Hawaii Island Recovery 
Addiction recovery is a lifelong journey. While graduating from a detox and residential treatment program is a major accomplishment, your recovery journey does not end when leaving a curated recovery space like a treatment facility. Rather, you and others in recovery will continue to face stresses, navigate urges and cravings, and overcome new challenges while managing your hard-earned sobriety. Having an effective relapse prevention plan as an alumnus is a necessary part of sustainable sobriety, empowering each person to maintain their sobriety and make the most of their ongoing sober efforts while pursuing personal and professional goals for a transformed future.
What Is an Effective Relapse Prevention Plan?
Unfortunately, stress and relapse can be a challenge for anyone, with these risks apparent at any stage of recovery. New stresses at any stage of healing can bring back old, self-destructive coping strategies, remind a person of past use, or cause persistent triggers that can affect your hard-earned sobriety. An effective relapse prevention plan is a set of skills and strategies that can be readily used not just to navigate stresses, urges, and cravings in sobriety, but also to recognize high-risk situations, identify warning signs, employ grounding strategies, and even work with supports and professionals to maintain healthy sober change.
Working on an effective relapse prevention plan begins with your first step into detox. However, these plans can evolve and adapt alongside your personal developments, needs, and goals in sobriety. Effective relapse prevention requires practiced skills, education, and a reliable support network to overcome stresses, urges, and cravings, as well as be able to adapt to new or unforeseen challenges in sobriety. Continuing to refine these plans and skills as an alumnus can empower each person to continue focusing on their sober goals and reaching new milestones in recovery while adapting to changing needs and stresses in their sober journey.
Essential Elements of Effective Relapse Prevention
Creating an effective relapse prevention plan requires self-awareness and practice, using education, personal experiences, and the support of peers, family, and trained professionals like those at Hawaii Island Recovery to create a robust understanding of needs and goals in your sober journey. While each person’s effective relapse prevention plan will be unique, effective plans all tackle an array of needs and goals for a comprehensive plan and sustainable healing. From self-awareness and grounding strategies to communication skills, expectations, and more, an effective relapse prevention plan is a comprehensive approach to maintaining sobriety.
The Stages of Relapse
A return to the use of drugs or alcohol typically happens in stages that lead to these major setbacks in sobriety. First is emotional relapse, where a person may begin to bottle up emotions or return to self-isolation practices. A lack of self-care or disinterest in hobbies is also common during this time. However, those in this stage of relapse may not necessarily be considering a return to the use of drugs or alcohol again.
Next is mental relapse, where ideas of substance use may begin to manifest in addition to these difficult feelings in emotional relapse. Romanticizing past use of drugs or alcohol is common, and an individual in this stage may begin to think or express fond memories of a time when they were using, ignoring the more destructive effects of addiction on their lives during this time. While a person may not have an active plan to reengage with drugs or alcohol during this stage of relapse, positive ideas of substance use can begin to form, alongside increasing urges and cravings to engage with these substances.
Lastly is physical relapse. This final stage of relapse is commonly what comes to mind when “relapse” is discussed, and is marked by a return to the active use of drugs or alcohol. An individual may also return to a level, frequency, or intensity of use similar to before they began their healing journey, and also experience many of the challenges during that time, from compromised relationships, professional and workplace performance, and other common effects of addiction. This stage of relapse demands support and care, with a return to a treatment program and detox often necessary to address the difficult situation.
An effective relapse prevention plan includes daily exercises and strategies not just for preventing physical relapse but addressing personal needs and challenges that may inform emotional relapse or mental relapse, supporting a person before physical relapse occurs. Working with the professionals at Hawaii Island Recovery, a local treatment facility, and educated peers and family members can all help to establish a comprehensive and effective relapse prevention plan.
