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Cravings look and feel different for everyone. Cravings are an intense desire or compulsion to use alcohol, substances or other addictive behaviours.
Relapse Prevention is a strategy for reducing the likelihood of a relapse from alcohol, substance and other addictive behaviours. It incorporates many different factors; there is no limit to what needs to be included in a plan in order to ensure continuous sobriety.
At New Life Addiction Rehab Islamabad, we help individuals identify and process things in life that create barriers and challenges that could lead to potential using. With the help of our Clinical team, individuals can identify potential triggers such as emotions, feelings, thoughts, situations, people and much more. After identifying, our experienced team will help individuals move into strategies that work through life skills, coping skills, communication skills and anger management.
As stated before, Relapse Prevention incorporates an array of action plans and discussions about addiction. There is no limitation on the trajectory of the needs of an individual within relapse prevention. Our weekly programming is not just or limited to the conversations below.
Before we work on a Relapse Prevention routine, individuals must do the work of self-reflection. This includes the discovery and identification of harmful behaviours that lead to or affect addiction and addictive behaviours. Self-awareness allows individuals to understand who we are, what has shaped us, why we are the way we are, and where to go from here. According to most addiction studies, cognitive behaviour approaches to relapse prevention help individuals identify high-risk behaviours and assist individuals in maintaining desired behaviour changes — for example: codependency, situational, emotional or even spiritual.
Within recovery, Abstinence is a term in the addictions field "to describe the process of abstaining — avoiding or not engaging in — addictive substances or behaviours." Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the first program focused specifically on treating addiction. The cornerstone of their approach is abstinence from alcohol and other substances during recovery. The Big Book, the foundation of A.A., and the Twelve Steps advises that the true meaning of "one day at a time" is to keep an eye on each day's goal of maintaining and enhancing successful strategies of sobriety.
The biopsychosocial model of disease believes that drug-based symptoms manifest themselves during sobriety-based symptoms which emerge during periods of abstinence — it believes that health, lifestyle, the brain, emotions are all predictions of relapse. The theory promotes the need to address the biological (physical), the psychological (mental health, emotions, behaviours, communications, anger, etc.) and the social (relationships, criminal involvement, sex, codependency, etc.).
Cravings look and feel different for everyone. Cravings are an intense desire or compulsion to use alcohol, substances or other addictive behaviours — it is a combination of thoughts, feelings, behaviours and memories.
During a craving, areas of the brain that create drive are activated while the areas that restrain these urges are deactivated. The brain is basically hijacked to make rational decisions.
A plan to reduce cravings and triggers can help individuals understand potential high-risk situations and when to apply effective learning and coping responses. For example: seeking support systems like counsellors, friends and family during a time of cravings, thus being able to talk and process through feelings — remember, the moment will pass.
During Addiction Recovery, an individual is building a new brain. They are rewiring the brain to develop healthier habits, re-learn skills and create new neural pathways. And in order for this to happen, we must continuously practice these new healthier behaviours and actions.
Within a Relapse Prevention plan, there is a need to identify "cues" associated with addiction (the sights, smells, locations, people, etc.) through Cue Exposure Therapy. An individual must identify harmful learned behaviours that developed during active addiction and continuously work using new strategies and healthier learning behaviours to lower the risk of a potential relapse. At New Life Addiction Rehab Islamabad, our clinical team can work with an individual to help them identify these cues and behaviours, and work towards practicing better and healthier ones.
Have you ever noticed yourself saying "I already know that, I don't need to do anymore," or something like, "I already know that, why should I listen to it again?"
Overconfidence can be dangerous in recovery because individuals can make themselves believe they can return to past addictive behaviours and then retreat back to their stance in recovery. This is untrue — at New Life Addiction Rehab Islamabad, you are not alone, and you are deserving of help.
Some tips on what to do if overconfidence behaviour occurs:
Observing our Thoughts: With practice, an individual will understand how to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings — which allows an individual to stay attuned with themselves and their environment.
Watching our Actions: Overconfidence is not just in thoughts — but in our actions. It's okay to set boundaries on what you don't want to do.
Action Plans: At New Life Addiction Rehab Islamabad, an action plan is important in Addiction Recovery. Write down potential triggers or cravings whether it relates to feelings, thoughts, situations or people — and write an array of coping strategies or action plans. Decide which one is best for which situation.
Think about your own experience — why do we use? Is it stress? Is it to cope with negative emotions? Is it external factors like family, work, or money? Or is it all of the above? That is why there is a need to start talking about self-care within Addiction Recovery.
Self-care is very important. Self-care can become a tool in our progress and journey for a healthier, sober life. Based on Indigenous teachings of healing, we can identify areas in life that need attention:
Spiritual: Faith, Self-Reflection, Inspiration, Traveling, Learning, and Meditation.
Emotional: Support systems, Self-affirmation, Therapy, Crying, and Laughing.
Physical: Nutrition, Exercising, Yoga, Dental Care, Sleep, and Drinking Water.
Mental: Journaling, Reading, Compliments, Saying "no," and CBT.
Managing Euphoric Recall
Euphoric recall is a state or form in which we only focus on the positive memories of active addiction/alcohol abuse and block out the negative memories. An individual will not remember the pain, sickness, destruction, disappointment or entrapment feelings of addiction.
Euphoria is short lived. It may feel good at that moment, but the long-term physical, mental, emotional, and health damage is not worth it. At New Life Addiction Rehab Islamabad, our clinical team will help individuals work through euphoric recalls and offer strategies to put in place when or if it occurs again.
High risk situations can be people, places, things, triggers, thoughts, actions and/or emotions. When an individual can identify these situations, our clinical team can help work through how to either avoid, manage, cope or respond to them.
Times of Celebration: The plenty of moments of desire to participate in addiction derive from feelings of celebration and/or socialization — for example, family gathering during the holidays. As an individual in recovery, respect that celebration can happen while sober as well.
Times of Sadness: Moments and situations of sadness evoked by emotions of anxiety, guilt, fear, loneliness, isolation and shame can create a desire to use. Through the action plan in place, use the coping strategies learned — know the moment is sad, but temporary: give yourself time and take it day by day.
Times of Boredom: Active addiction can be used as a way to entertain the self when left alone. At New Life Addiction Rehab Islamabad, mindfulness and patience is a virtue. We re-teach individuals how to cope with silence, and being alone with their own thoughts. Give yourself a break, take a few moments to breathe, take a nap, and most importantly, don't feel guilty about taking time for yourself.
We cannot stress this enough — everyone needs support during Addiction Recovery. This means, as a means of Relapse Prevention, an aftercare routine plan needs to be in place.
A part of relapse prevention is to create a plan for yourself. This can look like attending our Aftercare program, going to fellowship meetings, seeking support groups and attending outpatient counselling. Staying involved with an effective aftercare routine will help you maintain the gains you've made in treatment, develop new coping behaviours and techniques, and find enjoyment in living a sober lifestyle.
Aftercare routines are about taking care of the self — whether it's self-care, family time, or exercising — it's important to do things that we love.
Relapse begins before using. It does not necessarily mean using, but it could start with a reminder of using or even going back to old routines and behaviours. The first part of living a healthier life is to do your own self-reflection and self-understanding of your own using and your own behaviour.
Treat sobriety as a continuous learning progression — every day we find out something new about ourselves, others and the world. And isn't that a wonderful thing?
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