Why Relapse Prevention is Key to Addiction Recovery

CBT also addresses negative thought patterns linked drug addiction treatment to addiction, reducing the risk of future relapse. Once a person begins drinking or taking drugs, it’s hard to stop the process. Good treatment programs recognize the relapse process and teach people workable exit strategies from such experiences.

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If someone in recovery needs prescribed medication after surgery or an injury, this doesn’t automatically mean they’ve relapsed. What’s important is following the doctor’s instructions, using the medication only as needed, and working closely with a healthcare provider and support network. Our treatment services are catered toward discovering and implementing solutions for sustained, long-term recovery. With the love and support of your family, and loved ones, we make sure to treat your addiction by understanding the root reasons behind it. We do everything in our power to help you succeed in breaking the cycle of addiction, and know that with the right kind of help, everyone is capable of healing.

What is relapse prevention plan aims?

Research has found that getting help in the form of supportive therapy from qualified professionals, and social support from peers, can prevent or minimize relapse. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help people overcome the fears and negative thinking that can trigger relapse. The general meaning of relapse is a deterioration in health status after an improvement. In the realm of addiction, relapse has a more specific meaning—a return to substance use after a period of nonuse. Whether it lasts a week, a month, or years, relapse is common enough in addiction recovery that it is considered a natural part of the difficult process of change. Between 40 percent and 60 percent of individuals relapse within their first year of treatment, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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• When a person then relapses on opioids, they take the same increased amount of opioids as they had before and the body isn’t ready to process that amount of drugs.
• The cycle of relapse and recovery is common in chronic conditions like SUD, and relapse itself is not an indicator of failure but rather a signal that an individual may need additional support.

They often assume that non-addicts don’t have the same problems or experience the same negative emotions. Therefore, they feel it is defensible or necessary to escape their negative feelings. The cognitive challenge is to indicate that negative feelings are not signs of failure, but a https://ecosober.com/ normal part of life and opportunities for growth. Helping clients feel comfortable with being uncomfortable can reduce their need to escape into addiction. In the context of addiction recovery, relapserefers to a return to substance use after a period of sustained sobriety or abstinence.

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that Addiction Relapse: Risk Factors, Coping and Treatment helps identify negative thoughts that lead to substance abuse. CBT effectively reduces the risk of relapse and is an integral component of the recovery process. CBT helps identify triggers and develop coping strategies to avoid relapse. Techniques such as contingency management (which uses rewards to incentivize sobriety) are often integrated into CBT frameworks, enhancing effectiveness for stimulant and opioid use disorders. Therapy sessions emphasize skill-building, including stress management and refusal techniques.