Recognizing Stresses, Triggers, and Personal Needs
The first element of an effective relapse prevention plan is the skill to identify challenges or changes in daily life. Effectively identifying stress and triggers is essential to empowering you to enact other coping strategies. Some common triggers to those living their sober life include:
- Workplace and professional stresses, from difficult coworkers to a stressful work environment
- Persistent mental health and emotional needs, like anxiety, depression, and more
- Feelings of anger and frustration
- Certain people or social groups that may be tied to past use of drugs or alcohol
Continued success in your sober journey can also lead to stress due to overconfidence in your abilities. This can lead you to believe that you can have “just one” drink and still maintain your overall transformed lifestyle. Similarly, you may put yourself in unnecessary high-risk situations, such as going to parties or gatherings where drugs or alcohol may be present, expecting to process stresses or temptations easily.
Strategies for Identifying Stresses and Change for Effective Relapse Prevention
An effective relapse prevention plan will have daily strategies for identifying when your thoughts or behaviors may be changing. For many, this includes daily mindfulness strategies to identify changes in mentality, mental health, or physical changes that may indicate stress or other needs. Meditation, yoga, and more can be great daily exercises and elements of an effective relapse prevention plan by empowering those living their sober lives to identify when they may be experiencing increased stress.
Journals are another great way to identify these changes and triggers. For some, looking back on daily journals can help identify patterns of when stresses or triggers may have been more common, such as recognizing an increase in stress when around a certain person, time of day, or a certain environment. Just because you have graduated from a professional rehab program, either at Hawaii Island Recovery or a local treatment facility, doesn’t mean that there still can’t be new stresses that may manifest in continued outpatient sobriety.
Working with professionals to explore mindfulness strategies, identify stresses, and more is the first step in maintaining sobriety. These strategies can inform other grounding strategies, and help you best manage your energy, expectations, and strategies while overcoming the stresses of ongoing sobriety as an alumnus.
Effective Relapse Prevention by Processing Urges and Cravings
It is common for even those who have successfully graduated from a dedicated treatment program and continue to navigate their sober lives to experience urges and cravings. Simply experiencing an urge or craving does not mean a person has “failed” in any way. Rather, they are a common, but dangerous, part of maintaining your sober change.
An effective relapse prevention plan will include strategies for processing these intense periods and compulsions to use drugs or alcohol. Effective grounding strategies, practiced breathing strategies, using exercise outlets, or knowing who to call when experiencing an urge or craving can all help a person react efficiently when under the stress of an urge or craving. Practicing these strategies before experiencing an urge and in a safe place can ensure their efficacy when used in more trying situations, with daily mindfulness practices and incorporating practicing grounding strategies into morning routines being instrumental in maintaining sober change.
Establish a Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy daily routine can also help address difficult feelings and stresses throughout daily sober life. Maintaining a healthy daily routine can ensure that you have the resources and energy to process stresses and establish effective outlets for self-care and personal interests that reward the hard work it takes to maintain a sober life. Having healthy meals at consistent meal times, incorporating a physical exercise element into daily routines like a jog, run, or exercise routine, and managing a consistent sleep schedule can all be instrumental in effectively preventing relapse.
These daily routines can also help a person manage expectations and energy daily. Noticing that you do not have time for self-care outlets can prompt you to look at increasing expectations or responsibilities and use time-management techniques and boundaries to reestablish a healthy and balanced daily life before stresses continue to mount, potentially informing relapse.
Working with professionals to learn to say “no” and maintain boundaries with family, peers, and the workplace can all be essential skills in managing a healthy daily life. Hawaii Island Recovery’s on-site chef also provides nutritious meals and education to ensure that each person can continue to manage healthy eating habits as an alumnus for continued success in sobriety.
Maintain Regular Contact With Supports
Educated supports are an instrumental part of an effective relapse prevention plan. Not only can effective supports notice changes and provide additional outside perspectives in continued sobriety but they are also understanding of the hard work it takes to manage a sober life, celebrating this hard work daily and relishing each new milestone reached. This kind of support can be crucial for maintaining sober focus and motivation at any stage of recovery, including daily life as an alumnus.
Having a strategy to maintain connections and communication with support is crucial to making the most of this educated support. Daily emails, phone calls, or even text chains can keep sympathetic communication open with supports and family members. Likewise, continued engagement with outpatient support groups in recovery can also keep you connected to a sober community. Regular contact with sponsors, sober peers, or even using dedicated sober social media apps for communication can all help maintain healthy communication.
