Relapse Prevention Tools
Dual Recovery Anonymous™ is an independent, nonprofessional, Twelve Step, self-help membership organization for people with a dual diagnosis.
Share This On:
Share This On:
Relapse Prevention Tools Tips
If you don’t want to slip, stay out of slippery places.
People in dual recovery learn to identify the warning signs that may lead to a lapse in their abstinence and take positive steps to stay clean and sober. At the same time, they follow a practical plan that addresses their emotional or psychiatric illness in a positive and constructive way. The quicker they learn to spot these signs and signals the sooner they can take positive action for their own well-being and dual recovery.
Many factors can lead to a relapse or flare-up to one or both of our no-fault illnesses. A flare-up of psychiatric symptoms can leave us more vulnerable to relapsing on drugs or alcohol. Drinking and drugging can lead to a flare-up of our psychiatric illness. Alcohol and drugs can also change the effects of psychiatric medications with unpredictable results. Maintaining abstinence allows us the freedom to grow as individuals and manage our no-fault illnesses in the healthiest possible way.
In chemical dependency, relapse is the act of taking that first drink or drug after being deliberately clean and sober for a time. It helps though to view relapse as a process that begins well in advance of that act. People who have relapsed can usually point back to certain things that they thought and did long before they actually drank or used that eventually caused the relapse. They may have become complacent in their program of recovery in some way or refused to ask for help when they needed it. Each persons relapse factors are unique to them, their diagnosis, and personal plan of recovery.
Relapse is usually caused by a combinations of factors. Some possible factors and warning signs might be:
- Stopping medications on one’s own or against the advice of medical professionals
- Hanging around old drinking haunts and drug using friends – slippery places
- Isolating – not attending meetings – not using the telephone for support
- Keeping alcohol, drugs, and paraphernalia around the house for any reason
- Obsessive thinking about using drugs or drinking
- Failing to follow ones treatment plan – quitting therapy – skipping doctors appointments
- Feeling overconfident – that you no longer need support
- Relationship difficulties – ongoing serious conflicts – a spouse who still uses
- Setting unrealistic goals – perfectionism – being too hard on ourselves
- Changes in eating and sleeping patterns, personal hygiene, or energy levels
- Feeling overwhelmed – confused – useless – stressed out
- Constant boredom – irritability – lack of routine and structure in life
- Sudden changes in psychiatric symptoms
- Dwelling on resentments and past hurts – anger – unresolved conflicts
- Avoidance – refusing to deal with personal issues and other problems of daily living
- Engaging in obsessive behaviors – workaholism – gambling – sexual excess and acting out
- Major life changes – loss – grief – trauma – painful emotions – winning the lottery
- Ignoring relapse warning signs and triggers
Almost everyone in recovery has times when compelling thoughts of drinking or using drugs resurface. In early recovery, drinking or drugging dreams are not uncommon. It helps to remind ourselves that the reality of drinking and using has caused many problems in our lives. That no matter how bad things get, the benefits of staying abstinent will far outweigh any short term relief that might be found in drugs or alcohol.
Recovery takes time. Eventually the cravings, relapse dreams, and uncertainties of early recovery fade. When we are committed to dual recovery we slowly but surely develop a new confidence in our new way of life without drugs and alcohol.
Staying clean and sober and managing ones psychiatric symptoms constructively is an ongoing process. Abstinence and dealing positively with a dual disorder go hand in hand. DRA members build a personal inventory of recovery tools that help them meet these goals by staying involved in the process of dual recovery.
An individual is in dual recovery when they are actively following a program that focuses on the recovery needs for both their chemical dependency and their psychiatric illness.
People in dual recovery make sure to use some of their recovery tools each and every day. Their personal recovery tool kit serves as the best protection against a relapse.
By identifying things that put us at risk for relapse and using the various recovery tools on an ongoing basis, we try to prevent a relapse before it happens. We can periodically review our relapse prevention plans with our doctors, treatment professionals and sponsors and modify them as needed.
By becoming familiar with our triggers and warning signs, utilizing the various recovery tools, and having a practical plan of action, we greatly minimize the tendency to lapse back into our addictions.
If and when lapses do happen, we do not judge or blame–we are not bad people. We seek progress not perfection. We simply learn what we can from the situation and move on with our program of dual recovery.
Sharing our relapse experience with our sponsor, group, and helping professionals is an important way to figure out what went wrong. Our experience may also help others in recovery.
Relapse Prevention Tools
First Things First
Rome was not built in a day
Recovery takes time. As each day goes by we learn concepts and gain insights that will help us move on to the next stage or Step in recovery. When we move from active addiction into dual recovery we have decided to engage in a process of healing and growth.
