Relapse Prevention Programs in the United States

List of Relapse Prevention Programs

Here is access to our entire relapse prevention database. Please select a state. If you need help locating the right treatment for you, do not hesitate to contact one of our treatment specialists at 1-800-304-2219.

There are many contributing factors to why someone would relapse back to drugs and alcohol. To begin with, while someone is attending a drug treatment program, they are in a supportive environment with all the preventative resources they require to maintain his or her sobriety. After you leave drug rehab, there will typically be an aftercare program, or a discharge program set up to ensure your success. Unfortunately, the majority of relapses that do occur happen within the first month of being out of drug rehab. This can be because you may have gone back to your original environment, or you may not have had reliable employment set up. Other circumstances may involve toxic relationships with family or friends, a relationship that can trigger a relapse. Drugs become an easy solution to deal with stress and difficult situations, and when you are unable to utilize the new skills learned from rehab, it can be easy to slip up.

Part of relapse prevention is noticing the warning signs, which is the first step when coping with relapse triggers. You can become triggered emotionally, such as stress, anxiety, or depression, as it can be difficult to return home after being away at treatment for so long. Some of the signs for emotional triggers to look for is, not feeling up to normal everyday tasks, or not finding any joy in the things you normally do. You may end up isolating yourself from family and friends or pushing back emotions and not dealing with them at the time. Emotional triggers may also include no longer taking care of yourself physically and mentally, and simply neglecting recovery goals. Along with specific emotional triggers, you can begin to look at what may trigger you physically and mentally to return back to drugs. Negative reoccurring emotions often lead to relapse. It can be easy to begin to lie to your loved ones again and justify using drugs. When you begin to romanticize on the past times using drugs, or are bargaining with yourself about not using, this will be signs that you may relapse.

The physical signs of a potential relapse are more obvious and can be avoided much easier unless you simply just place yourself back in the same environment again. For example, if you begin to seek out addictive substances or contact your former dealer, this will certainly lead to a relapse. One of the most common problem’s former addicts have is trying to convince themselves that they can use just once, and everything will be fine, and once this happens it does become a more than one-time use. Noticing the potential indicators of a possible relapse is only part of the solution. Knowing what to do when these triggers happen is the other part. When you go through drug rehab, you’re not only worked on your underlying problems and reasons why you started to abuse drugs, but you learn new skills and abilities to maintain sobriety and move past your addiction. Relapse prevention plans are often done up when someone leaves a drug rehab center. This plan will be a strategy to help avoid relapsing before you place yourself in any dangerous situation. There are some basic steps that any former addict can take to help them avoid relapse.

Making positive drastic changes in your life; you took the first step with eliminating drugs and or alcohol from your life. From here, it is now time to make a healthy change in your behavior and lifestyle, such as incorporating physical activity, dietary changes, new hobbies, a better job, different friends, etc. It is also important to always be honest with yourself, as when you start to lie to yourself and others, it will make it that much easier to relapse. Being honest means not holding anything back, do not suppress your emotions, if you have something to say, say it. It is also essential to ask for help, and do not push it aside as something you can take care of, when you know you can’t, which is part of being honest with yourself. If you have surrounded yourself with positive people such as family, friends, mentors, or a support group, there is absolutely no reason you cannot ask for help. Stick to your rules and practice self-care, a relapse will require you to break your rules, and addiction brings about stress, so always have a healthy outlet.

Achieving the things, you want in life after doing so much damage to yourself and others, will not be easy. Drug and alcohol rehab is part of the solutions, but there will be much more work to come. Relapse prevention is important, especially within the first year, or even longer in some cases. If you continue to follow your plan, and all the goals, you have set for yourself, there will come a point where you will no longer think about your addiction or any reason why you would want to use again. Relapse prevention is often used by every type of drug and alcohol treatment service within the United States. Following through with your relapse prevention program will lead to your success and maintaining a healthy and long life.

When Does Relapse Occur?

Relapse can occur at any point, but typically a recovering addict will be facing a challenge or problem, or may be experiencing some level of pain and will not choose to handle it or will avoid taking some responsibility. This may force a person to relapse; drug rehabilitation is designed to give a patient the tools, they need to handle the problems in life that can lead to relapse.

How Do Families Handle Relapses?

It can be tough for a family to witness their loved one go through a relapse, especially if the family had invested a great deal of money in treatment. The best course of action is to remain supportive and offer help; this is hard for both sides, but if an addict is willing and wanting to get help, it is best to continue to support them.