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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!
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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!
Edward lives and works in South Florida and has been a part of its recovery community for many years. With a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts, he works to help Find Addiction Rehabs as both a writer and marketer. Edward loves to share his passion for the field through writing about addiction topics, effective treatment for addiction, and behavioral health as a whole. Alongside personal experience, Edward has deep connections to the mental health treatment industry, having worked as a medical office manager for a psychiatric consortium for many years.
