Relapse Prevention

Addictive behaviors are at an all-time high, driven in large part by COVID-related restrictions from the past year. A recent study (McKinsey COVID-19 Consumer Survey, 3/29/2020) found that:

• 1 in 4 people reported binge drinking at least once in the past week.
• 1 out of 5 people reported taking prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.
• 1 out of 7 people reported using illicit drugs.

More than ever, we are a people in crisis. Stress and anxiety related to lock downs and openings and the related impacts on employment, parenting, schooling and day-to-day life are at all-time peaks. People who are prone to choose substances to ease their anxiety are even more susceptible to do so than they were pre-COVID. 

As this instability spills over, those who were on the path to recovery are also challenged. Ending reliance on alcohol or chemicals has always been a long, complex process. Today it is even more so. Addiction seeps into every part of a person's life, affecting family relationships, work, friendships and the whole of their activities. The path to recovery is as rugged as it ever was.

Consider these facts:

• 40-60% of people in recovery relapse at least once (JAMA, 284; 1684-1695, 2000).
• The rate of relapse occurrences is increasing post-COVID (Cenikor Foundation, 2020).
• The number of recovery attempts increases when psychological stress is higher (Recovery Research Institute, 2019).
• Complete recovery most often takes 5 attempts, according to a recent study  (Recovery Research Institute, 2019).

Relapse happens -- not to everyone, and not always. But relapse is not unusual, especially if someone stops following their treatment plan. When it does happen, it's more helpful to focus on how to respond to it rather than to become discouraged or fixate on the relapse itself.

An effective way of handling the possibility of relapse is to plan for it. A relapse prevention plan is an important step in overall recovery. A relapse prevention plan puts down in writing the factors that could lead to relapse and how to respond to each one. Those factors can include how to handle:

• Stress generally
• Finances
• Family
• Relationships
• Work
• Sights, sounds and smells
• Other things that could raise anxiety

An advisor, sponsor or counselor can help guide you or a loved one through developing a relapse prevention plan. A solid relapse prevention plan includes a detailed action plan and how to act on it, with guidelines for personal self-care, plus steps to take to deal with urges and cravings, and contact info for people to reach out to in times of need. 

We are a team that understands the nature of addiction and the barriers to recovery. With that, our passion is on identifying best practices and creating support materials to help individuals on the path to recovery. 

We have formed the Recovery Support Network to pull together others like ourselves so that together we can help those who are on the recovery journey to diminish relapse occurrences and achieve their recovery goals. 

Our first entry in this quest is the introduction of Managing Your World, a set of relapse prevention courses to help you or a loved one on that journey. Managing Your World is a self-directed set of courses that use applied learning principles to focus on improved recovery outcomes. 

The Managing Your World courses combine themed personal stories with activities, reflective thinking, online forum/chat group, and support resources to address various challenges that, left unchecked, can sidetrack recovery. 

Managing Your World already is being adopted as a self-care companion to the individual and group supports that are important to successful recovery. You can check out the Managing Your World courses in more detail by clicking here: Managing Your World