The simple slogan, First Things First, reminds us to set our priorities in an orderly way. We cannot do everything at once and we need not feel overwhelmed or guilty for that. In every situation there is one thing that is more important, then one that is next in line and so on. When we use Good Orderly Direction and put recovery first in our lives, we reduce stress and clear a path to progress.
This Too Shall Pass
Cravings, anxiety, anger… all are temporary. Most of these uncomfortable states last only an hour or two. We can use this slogan to remind ourselves that things change. We no longer feel the need to immediately seek relief in a drink or drug. We can be patient. Chances are that if we take a walk, go to a meeting, or call a supportive friend, our feelings will change or the cravings will pass.
Our psychiatric symptoms may flare up from time to time and this slogan is a useful reminder that can help us keep our recovery on track through those times. It might not feel like it while we are having strong symptoms but those symptoms are in reality only temporary. We felt better before them and we will feel better again after them– so, this too shall pass.
One Day at a Time
Recovery is a day-by-day process. If we set realistic goals we can meet them. Goals like staying clean and sober. “For this 24 hour period I will not drink or use street drugs. I will do the best I can today and I’ll deal with tomorrow when it gets here.”
In dual recovery it helps when we forgive ourselves and let go of yesterday. Tomorrow isn’t here yet. What we can change and be responsible for is the present. We can focus our energies on making the best of today.
Easy Does It
Seeking balance and avoiding excess tension
Dual Recovery is about much more than remaining abstinent and taking ones medications. It’s about changing our attitudes and learning new ways to live. This does not happen overnight. We don’t need to demand perfection or punish ourselves for mistakes along the way. It helps to be patient and gentle with ourselves. We can not rush recovery. Insights and serenity come in their own due time. The Steps make sense when we work through them carefully and methodically. Easy does it, reminds us to be gentle with ourselves and not burden ourselves with more than we can handle. We try to approach life in a relaxed manner while taking responsibility for living in the solution. Things have a way of unfolding when we are willing and patient.H.A.L.T.
Hungry Angry Lonely Tired
This tried and true slogan helps us to stay in touch with our feelings and needs. Sometimes the onset of anxiety or a sudden drop in mood can be traced to our having forgotten to eat so our blood sugar levels are off kilter. Sometimes we may be carrying a resentment, or feeling lonely, or we are just too tired. Taking a little time out from our busy day to ask ourselves if we are feeling too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, gets us in touch with our feelings. When we know what we are feeling we can make choices and take the appropriate action to get our needs for food, companionship, or rest, met.
Being too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, are conditions that leave us more vulnerable to the temptations that lead us away from our program of dual recovery. Part of recovery is learning to pay attention to these inner signals and practice appropriate ways to meet our needs and resolve issues in a manner that will enhance our abstinence and serenity.
Keep It Simple
When we are having a hard time or feeling overwhelmed by life’s demands, it helps to remember our most important priority. We need above all to stay abstinent and stable. Without that we have little real chance of sorting out life’s complexities.
A lot of us tend to overcomplicate things. This simple slogan reminds us that we can reduce things to their basic components and deal with them in manageable sized chunks. By focusing on one thing or one part of one thing at a time, the impossible becomes a series of small manageable tasks.
Active addiction distorts our thinking. It takes time to lift the fog of drugs and alcohol. It can take time to get our medications adjusted just right. The slogan, Keep It Simple, reminds us to be gentle with ourselves, enhances our recovery, and helps us to reduce stress.
Live and Let Live
A Form of the Golden Rule
When we live and let live, we don’t need to criticize, judge, or condemn others. We have no need to control them or try and make them conform to our way of thinking. We let others live their own lives and we live ours.
This simple slogan helps center us on our own dual recovery and on living our own life in the best way we know how. Live and let live is one of the keys to peace in our lives. When we practice tolerance in our lives we are liberated to work on our own issues. When we use this slogan we end many of the conflicts in our lives and gain the ability to stop new ones before they build into big ones.
Today I Will Do One Thing
Please Note:
All of the content in the DRA section of the site, is copyright protected by DRA World Network Inc., and is not in the public domain. The DRA Crest logo is Trademark protected by DRA World Network Inc., and is not in the public domain. Any reprinting or distribution is subject to our Terms of Use and all applicable U.S. and International Copyright and Trademark law.Do you have a Personal Story of Dual Recovery?
Register an account with this website, or log in, to be able to submit your personal story of Dual Recovery…
Find Us On: