Relapse Prevention in Vineland, NJ
Relapse prevention encompasses a range of therapies that help reduce the risk of a lapse or relapse once you enter recovery from an addiction. Relapse prevention in Vineland is essential for helping you develop the skills and strategies you need to survive cravings, reduce your stress, and cope with a myriad of other triggers. It makes a big difference in your quality of life in a variety of ways.
What Exactly is Relapse?
To understand relapse, you have to understand that addiction is a chronic but treatable disease, meaning it can't be cured, but it can be sent into remission through abstinence. Addiction changes the structures and functions of the brain and affects thought and behavior patterns.
The brain undergoes intense conditioned learning in developing and maintaining an addiction. It makes an ironclad connection between the substance abuse and feelings of pleasure, and it responds to environmental cues, or triggers, by causing intense cravings for the substance. This is what leads to the compulsive drug use that characterizes addiction. Your brain produces cravings and associations so powerful that they lead you to continue using a substance even though it's causing problems in your life. This is the main characteristic of addiction.
Just as it takes time for the brain to build these connections, it takes time to make new, healthier associations. This is what addiction treatment programs in Vineland focus on. But in the meantime, your risk of relapse is fairly high. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, relapse rates for addiction are similar to those of other chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease--between 40 and 60 percent. Relapse prevention programs address this high risk by helping you develop a toolkit of practical skills and strategies to stay sober in the early months and well beyond.
Relapse Prevention Programs
Relapse prevention in Vineland includes a variety of programming. Some of it comes from cognitive-behavioral therapy, which deals with identifying destructive thought and behavior patterns and learning new, healthier ways of thinking and behaving. Some of it comes from group therapy, where you share tips for coping with triggers, offer support, and work through a variety of issues that underlie an addiction.
Relapse prevention also comes in the form of psychoeducational groups, which are part education and part therapy. Here, you identify your triggers and learn how to avoid or cope with high-risk situations. You learn skills and strategies for coping with cravings, stress, and other powerful triggers. You work to find purpose and meaning in life and learn how to have fun without drugs or alcohol. You develop a strong support system, and you learn exactly how relapse occurs and how to prevent it.
How Relapse Occurs
Relapse doesn't happen overnight. There are three stages of relapse, and knowing each stage and the symptoms associated with it is a major focus in addiction relapse prevention programming.
Emotional relapse is the first stage. You're not thinking about using, but your emotional states are setting you up to use. Signs of emotional relapse include poor self-care and unhealthy emotions like anger and resentment.
Mental relapse is the second stage. You start actively thinking about using again. You may try to figure out ways you can control your drug use, and you may get back in touch with people you once used with. This stage ends with a plan to use.
Physical relapse is the last stage, and it's where the lapse occurs. If intervention isn't swift, the lapse can lead to a relapse of the addiction, once again characterized by compulsive drug use despite negative consequences.
Aftercare is Essential for Relapse Prevention in Vineland
Once you've completed your stay in our inpatient rehab in Vineland, you're not sent out into the world without support. An aftercare plan will be developed for you to help prevent relapse in the early months of solo recovery. The plan will likely include ongoing therapy and participation in a support group, and based on your needs, other components may be added, such as:
- Time spent in a sober living facility to ease the transition back to the "real" world.
- Family therapy
- Monitoring of any physical or mental illnesses and the medications used to treat them
- Vocational rehab
- Educational assistance
- Legal assistance
Your aftercare plan will be periodically assessed and amended as your needs change and new ones emerge.
Relapse is a Normal Part of Recovery
Relapse prevention in Vineland helps reduce your risk of relapse, but it's important to understand that setbacks, which are any events that lead you closer to a relapse, are a normal part of recovering from addiction. How you approach a relapse can make or break successful recovery. An article published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine stresses that a positive attitude is essential for getting back on track.
Relapse is generally a result of missing skills, and getting back to recovery quickly means identifying and developing that skill, whether it's related to reducing stress, improving a relationship, or taking better care of your health and well-being.
The bottom line is, relapse prevention programs work by helping you cope with the everyday occurrences that make you want to use again. Relapse prevention dramatically improves your chances of long-term successful recovery. Call us now for more information at (877) 804-1531.