What to Do After a Relapse

If you relapse, you may be left feeling upset and vulnerable. However, it’s important to quickly get back on your feet to ensure you stay on your hard-fought journey to sobriety. Read on to learn some helpful tips on what to do after a relapse to assist you with your recovery.

Magnolia Recovery is a safe, temptation-free environment outside of Charleston, SC for women to work through the 12-steps. Contact us to learn more.

Know That Relapse is Not Failure

It’s important to reframe your thinking about relapse. While you may be feeling disappointed, do not view your relapse as a failure—instead, take this as an opportunity to learn what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again. Recovery is a rocky path with many ups and downs, but remember, it’s how you respond to these difficulties that determine your success in sobriety.

Contact Your Sponsor or Support System

You should immediately contact your sponsor or someone in your support system after a relapse. When you notify them, they should come to assist you to ensure you’re ok and help you take next steps. You’re not in this alone.

Seek Treatment

Next, you need to stabilize your condition. Discuss with your support system whether you should continue your sober journey with or without professional assistance. There is no shame in asking for help—seeking treatment will provide you with the tools to complete the following steps in this article, which are imperative for creating a relapse plan that works.

Contact Magnolia Recovery to learn more about how we can help you recover from relapse.

Identify Why You Relapsed

Next, you need to pinpoint the factors that contributed to your relapse. Identifying the source of the problem will help you avoid or combat the behaviors and understand the feelings that led to you falling back into bad habits.

Keep in mind that there are both external and internal triggers—external triggers include things such as the time of day, places, and even certain people, while internal triggers are your emotions and thoughts. Note that your relapse could have been caused by multiple triggers, not necessarily just one.

Start Tracking Your Triggers

Once you’ve identified the source of your relapse, you need to think ahead and begin tracking the triggering situations that occur throughout your sobriety. A trigger doesn’t always equate to a relapse, but you can recognize them by your craving for the drug or thoughts about using.

Whenever this occurs, stop and jot down the environment you’re in and emotions you’re feeling. You should make a running list of items so that you have a solid grasp of your triggers. This way, you can begin to learn how to combat them or avoid certain situations.

Develop Coping Mechanisms

With a solid understanding of your triggers, you need to ensure you have an array of coping mechanisms under your belt so you can address them. Some techniques you can try include the following:

· Finding a healthy distraction, such as going on a walk, reading, cooking, or listening to music.

· Talking through the situation with someone in your support system who can help you rationalize your feelings.

· Thinking through the consequences. Remember your hard work up to this point and what is at stake by falling back into your addiction.

· Remove yourself from the situation. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, there’s no shame in taking yourself out of a triggering situation—you should always feel confident in doing what’s best for your sobriety.

Change Your Routine

Finally, you need to create a new, healthy routine to help you stay on track. This includes making improvements to your diet, exercise habits, and daily activities. Creating and sticking to a regime is very important for maintaining your sobriety and avoiding temptation.

Reach out to Magnolia Recovery

We hope you understand what you need to do after a relapse. If you find that you’re struggling, Magnolia Recovery offers women facing addiction a safe, temptation-free environment to work through our 12-step immersion program. Contact us today to learn more.