A Healthy Mind and Clear Goals

A great option for drug relapse prevention is to regularly meet with an addiction treatment counselor or other mental health professional to discuss your progress in sobriety. These meetings are a key part of your addiction relapse prevention regimen. Ongoing meetings with a professional strengthen an addict's sobriety by reinforcing the skills learned while in rehabilitation.

Addiction counselors use a variety of methods to help substance abusers remain sober. When you or your loved one meets with a counselor, different types of therapies will be used, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. In this type of therapy, an substance abuser will learn to cope with and avoid situations where drug use is likely to occur. An addiction treatment counselor may also use motivational incentives that encourage you or your loved one to remain sober. However, if drug relapse prevention measures are to be effective, they need to give substance abusers the strength to avoid drugs, not just the motivation to do so.

Some substance abusers may require medications to remain sober. These medications suppress cravings that an substance abuser may experience and help regulate brain functioning in patients who may experience imbalances. An example of this would be methadone, a synthetic narcotic used to suppress cravings in opiate addicts. Meeting with a psychiatrist will help you or your loved one manage recovery with medications if needed.

Outside of counseling, it's important to take care of your mind. An integral part of drug relapse prevention is keeping the mind healthy and focused. An engaged, healthy mind is less likely to be constantly thinking about using drugs. Staying occupied with positive things such as career, educational and personal goals are great ways to maintain sobriety. As you achieve these goals, you will gain a sense of pride and improve your self-esteem. As these things occur, you will be less tempted to use drugs.

Maintaining your stress levels also helps in drug relapse prevention. A study by the Social Ecology Laboratory showed that substance abusers who faced multiple negative life experiences after treatment had worse results than those who did not. It is important in times of negativity to remain positive. At these times, you may require more visits to counselors to help maintain your sobriety. This is normal and a very healthy decision to make. Don't stress over handling recovery alone.

Maintaining your sobriety goes hand in hand with caring for the relationships in your life. Healthy relationships will offer you support in your recovery. This support is essential in drug relapse prevention. A healthy family environment helps in many ways, such as:

You can strengthen your relationships with your family by attending family therapy with a mental health counselor. You and your loved ones will work on your communication skills with one another and strengthen the bond that you share through therapy. You will learn to work through potential conflicts in healthy ways and establish a healthy family atmosphere.

Another important aspect of drug relapse prevention is educating others about your addiction. Surrounding yourself with drug prevention materials encourages you to stay sober and serves as a reminder of how far you've progressed. Drug relapse prevention is strengthened by holding yourself responsible for spreading encouragement and education to others.

An opportunity to reach out is to speak to members of our youth such as students at a high school. According to the 2010 NSDUH report, 10.1 percent of youths ages 12 to 17 use illicit drugs. Speaking to youths about your addiction promotes drug-free habits in young people, and working with them is very rewarding for some addicts. Educating others about drugs helps you feel empowered and reinforces what you know about drugs and the effects of addiction. This will lessen your risk of relapse as you will continue to feel good about what you're doing. You will begin to feel responsible for your work as a drug educator and feel a sense of accomplishment. This feeling of accomplishment will help you in drug relapse prevention.

Over 15.6 percent of college-aged persons are heavy drinkers, and 42.2 percent are binge drinkers...-Rehabs.com

Educating young adults is especially helpful in alcohol relapse prevention. Over 15.6 percent of college-aged persons are heavy drinkers, and 42.2 percent are binge drinkers according to the 2010 NSDUH report. These rates are extremely alarming, and a recovering alcoholic may find solace in educating students about alcoholism and sobriety.

Attending group meetings for substance abusers is very beneficial for recovering substance abusers as well. Meeting with other substance abusers provides peer support for recovering addicts. Other substance abusers understand what you are going through and provide encouraging words to help in recovery. Seeing people who have maintained sobriety for an ongoing period is uplifting and helps in drug relapse prevention. For information on group treatment in your area, call 1-888-931-4707.

