Chronic Relapse Treatment Centers

Find a Rehab that Offers Programs for Chronic Relapse

For those who are struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, overcoming their habits of substance abuse and achieving sobriety may not be the end of this experience. Addiction recovery is, in many cases, a lifelong battle that will be filled with various ups and downs.

Of course, this does not mean that recovering from addiction is impossible. Achieving and maintaining sobriety can be done with the right tools and resources.

Keep reading to learn more about chronic relapse treatment centers, and how you can make your recovery process easier even if you’ve relapsed often in the past!

Re-Defining Addiction as a Chronic Disease

While quite a lot of negative stigma still surrounds addiction and substance abuse, new studies have defined this condition as a chronic disease. In many cases, chronic drug and alcohol abuse can cause permanent changes to the chemical makeup of an addicted person’s brain.

For example, someone who has a history of addiction will typically have fewer dopamine receptors compared to someone who has never abused drugs or alcohol. This can make it difficult for them to experience pleasure or feel normal without these substances.

What are the Risk Factors for Developing an Addiction?

This is why many people who struggle with addiction continue to abuse certain substances, as this may be the only thing that allows them to function somewhat normally. Certain risk factors may increase a person’s chances of developing an addiction, including:

• Genetics/family history of substance abuse and addiction.
• Stressful work, school, or living environments.
• Early exposure to substance abuse.
• Mental health disorders and other chronic illnesses.

With this new classification as a chronic disease, this means that people with substance use disorders, while able to recover from this condition, may still face various hurdles and relapse risks in their recovery process.

Fortunately, understanding addiction as a manageable condition, rather than a moral or ethical issue, can help make getting the treatment you need easier; and, with the right tools for success, achieving lasting recovery will be far more attainable.

What is Chronic Relapse?

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For many people who are in recovery from addiction, it can be a constant struggle to avoid relapse. This is because they may not have received the proper tools and resources to help them maintain their sobriety.

Unfortunately, it may not take long for people to start abusing drugs or alcohol again, or even pick up other addictive habits, such as gambling. This continuous cycle of getting sober before falling back into old habits is called chronic relapse.

Even if someone has previously completed an addiction treatment program, not having a relapse prevention plan that is able to address their specific care needs can make maintaining abstinence extremely difficult.

Chronic relapsers may be able to refrain from their past patterns of behaviors for days, months, and even years before falling back into old habits. In order to achieve long-term recovery, it is important to have a strong support system in place.

This is why it is so important to understand chronic relapse and its risks and find professional long-term treatment options that can continue to support you even after your initial rehab process.

How To Recognize the Signs of Chronic Relapse

Knowing how to recognize the warning signs and symptoms of chronic relapse will be essential in avoiding this fallback in your recovery and getting the help you need to address these issues.

When it comes to relapse, there are three main recognized stages of this process, consisting of emotional, mental, and physical relapse symptoms:

• Emotional Complications: One of the first signs chronic relapsers will experience before falling back into old patterns of use will typically be developing symptoms of anxiety, irritation, depression, or otherwise emotional low stats. This may cause changes to their eating and sleeping habits and may lead these individuals to self-medicate through drugs and alcohol.
• Substance Cravings: One of the biggest mental symptoms chronic relapsers will develop is that of having cravings for a previously abused substance. This mental warning sign can be difficult to avoid, especially if it is accompanied by the above-mentioned negative thoughts and feelings.
• Acquiring and/or Using the Substance Again: In many cases, someone who previously struggled with drug or alcohol abuse may acquire these substances. They may tell themselves they will not actually use it, but in most cases, the temptation and ease of access may be too hard to resist. Naturally, actually using again will be the biggest sign of relapse.

In addition to these main three signs of relapse, there are several other symptoms that can be looked out for when determining whether you or a loved one may be at risk of falling back into old habits of substance abuse:

• Looking back on past drug use fondly or in a positive way, or otherwise romanticizing drug abuse.
• Believing you are able to use a previously abused substance without thinking you will become addicted to it again.
• Isolating yourself from friends and family.
• Avoiding attending meetings with sober support groups or going to doctors appointments.
• No longer participating in previously enjoyable hobbies or recovery activities.
• Losing trust in the effectiveness of the treatment process.

What is a Chronic Relapse Treatment Center?

There are several ways that a chronic relapser may be able to avoid falling back into these habits on their own. This will primarily involve following a healthy lifestyle and participating in activities such as:

• Daily exercise, yoga, and/or meditation.
• Maintaining a balanced diet and eating regular, healthy meals.
• Practicing stress management and healthy coping mechanisms.

Of course, while these routines can be helpful, the best way to successfully maintain lifelong recovery and avoid possible relapse is to participate in effective treatment programs. This may include:

• Clinical and evidence-based rehab, including inpatient treatment and residential treatment programs.
• Dual-diagnosis rehab programs treat any underlying mental illness or other co-occurring disorders that may be contributing to an individual’s alcohol or drug addiction.
• Ongoing support services through outpatient drug rehab centers, sober living programs, and aftercare planning options.
• Continuous participation in sober support groups and outreach programs.

