How to Get Help for a Chronic Relapser

Your Guide to Why People Relapse and How You Can Help Them

Loved ones can find it disheartening when relapse occurs in a person in recovery from a substance use disorder. If you’ve never experienced problematic past substance use, it can be challenging to fathom the intense cravings and emotional distress that still exist – even after completing the detoxification process and multiple treatment modalities.

Part of what we do at Changes Healing Center is counsel family members, explaining how lifelong recovery means every person in the support system must know the warning signs. The struggling loved one will face increased risk factors for alcohol relapse or drug abuse for the rest of their life.

Relapse prevention means looking hard at the environmental, physical, and psychological health factors that can contribute to sustained recovery. It also means a full understanding of the causes of chronic relapse, especially during the early recovery process.

This is where our guide becomes invaluable, and shows in great detail how to get help for a chronic relapser. Keep reading to find out how to be support your loved one, and remember our caring Admissions team is available by confidential call at any time.

Understanding Chronic Relapsing Disease

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) calls drug addiction a “chronic brain disease.” Just like other chronic illnesses, treatment will be ongoing. Mental health issues are no different than physical health challenges. So, why do we treat them differently?

Use a person with Type 2 Diabetes for comparison. As long as the person struggling with blood sugar issues engages in better eating habits and takes all medication prescribed, they enjoy improved outcomes. However, when they stop eating well or taking prescriptions to stabilize their system, they backslide into the danger zone.

With chronic relapse, this cycle may repeat itself over and over again. That doesn’t mean there’s no hope; it just means they need a more intensive plan to help stay on track in their recovery process.

“The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible, but likely.”

NIDA: Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment

Common Causes of Chronic Relapse After an Addiction Treatment Program

Finishing formal treatment at a mental health rehab center doesn’t mean the mental health conditions that contributed to addiction are completely healed. It’s better to suggest they’re managed. Here are common reasons a person’s recovery efforts may veer off-course after rehab:

• Unmanaged stress or emotional distress
• People, places, or situations that remind them of drug abuse
• Lack of effective, healthy coping skills
• Mental health issues like anxiety, depression
• Overconfidence in early recovery
• Social or peer pressure

The person has largely overcome past low self-efficacy and has worked hard to maintain sobriety. Still, they might not have all the coping skills and tools to avoid relapse (even if they thought they did). The person is a work in progress, and chronic relapse can become a reality.

The Stages of a Relapse

It can also help loved ones understand the relapse process. Knowing the signs of chronic relapse can help you interrupt the cycle and stop them from returning to their past drug use.

Emotional Relapse Stage

In the first phase, emotional relapse, the person isn’t necessarily thinking about using. But they are setting themselves up for a setback by poor emotional self-care. Watch for these signs:

• Bottling up emotions instead of talking with a counselor, sponsor, or friend
• Poor sleeping and eating habits
• Self-isolation
• Avoiding meetings or therapy
• Mood swings have resumed

If you ask, they might say they’re “fine,” but their behaviors reveal the truth – the risk of relapse is creeping up on them.

Mental Relapse Stage

The internal cravings and desire to use start in the second phase of chronic relapse. They may have a desire to remain sober, but another part is romanticizing drug use or considering drug use again. Know the signs:

• Mentions of drug cravings or urges to use
• Glamorizing past substance use
• Dismissing past consequences of addiction
• Bargaining behaviors (“If I just use this one time…”)
• Planning to get high while still saying they’re committed to sobriety

If you suspect a possible relapse in the planning phases, it’s time to discuss it with your loved one. The next phase can follow soon after the mental relapse phases.

Physical Relapse Stage

The final step of chronic relapsing disease is actually using again. It may look like:

• A single slip of substance abuse followed by cravings
• Full-blown substance abuse, complete with withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop

Family members should be vigilant. Your loved one’s tolerance to their drug of choice has dropped, so chronic relapse puts them at an increased risk of overdosing.

The Power of a Chronic Relapse Prevention Plan

Planning for slip-ups is one of the best ways to prevent relapse. People in treatment work on developing a detailed long-term recovery plan in the final days at an addiction treatment program. They’ll work on planning in either individual or group therapy, with a therapist challenging them to focus on their underlying issues.

Relapse rates drop when the person has a chronic relapse avoidance plan in place.

Rely on the Early Recovery/Aftercare Treatment Plan in an Emergency

If you provide emotional support to a loved one in recovery, ask them to share their relapse prevention plan. You’ll gain insight into the specific daily life factors that will help them avoid chronic relapse and their plan if they make a mistake. It shows a genuine interest in the person’s well-being.

Identify and Resist Triggers of Drug Use

A key part of the chronic relapse prevention plan is a list of triggers. Both an event or a specific person or place can be triggering. An example is avoiding relapse by staying clear of a place where an assault occurred; being where the trauma occurred could lead to a recurrence of the substance use disorder.

Healthy Support Systems for Chronic Relapse

People with chronic relapsing disease need a rock-solid support system. They need people who will speak with them on a bad day, drive them to follow-up addiction treatment appointments, and join them in sobriety. Help them find an Alcoholics Anonymous group (such as local AA meetings in Phoenix) or SMART Recovery meeting for continued mental health improvements after rehab.

Self-Care Strategies for a Healthy Lifestyle

Relapse rates decline when chronic relapsers take ownership of their long-term wellness. The plan will include reminders to manage anger, look after their physical needs, and apply the coping skills mastered at the recovery center.

Tips for Reducing Relapse Risk Factors of Chronic Relapse

If you’re reading this post, you probably have a loved one struggling with chronic relapse. You might ask what you can do to help lower their risk of chronic relapse. You can take these specific actions to show your support and reduce the risk of relapse:

Help Avoid High-Risk Situations and People

Your loved one will need to avoid threats to their sobriety – the people, places, and situations that can cause a lapse in recovery.

• Offer to help plan a new route to work – one that takes them far from the drug dealer’s corner.
• Invite them to hit the gym with you, where they can fill idle time reaping the mental health benefits of exercise.
• Attend a family event with alcohol and stay sober in solidarity.
• Gift a distraction kit filled with self-soothing tools like a fidget toy, journal, chewing gum, a stress ball, or a recovery worksheet and pen.

These are small but practical examples of helpful actions that support recovery. The more you help them avoid the people and places that remind them of using, the better odds of long-term sobriety.

Follow a Healthy Daily Schedule

If you live with a person struggling with chronic relapse, follow their daily schedule. They will need to follow a long-term recovery schedule for the foreseeable future. Take part in it with them. You might just start feeling better, too!

Remove Triggering Items from Living Spaces

Your loved one may have some housekeeping to do after addiction treatment. Their living space may contain bottles, baggies, or paraphernalia. Help bag these up and dispose of them. Being there during this time can help avoid the first urges of chronic relapse. If you have time, help them add a few recovery-supporting decorations, like framed copies of encouraging affirmations or quotes.

Get Effective Substance Abuse Recovery at Changes

Connect with us if your loved one has mental health issues that contribute to a substance use disorder. Left untreated, physical and mental health will continue to decline in your loved one. Our JCAHO-accredited treatment center offers comprehensive help – addiction treatment along with addressing any underlying mental health issues.

From managing withdrawal symptoms in our medical detox program to counseling and aftercare planning, our rehab center will help your loved one break free from addiction.

We work with most group health insurance plans, making rehab affordable and accessible. Call us today – it is free and confidential to reach out for help.