the Treatment Connection online portal.
Find a treatment facility that can get you or a loved one on the road to recovery and learn additional healthy ways to prevent substance use relapse.
