Posted on Thursday, April 18th, 2019 at 1:43 pm in Alcohol Addiction, News.
John Gillen - Author | Last Updated: 11th January 2021
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Posted on Thursday, April 18th, 2019 at 1:43 pm in Alcohol Addiction, News.
John Gillen - Author | Last Updated: 11th January 2021
Although it can be devastating to relapse at any point in your recovery from alcoholism, this isn’t uncommon and can be dealt with.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, average relapse rates for those in recovery is 40-60%.
However, an eight year study of more than 1000 addicts found that whilst the first year is often the hardest, with only a third of participants remaining abstinent for the entire year, less than 15% of people relapse after 5 years or more of sobriety.
The most important thing for any addict to remember is that relapse isn’t a sign of failure, it is a sign of a disease taking over again.
You have fought the disease before and will do again, and can use your relapse as a learning tool to strengthen you and help your recovery the next time around.
There are a multitude of reasons that people relapse and this could be a combination of a few factors or one reason only. Factors may include:
Emotional relapse
Whilst physical recovery from alcohol addiction can take a few days or weeks, your emotional recovery can take much much longer.
PAWS (Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome) is a collection of emotional reactions you might go through whilst in recovery. When you are suffering from this you are far more at risk of drinking again.
Symptoms include:
Mental relapse
This second stage is the tug of war between the part of you that wants to give up on your recovery and have a drink, and the side that wants to stay sober. This is a risky stage as it is mostly internal and will be difficult to spot by family, friends and medical professionals.
During this stage you might start to feel nostalgic or reminisce about the ‘good times’ you’ve had when drinking.
Physical relapse
At this point you actually take a drink. Don’t give up just because you have physically relapsed! There are ways back from any stage.
Accept it
Avoid all-or-nothing thinking patterns. You are not the first person in the world to relapse and you are better off getting help as soon as you can than giving up altogether. You need to remind yourself of how far you have already come in your recovery process, and how much stronger you are today than you were at the beginning of your recovery.
Reach out to loved ones
Your family and friends want you to be better just as much as you do, and can offer you strength when you don’t feel that you have any. Try to book yourself into family counselling where you can see how your behaviour and addiction has affected not only you, but the people around you as well.
Go back into treatment
This could mean stepping up outpatient clinics and meetings, or going back into rehab. It depends how serious your relapse was and how you are feeling now.
If you decide to go back into treatment, your doctors will be able to put together a relapse prevention plan for you. This may be the same, but is more likely to escalate your treatment, and will include:
Opened in 2011 and operated by the Step One Recovery rehab clinics group, Cassiobury Court has supported over 3000 clients to successfully complete rehab programmes, working closely with friends and family as well as the clients themselves.
We engineer a collaborative, tailored approach to recovery which takes into account your specific needs, to introduce a recovery plan that will make you feel confident and comfortable.
Our stunning residential facility offers 20 private bedrooms and a range of therapies, combining counselling, psychological therapies and alternative therapies. This includes yoga, physical activities, crafts and social activities.
Our team of qualified therapists are there to help you to come to terms with your addiction and its triggers, and work to get you back into your day to day life without struggling.
You can find out more about addiction and why you are suffering from it, and then learn coping mechanisms for the future.
You can get in touch with us today or text HELP to 83222.
John Gillen - Author - Last updated: 11th January 2021
John Gillen is a leading addiction treatment expert with over 15 years of experience in providing evidence-based treatment methods for individuals throughout the UK. John is also the co-author of the book, The Secret Disease of Addiction which delves into how the addictive mind works and what treatment techniques work best.
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