Despite the best efforts of a person during recovery, relapses do occur. It is important to remember that relapse is a part of recovery and not an individual failure. Experts advise that a relapse should be taken as a sign that the person's addiction treatment should be changed or adjusted. Relapse is more the rule than the exception in addiction recovery.
In fact, relapse is considered a component of addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which says: “Addiction is a chronic, recurrent brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. Rather than considering relapse as failure, NIDA recommends that people in recovery interpret it as a sign that treatment may need to be restarted or adjusted. According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 60% of recovering addicts relapse within one year after completing treatment for substance abuse. But in addiction recovery, we often have second chances, and more, to overcome relapse and move on with our sobriety.
Accepting relapse failure can be challenging, but it's worth taking. Studies suggest that about half of all people who try to stay sober go back to heavy use, and 70 to 90 percent experience at least a mild to moderate slippage. In other words, not many people say, “I want to stay sober, get into a treatment center and never use drugs again. There is a sincere stigma that is heavily wrapped around addiction and relapse.
It can be almost impossible for someone who is not an addict or who does not have an addicted loved one in their life to fully understand addiction. This is where stigma lives. A relapse occurs when a person, having completed treatment for substance abuse, begins to use the drug of his choice again. So what is a relapse if not a failure to stay sober? The individual perspective is a very important factor in the recovery process from substance abuse, and it is crucial to see a relapse as a learning opportunity rather than a failure.
Relapses are much more common than most people suppose. The right perspective can often lead to more effective recoveries. The impact of re-entering a dangerous lifestyle can be the last push a person needs to truly commit to recovery. Between 40 and 60% of addicts will inevitably relapse.
However, this figure does not represent all people who have completed treatment. It is important to understand the high likelihood of relapse and learn the right tools to maintain sobriety. If our relapse really took its toll on us, we may need stabilization of a professional nature. Those of us who relapse after treatment programs often return for at least two weeks of partial hospitalization.
This very return to treatment may seem like a failure in itself. But we assure you that it usually proves quite the opposite. Many customers who come back through our doors with their heads down find themselves leaving two weeks later with their chins raised and their determination stronger than ever. No one who experiences a relapse should feel incapable of a similar transformation.
Treatment must be tailored to address each patient's drug use patterns and drug-related medical, mental and social problems. We warn all addicts and alcoholics to remember this, in case they find themselves on the other side of a relapse. Of the approximately 22.5 million Americans struggling with substance abuse, only 2.6 million receive addiction treatment. Family First Intervention offers a recovery monitoring program aimed at helping with relapse prevention and ongoing treatment after rehabilitation.
Relapses often occur due to specific triggers or influences, and these experiences can help a person identify the people, places, and stressors that push them to use drugs. You may have high expectations that your teen will return from addiction treatment, but your teen needs to know how important it is to their own recovery. While relapse may be common, seeking support for addiction rehabilitation can be the difference between sobriety and experiencing a relapse. Like other chronic diseases, such as heart disease or asthma, treatment for drug addiction is not usually a cure.
Treatment allows people to counteract the disruptive effects of addiction on the brain and behavior and regain control of their lives. However, no matter how long your rehabilitation program lasts or when your relapse occurred, there are many steps you can take to get you back on track. Because addiction is a disease that affects the functioning of the brain, relapse is also part of the disease. Because addiction can affect many aspects of a person's life, treatment must address the needs of the whole person to be successful.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a relapse indicates that a person in recovery needs to have a conversation with a professional about altering their treatment or perhaps even returning to treatment. . .
