Alcohol Abuse Advice

Relapse Prevention Plan – 3 Key Planning Concepts to Help Prevent a Drug Or Alcohol Relapse

A very common reason drug and alcohol relapses happen so frequently is that there is no relapse prevention plan in place.

Here are 3 major areas to be thinking about when constructing a relapse prevention plan, food for thought, if you will. These are broad concepts. It may be wise to develop a muck more detailed plan. Let’s get started:

1. Maintain awareness of addiction.

Complacency sets the stage for more relapses than any other factor. With a lowered level of awareness the door is open for a return of denial. Examples are “I’m doing great now, no problem”, “It wasn’t as bad as everyone made out”, “I’ve been good for so long, I deserve just one”. If denial creeps in, the door is open to rationalizing a return to use, as well as, engaging in risky behaviors. Risky behaviors increase the chance of relapse.

2. Identify your high-risk factors and triggers.

A trigger or high risk factor can be anything that was associated with drug or alcohol use and brings back those memories. It can be a person, place or thing, as well as things like rituals, smells or sounds. Some examples might be the smell of stale beer, seeing your dealer, or getting very emotional.

Basically there are 2 types of risk factors, those that can be easily avoided, and those that cannot. If a situation is known to be risky and can be avoided, do so.

On the other hand there are situations that cannot be avoided. Just about every supermarket has a beer and wine aisle, there may be events where alcohol is served and your attendance is required. In these cases, forethought and planning is needed.

3. Have plans in place before the temptation.

Awareness is an extremely powerful relapse prevention tool It is suggested to identify situations that can be avoided ahead of time, make a list. For example: it is not a good idea to hang out in a bar drinking soda, or to continue to hang out with people you used to use with. Identify these dangerous situations and plan to minimize exposure to them.

The same planning concept applies to possibly dangerous situations that may be unforeseen or unavoidable. For example: you have to shop for groceries, but can avoid going down the alcohol aisle. You can go to a wedding, perhaps go with a non-drinker, request ginger ale for the toast, etc.

And we have just exposed the tip of the iceberg when it comes to relapse prevention. There is much more detailed and information available on creating a relapse prevention plan.

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