Likewise, having a list of supports to contact in an emergency to enact escape plans can also be part of an effective plan, knowing that support is always just one call away to tackle any unforeseen challenges that may arise. Knowing who to call in these events can provide the most effective support possible to continue prioritizing a sober life.
Take Time to Celebrate
Each recovery journey is unique, and it is important to step back and celebrate every accomplishment in sobriety. While some days may seem filled with stress and challenges, reminding yourself that there was a time when getting through a single day without using drugs or alcohol once felt impossible can contextualize your success in sobriety. Taking time to celebrate accomplishments, either recovery milestones, personal goals, or professional accomplishments is part of an effective relapse prevention plan that celebrates your hard work, dedication, and sober identity. This can also help motivate you to continue pushing toward the next milestone, despite the challenges ahead.
Make Adjustments to Effective Relapse Prevention Plans
Recovery and sobriety are hard. There is no “easy” method to overcoming the use of drugs or alcohol, and maintaining these sober changes takes daily hard work. Working with supports, peers, and professionals in outpatient care to proactively make adjustments and determine the efficacy of various techniques is necessary. Recognizing that certain strategies are less effective or that you feel an increase in urges, cravings, or other challenges can all prompt exploring new ideas, with sober communities of peers being an invaluable resource for making adjustments and continuing to evolve your effective relapse prevention plan.
There is never a straight, guaranteed path to sobriety. Likewise, healing is rarely ever a straight line. Rather, there will be great peaks and accomplishments, alongside challenging times of stress. Making changes to daily schedules to reflect sober goals is a sign of impressive resilience in sobriety. Regularly analyzing techniques, working with peers and supporting new perspectives, identifying setbacks and accomplishments, and more are all part of continuing to prioritize sobriety and celebrate sobriety as an alumnus.
Knowing What to Do if a Relapse Does Occur
While unfortunate, relapse is always possible. Relapse is not necessarily a part of every person’s sober journey, but knowing what to do if you do return to the use of drugs or alcohol is paramount to addressing the situation as quickly and effectively as possible. An effective relapse prevention plan should cover not just how to manage stress and daily life in sobriety, but also what to do if you do experience a slip or relapse in recovery.
First, experiencing a relapse does not mean that you are somehow “beyond” recovery, nor does it mean that the journey and skills developed up to this point have been for nothing. Rather, it means that new strategies may need to be developed in addition to already established effective practices. Knowing which supports to call, where to go, and more can all help you focus on taking control of your sober life again as quickly as possible.
Commonly, returning to detox is the best course of action, providing a safe and sober environment to discuss the situation that led to relapse. However, the level of care necessary to address these challenges can vary from person to person. Working with a professional at Hawaii Island Recovery or a local treatment facility can provide the best insight as to what level of care may be most appropriate, depending on your personal needs.
Avoid Comparisons and Focus On Your Journey
Each recovery journey has unique experiences, goals, and history. No two recovery journeys are the same, with unique stresses, triggers, or experiences with relapse all forming a truly personal story. Working with professionals to find the collection of personalized strategies that best fit your life and goals is necessary. While working with peers can provide new perspectives, comparing yourself to peers or others in recovery or sobriety can lead to unhealthy expectations. Rather, continuing to develop your sober identity and making personalized edits to your effective relapse prevention plan are all part of a successful and inspiring recovery journey.
Recovery and sobriety are an ongoing, evolving journey. There is no traditional “cure” for addiction, and having an effective relapse prevention plan as an alumnus can empower you to maintain a transformed lifestyle in sobriety. We at Hawaii Island Recovery understand the lifelong journey of addiction recovery and healing, and we are committed to your sobriety inside and outside of our walls. Our dedicated programs, from detox and residential care to ongoing outpatient support, are all available to meet you where you are in your recovery while finding personalized strategies to maintain your sober change and healthy daily life. For more information on how we can help you overcome addiction and establish a relapse prevention plan, call (866) 390-5070.