As hard as recovering substance abusers try, some may slip up and relapse. If you suffer a relapse, do not fear that your path to recovery is blocked, because you are not the only one who may go through ups and downs on the road to recovery. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 40 to 60 percent of substance abusers relapse at some point in recovery. Drug relapse prevention is an ongoing process that may need to be adjusted after treatment.

Should a relapse happen, It is important to immediately seek treatment for yourself or a loved one. Starting the addiction treatment process over again is most beneficial as you or your loved one will relearn the essentials of sobriety and detox in a safe environment that is free of temptations. It is also important that the substance abuser remains in treatment for as long as needed. According to NIDA, the most effective treatments for substance abuse addiction last longer than three months. If you or a loved one is suffering from a substance abuse relapse, call 1-888-931-4707 to seek treatment.

As with treatment, the best form of drug relapse prevention varies by the addict. Different substance abusers need different kinds of treatment to continue recovery. The most effective method of drug relapse prevention is one that not only treats the substance addiction but also any underlying physical or mental conditions that may exist.

??Spend time with people who are positive influences in your life, and who have healthy lifestyles

??Stay busy! Make sure you have an exercise routine or an absorbing hobby to keep you distracted.

??Learn relaxation techniques or exercises. These can include breathing exercises, mental imagery or yoga

??Remind yourself about the many positive changes that recovery has brought into your life, for yourself and your family

??Share your fears about relapse with someone you trust

??Keep in mind that most of the time urges only last 15-30 minutes...it may feel like an eternity, but focus on your relapse plan to help you get through it

??Increase the frequency of attendance in 12-step programs

- https://www.recoveryplace.com/

1.) Experiencing Post Acute Withdrawal: I start having problems with one or more of the following; thinking difficulties, emotional overreaction problems, sleep disturbances, memory difficulties, becoming accident prone, and/or starting to experience a serious sensitivity to stress.

2.) Return To Denial: I stop telling others what I?m thinking/feeling and start trying to convince myself or others that everything is all right, when in fact it is not.

3.) Avoidance And Defensive Behavior: I start avoiding people who will give me honest feedback and/or I start becoming irritable and angry with them.

4.) Starting To Crisis Build: I start to notice that ordinary everyday problems become overwhelming and no matter how hard I try, I can?t solve my problems.

5.) Feeling Immobilized (Stuck): I start believing that there is nowhere to turn and no way to solve my problems. I feel trapped and start to use magical thinking.

6.) Becoming Depressed: I start feeling down-in-the dumps and have very low energy. I may even become so depressed that I start thinking of suicide.

7.) Compulsive And/Or Impulsive Behaviors (Loss Of Control): I start using one or more of the following- food, sex, caffeine, nicotine, work, gambling, etc. often in an out of control fashion. And/or I may react without thinking of the consequences of my behavior on myself and others.

8.) Urges And Cravings (Thinking About Drinking/Using): I begin to think that alcohol/drug use is the only way to feel better. I start thinking about justifications to drink/use and convince myself that using is the logical thing to do.

9.) Chemical Loss Of Control (Drinking/Using): I find myself drinking/using again to solve my problems. I start to believe that "it's all over 'till I hit bottom, so I may as well enjoy this relapse while it's good."" My problems continue to get worse.

1. Being in the presence of drugs or alcohol, drug or alcohol users, or places where you used or bought chemicals.

2. Feelings we perceive as negative, particularly anger; also sadness, loneliness, guilt, fear, and anxiety.

3. Positive feelings that make you want to celebrate.

4. Boredom.

5. Getting high on any drug.

6. Physical pain.

7. Listening to war stories and just dwelling on getting high.

8. Suddenly having a lot of cash.

9. Using prescription drugs that can get you high even if you use them properly.

10. Believing that you no longer have to worry (complacent). That is, that you are no longer stimulated to crave drugs/alcohol by any of the above situations, or by anything else - and therefore maybe it?s safe for you to use occasionally.