If you are currently going through recovery from drug or alcohol addiction, then you know that relapse is possible. However, you can prevent falling back into addiction with a relapse prevention plan (RPP). A plan gives you a way to handle your weakest moments or temptations without giving in.
Our men’s rehab center in Portland, Maine can help you put together a relapse prevention plan that can help you prevent an emotional, mental, or physical relapse. With the right RPP, you can acknowledge what you are feeling or what is going on around you and act to counter it.
Relapse Prevention Plan: What to Consider
While it is possible to develop an RPP on your own, you may want to partner with a Liberty Bay treatment specialist who can guide you through the process. A therapist has extensive experience and knowledge with addiction treatment services and relapse prevention.
A treatment specialist can provide insight into things that you may have not thought about or considered when putting together a plan such as:
Tracing Your History with Drug or Alcohol Abuse
It is essential to understand what behaviors and patterns led you to addiction. By retracing your steps, you can identify the triggers, environments, people, and places that you should either avoid or learn to navigate through when necessary.
Identify the Signs of Relapse
Relapse usually occurs when something happens that you do not expect and did not plan for. For instance, you may arrive at an event where everyone is drinking, but you did not realize there would be alcohol there. What signs of potential relapse could you expect in that situation? What are you prepared to do to back away from the alcohol?
What Happens if You Do Relapse?
This is a difficult question to answer because you do not want to consider that relapse is even a possibility. However, if you do relapse, you need to have a plan of action so that you do not just give up and fall back into a full-blown addiction. Relapse is common with substance abuse. Unfortunately, giving up is common as well.
However, just because you have blown it, does not mean that you can’t get back up and keep going. Things like substance abuse support groups can help with your relapse.
What Should You Include in Your Relapse Prevention Plan?
There are essentially five things you should add in your relapse prevention plan counseling, including:
- A list and detailed description of your triggers
- A list of your cravings and a plan of action for countering them
- Treatment and tools that have helped you stay clean up to this point
- Names and contact information of people you can reach out to for support
- Ways in which you plan to amend the damage your alcohol addiction caused
Start Your Relapse Prevention Plan Today
Addiction recovery may be difficult, but it is possible. With the right relapse prevention plan in place, you can overcome your addiction to drugs or alcohol. Liberty Bay is here to help. To find out more about our treatment plans, call us today at [Direct].
