Relapse is often part of recovery. Preventing relapse will be a challenge early on. The best way to maintain sobriety is to apply the relapse prevention skills you learned during treatment. If you relapse, you may feel like you are starting over from square one, but feeling guilty about relapsing will make things worse. The best thing you can do is move on and develop your relapse prevention skills for the future. Liberty Bay Recovery Center is here to help you. 

What Are Some Relapse Prevention Skills?

Below are some effective relapse prevention skills that help you maintain a sustainable recovery.

Contact Your Therapist

The best help you can get for addiction is treatment from a licensed therapist. So, if you feel like you might relapse, you should consider scheduling a therapy session and talk it out. Your therapist can listen to you talk about your current struggles and help you work through your cravings and triggers. You can relearn many of the skills you developed in your individual therapy program.

Know Your Triggers

Preventing relapse starts with knowing your triggers. Triggers are emotional reactions to people, places, objects, or circumstances. Common triggers include:

• Stress
• Family conflict
• Financial problems
• Boredom
• Social events
• Anxiety or depression

Identifying your triggers helps you stay in control of your emotions when temptations or cravings arise. 

Practice Meditation/Mindfulness

Therapy is an effective way to learn meditation or mindfulness. During cognitive-behavioral therapy, you may have learned how to become more aware of your thoughts and manage them in challenging situations. If you experience triggers or cravings, apply what you learned in your individual or group meditation sessions. Use mindfulness as a gauge for how you are feeling. You will have more control over your thoughts.

Take Deep Breaths

Deep breathing has a significant impact on your emotions and helps you regulate your mood. By taking a few deep breaths, you can center your thoughts, manage your emotions, and control your behavior in any situation. Deep breathing is also one of the simplest relapse prevention skills you can learn. When you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, take a few deep breaths and back away from the situation.

Create a Contact List

When you are recovering from addiction, you need all the support you can get from multiple sources. A contact list gives you a support network that you can draw from regardless of your location or situation. A contact list can include:

• Your therapist or sponsor
• People in your support group
• A mentor
• Supportive family members
• A minister or counselor
• Someone in your alumni program

Always keep the list with you and make sure that it is easy to access.

Go to a Support Group Meeting

Drug and alcohol rehab centers in Maine offer many resources for support groups in your area. Your treatment center may host 12-step programs or accountability groups. You can also find support groups in the community. When you are feeling vulnerable and want to prevent a relapse, attend a meeting. You will find strength by interacting with others who are on the road to recovery.

Maintain Healthy Lifestyle

Recovery involves more than just ending an addiction. Dual diagnosis treatment programs are designed to overhaul nearly every area of your life, including diet, exercise, finances, relationships, career, and overall well-being. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle after rehab can keep you in a good place mentally as you improve your relapse prevention skills. 

Don’t Go It Alone

Addiction recovery is a community effort. It involves many people who are happy to support your recovery efforts. Your support network can include your employer, coworkers, family, friends, therapist, mentors, and people in your support group. With all the help available, there is no reason to attempt your recovery alone. You are more likely to relapse on your own than you are with the help of those around you.

Addiction Treatment is Available at Liberty Bay

If you are serious about recovery, you can learn relapse prevention skills at Liberty Bay. We are committed to preventing relapse so that you can get on the road to recovery. Contact Liberty Bay at [Direct] to find out more about your treatment options.