In the world of addiction, a relapse is when you return to using and abusing drugs and/or alcohol. Additionally, you begin to relapse when you once again partake in the risky behaviors you engaged in during your addiction before you started walking on the path toward recovery. Because relapses are common, relapse prevention is essential to your wellbeing and long-term success.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a relapse prevention plan is “a collection of interdependent techniques which are intended to enhance self-control.” If you or a loved one is recovering, you may benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy as you develop a relapse prevention plan. Reach out to Bayview Recovery online or call us at 855.478.3650 today to learn more about the importance of relapse prevention.

What is a Relapse Prevention Plan?

A relapse prevention plan teaches clients to have self-control and develop essential coping skills. These are necessary to identify the early signs of relapse. In addition, they also help clients better understand their addiction triggers and emotional states, and the impact their mindset has on relapsing. 

Preventing relapse is best accomplished with a professional relapse prevention plan. It must be designed to change behavior and anticipate both the dangerous environmental situations and harmful individuals associated with addiction.

In order to learn how to prevent a relapse, you will:

• Learn coping skills
• Understand the process and consequences of relapse
• Change your lifestyle

During a relapse prevention plan, you will learn to identify high-risk situations and how to react to them safely. This is important because altering your lifestyle to avoid the substances, temptations, situations and the people that were factors in your addictive habits will help you to prevent a relapse.

Through a relapse prevention plan, you will become better equipped to overcome your addiction. At the same time, you’ll also learn how to ward off and safely address various underlying factors of your drug and alcohol addiction. 

To answer the question, what is a relapse prevention plan, it’s ultimately your ability to maintain the momentum and positivity from your treatment, and work toward lifelong recovery.

The Importance of a Relapse Prevention Plan

While learning about relapse prevention, you will be provided with ways to successfully manage recovery and prevent a relapse. A relapse prevention plan is important because of its components, namely:

Therapy

One of the best ways to help ensure relapse prevention is through therapy. During therapy sessions, you will address your motivations, actions, and choices made in the past, and learn about what is happening inside your mind. Therapy during relapse prevention identifies the emotions and thoughts that not only could stifle your growth as a clean and sober person but also lead to negative and addictive behaviors.

Coping Skills

One of the primary advantages of a relapse prevention plan is the ability to learn vital coping skills to help with your long-term recovery. You’ll be taught to meet triggering thoughts, feelings, places, people, or memories head-on.

Additionally, you will learn the skills needed to work through and cope with these potentially harmful emotions. You know that you should make a choice that will lead to relapse. However, your mind could be working against you. With these important coping skills in your quiver, it will be easier to avoid relapse going forward in everyday life. 

A Changed Lifestyle

A detox will have removed the substances from your body and mind. However, there could be toxic people and places still in your everyday environment at home, work and in social circles. For a relapse prevention plan to work, these must no longer be in the picture. Changing your lifestyle is another step toward long-term recovery. This could involve eliminating toxic people and situations from your life.

After that happens, you’ll need to build a healthy social circle. Then, you should surround yourself with supportive people who care about you and your sobriety. A changed lifestyle could also see you finding more productive hobbies. It may even lead to finding a new line of work if your previous career was a factor in your addiction. 

Learn More at Bayview Recovery

Learn how making a relapse prevention plan at Bayview Recovery can help reshape the rest of your life. Contact us using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 855.478.3650 today.