The Importance of Having a Chronic Relapse Prevention Plan

Any good rehabilitation program will make sure to incorporate a relapse prevention guide into your treatment plan, especially if you are considered to be high risk.

Their clinical expertise and attention to your specific care needs will be able to provide you with the tools and resources to avoid falling back into the constant cycle of addiction and relapse upon leaving treatment.

Your personalized treatment plans and relapse prevention guide may incorporate various different techniques and tools to help you maintain sobriety, including:

• A detailed list of any triggers or stress factors you may face in your day-to-day life, as well as a plan for how you can deal with these should they come up.
• A plan detailing what you can do and what resources are available to you in the event of a relapse.
• A list of people you can reach out to for support if you feel like you are going to relapse, which may include family, friends, sponsors, and recovery counselors.
• A list of any goals you may have for your recovery and for leading a healthier and independent sober lifestyle.

Of course, while this plan will be carefully designed to meet your specific needs, this does not mean it has to stay exactly the same. Just as you will change as you move through life, so too will your needs.

As you progress through the recovery process, you may identify new triggers or develop new goals over time. Speaking with your treatment provider can help you update your chronic relapse prevention plan and ensure that it is growing with you.

Addressing the Underlying Causes of Addiction When Preventing Relapse

With any good approach to long-term treatment, ensuring that the underlying causes and contributors to your addiction are being properly addressed will be imperative. In many cases, mental and physical relapses occur when unresolved negative thoughts and feelings resurface.

There are several behavioral health services that may be available to help treat these issues, including:

• Individual therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy
• Behavioral therapies
• Holistic and recreational services

Avoiding relapse without first addressing the underlying causes of your addiction can feel impossible.

Speaking with your healthcare provider or an addiction specialist, like a Rehabs Of Armerica representative, can help you find rehab programs that provide chronic relapse treatment and prevention services that can address all of your care needs.

FAQs on Chronic Relapse Treatment Centers:

What is the biggest factor that causes relapse?

Many people relapse frequently and for a variety of different reasons. During early recovery, mental and physical symptoms of withdrawal can be too much for individuals to bear on their own, leading them to continue using an abused substance.

In other cases, negative thoughts and feelings caused by stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental causes can make it more difficult to stay sober.

There is also the fact that exposure to friends, family members, or other individuals who engage in substance abuse can make it harder to avoid engaging in these activities yourself.

This is why finding the right treatment program and ongoing support services can be vital to your and other chronic relapsers’ ability to maintain long-term recovery.

Does a physical relapse occur first for those with issues of chronic relapse?

Whether it is your first relapse or you have a history of chronic relapse, the physical use of drugs or alcohol is the last stage of the process. Relapse begins with mental obsession over a return to using, and often involves a psychological preoccupation before culminating in actual drug abuse or drinking.

What substance has the highest relapse rate?

There is an almost countless amount of substances that are abused every year, including prescription medications, illicit drugs, and alcohol. Amongst these, those with the highest relapse rates include:

• Alcohol, with a 40-60% annual relapse rate amongst those who struggled with this form of addiction.
• Methamphetamine, with around 61% of users relapsing within one year.
• Cocaine, estimating to a 65-70% relapse rate within a period of only 90 days.
• Heroin, with around 90% of users relapsing within a year.

While these may seem daunting, an alternative way of looking at chronic relapse and relapse rates can be helpful. In multiple recent longitudinal studies, it has been shown that, despite relapse or even chronic relapse, 75% of self-reported addicts end up finding lasting recovery.

How is a chronic relapse treatment center different from traditional programs?

Standard forms of addiction treatment often fail to take into account the needs of those with a history of chronic relapse. At a specialty program or track for chronic relapse, clients are given direction on relapse prevention from the moment they enter the facility.

Among the different focal points are increased involvement with sober support networks, additional focus on underlying mental health, therapy with supportive family members (if applicable) and comprehensively identifying and addressing the symptoms of chronic relapse.

A treatment center that offers this track frequently focuses on life skills training, intensive therapy that involves relapse prevention at its core, and full aftercare support to accompany clients through the often difficult days of early recovery.

Find Addiction Treatment Options for Chronic Relapse Today!

If you consider yourself a chronic relapser, help is now available to get you on the right path to staying sober. The Rehabs Of Armerica hotline is available 24/7 to help you find a rehab center that is geared toward helping individuals who struggle with chronic relapse.

Our partner facilities provide accredited addiction treatment services for even the most chronic relapsers. With dedicated chronic relapse treatment center programs available, new residential treatment options can provide support in ways you likely did not have in previous attempts.

We know that recovering from addiction can be a difficult and overwhelming process, especially with a track record of relapse – but you don’t have to do it alone!

Call now, and one of our dedicated recovery representatives will help you take the first step on your path to long-term recovery, where you can build a healthy and sober lifestyle, today!