Relapse Prevention in Tyler, TX

Many experts define addiction as a chronic and relapsing disease. This means that a person who struggles with addiction is very likely to relapse, even after a period of sobriety that can be years. Instead of choosing to let relapse happen or to be unaware of its risks, many people will choose programs for relapse prevention in Tyler.

Relapse prevention is a broad term that describes any program that is focused on helping a person become and stay sober for a lifetime. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, relapse prevention strategies include the following:

Identifying high-risk situations where a person may be prone to relapse

Enhancing the person's belief in themselves and their abilities to resist relapsing

Eliminating myths regarding the effects of long-term drug and/or alcohol abuse

Managing lapses to keep a person from returning to drug abuse long-term

Helping a person develop a "balanced" lifestyle

Helping a person learn to control urges to return to substance abuse

Each of these interventions teaches a person about the likelihood of relapse, how to correct a relapse if it does occur, and how to live a lifestyle that reduces a person's risk for relapse as much as possible. This is why seeking treatment at our inpatient rehab in Tyler is the best option for an addict that is prone to chronic relapse.

Relapse Statistics Among Addicts and Alcoholics

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), relapse rates for drug and alcohol addiction are similar to those of chronic illnesses. For example, a person may have high blood pressure due to being overweight. They may lose weight through eating a healthier diet and exercising. However, they may stop using these healthy habits, resulting in weight gain and resuming the higher weight that leads to high blood pressure.

The scenario mentioned above is almost the exact same for drug addiction. According to the NIDA, an estimated 40 to 60 percent of those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol will relapse. This is similar to the 50 to 70 percent of people with chronic illnesses like asthma and high blood pressure who relapse.

However, the NIDA cautions that a relapse should never be viewed as a failure, but instead an opportunity to get back into relapse prevention treatment and try other treatments that can help to change a person's behavior for good.

Warning Signs and Symptoms of Relapse

Many addiction specialists know that relapse is not something that occurs overnight, but is instead a process where a person starts to change their way from thinking a return to drug abuse would be harmful to thinking it wouldn't be so bad to use drugs again. Addiction experts have identified three chief stages of relapse known as emotional, mental, and physical relapse. Their effects are discussed below:

Emotional Relapse

Emotional relapse occurs when a person isn't necessarily thinking about using drugs again, but may be engaging in behaviors that could lead to relapse. Examples could include staring to feel bitter toward others who may have encouraged a person's sobriety or even gave them consequences if they didn't seek treatment. Other signs of emotional relapse include:

Anxiety

Anger

Defensiveness

Refraining from going to meetings or asking for help

Isolating one's self from others

Mood swings

If a person does not recognize and correct the symptoms of relapse, they may progress to the second stage of relapse, which is mental relapse.

Mental Relapse

Mental relapse is the second stage of relapse and occurs when a person starts considering using drugs and/or alcohol again. Examples of mental relapse include starting to glamorize past drug abuse as "the good old times" or days when life was more fun. In addition to these symptoms, other mental relapse symptoms include:

Thinking about relapsing

Hanging out with people one used to do drugs with

Lying about thoughts of drug abuse

Planning a relapse

If a person is in the mental relapse stage, they don't always have much time to correct their behavior. A common drug relapse prevention technique used at this stage is called "playing the tape through" where a person doesn't just think about the immediate gratification of using drugs again, but instead remembers the darker times of their drug addiction where they needed help and had hit rock bottom.

Physical Relapse

Physical relapse occurs when a person resumes drug and alcohol abuse. However, this does not mean a person will return to extreme drug abuse. Instead, a person can seek out our drug and alcohol rehab with programs for relapse prevention in Tyler.

According to a study published in the journal "Addiction," individuals who obtained help to overcome their drug addiction were more likely to be sober after three years than those who did not. Seeking treatment for relapse prevention in Tyler is a solution to prevent long-term relapse. Call us today at (877) 804-1531 to speak to a certified addiction specialist about our addiction treatment programs in Tyler.