Q: I am six weeks sober but afraid I am going to relapse. What can I do?
A: Six weeks sober is a great start, but it does not stop yet. You are always vulnerable to relapse.
Let’s face it, relapse in the face of addiction, be that to alcohol, drugs, nicotine, gambling or sex, is the most daunting challenge for anyone struggling to kick the habit. Successful recovery means beating the relapse.
The problem is that relapse is a complex dynamic. I hope you will research relapse through reliable internet sources and from literature you can find in the library. The more you understand relapse, the less likely you will fall victim to it.
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Somewhere along the way, you need to put together all of what you know about relapse and about your personal quirks. What are your personal triggers that set you off? Who can you call if you feel yourself slipping? Where can you get the love and support you need to get back on track?
My thing about relapse is understanding when relapse actually begins. Relapse is well underway long before the needle is in the arm or the label has been peeled off another bottle of trouble.
It begins when you are bottling up your emotions, isolating yourself from those who care about you the most, missing substance abuse meetings, missing meals, slacking off at bedtime and worrying more about the sins of other people than admitting to your own misadventures. When any of that is starting, so too is the relapse.
Having said that, I hope you understand that relapse is not the end of the world. As long as you are clean right now you are in a position to develop a plan of what you will do if you catch yourself in another relapse. Who are you going to phone? Where are you going to go? How are you going to look after yourself? Where will you get good meals, hugs and support? The more that you prepare for relapse the less likely it is to happen and if it does happen the less devastating will be your way through it and back into sobriety.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan. Contact: jandrews@producer.com.
