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They are ashamed of the last time they relapsed and may have developed negative behaviors to cope with their thoughts. This state of mind is dangerous because it encourages bad health practices that can eventually lead to a full-blown relapse. Mindfulness and meditation are two of the most effective coping strategies for managing addiction triggers.
Triggers can be powerful because they are linked to intense emotional needs. They often arise when a person feels a need internal and external triggers for acceptance, security, or control. Contact a treatment provider today to find your way to peace and sobriety.
What if a Trigger Leads to a Relapse?
The key to maintaining a healthy life in recovery is by practicing self-care and self-awareness. While taking care of ourselves, and by understanding sure signs, we can prevent relapse. Combined with other treatments, exercise shows promise to help continue with sobriety. Many patients with various substance use disorders have found that exercise helps to distract them from cravings. They help with forming positive social connections and help treat depression and anxiety in combination with other therapies. Seeing an old friend you used to use drugs or alcohol with can cause you to develop urges or cravings to use again.
Such cognitive-behavioral therapies include operant conditioning, contingency management or coping skills training (Witkiewitz et al., 2019). It is important to practice self-care by engaging in healthy activities such as exercise and meditation to reduce the risk of relapse due to emotional addiction triggers. Building a solid support system with friends and family who understand your recovery journey is also beneficial. When it comes down to situations, everyone handles adversity differently.
Internal and External Addiction Triggers
These vital tools will remain with you long after you exit the doors of treatment and return to everyday life. Compared to external triggers, internal triggers tend to be emotional lows that increase the risk of relapse. Internal stimuli can also occur from positive memories of past substance use. Seeking help from a substance abuse treatment program that develops relapse prevention plans can help you cope with triggers. In addiction recovery, a trigger is any person, place, or event that surfaces the urge for someone to use in recovery. Triggers often vary in severity from intrusive thoughts to an overwhelming anxious need to escape.
- This is of especial interest when only limited effects have been documented by pharmacological treatments, for example in the drug addiction .
- Most people in substance use recovery have more than one trigger.
- Recognition and avoidance of potentialtriggerswill be a key part of any recovery process.
- Avoiding external triggers may involve ending some past friendships.
- Connecting with others who understand what you’re going through can provide the affirmation and reassurance necessary to stay on track.
To cope with internal triggers, developing a sober support system is extremely valuable. Being able to talk to someone who has experience dealing with triggers personally is one of the best resources to have. A wide array of negative emotions, such as anger, sadness, and anxiety, characterizes the emotional relapse stage of addiction relapse. These feelings can lead to impulse behaviors against the individual’s recovery plan. It is important to recognize the signs of emotional relapse early so the necessary steps can be taken to prevent a total return to addiction.
Normal Feelings Trigger Relapse
Internal triggers can be more difficult to manage than external triggers as you cannot physically separate yourself from your thoughts and emotions. Internal triggers are often negative emotions and thoughts, but they can also be positive feelings such as joy or confidence as well. The emotions that may act as internal triggers are negative feelings, positive feelings, and frustration feelings. Therefore, it is very important to have a plan of action when such feelings occur. The key to suppressing these feelings is being aware of the internal triggers and the ability to seek support whenever needed.
A break in the routine may leave periods of isolation where patients may be inclined to use substances. We provide integrated treatment for mental health disorders and addiction. If you are in recovery, please don’t lose hope in your ability to enjoy sobriety if you experience a relapse. Relapse happens – and believe it or not, it happens to many people who complete addiction treatment. Our relapse prevention program in Orange County is specifically designed to provide education on the different stages of relapse and how to prevent them successfully. We are here to help you maximize your chances of sustaining lasting sobriety.