It’s important to remember that addiction recovery is a lifetime commitment, but the holiday season can be an obstacle for some people who want to stay sober during the holidays. During the holidays, it may be more challenging than usual to stay sober because there will likely be lots of triggers present. People often overextend themselves financially, physically, and socially during this time. This is unfortunately often the reason why a large number of people relapse during or after the holiday season.
Unfortunately, relapse is sometimes part of the recovery journey. Trying to prevent yourself from relapsing during the holiday season may have been difficult; therefore, it’s important for you and your loved ones to be prepared if such an event occurred. Riverside Recovery of Tampa is here to help guide you or your loved one if they relapsed over the holiday season.
Commit to Making a Change
After a relapse, it’s common for people to continue abusing substances because they feel like there is no point in stopping after their relapse. Continuing to abuse substances until you seek help again may only make it more difficult for you to recover.
It’s important to understand why you relapsed and how you will get back on the path to recovery. Almost half of all people in recovery have experienced temporary moments where they want to drink alcohol or start using drugs again. It’s important that you or your loved one is committed to making a change for themselves.
Reach Out for Help
It can be difficult to go through recovery alone. Seek support from a close, trusted family member or friend who can help you after a relapse and help you to prevent any future relapses. Finding a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous can provide additional support on your road to recovery.
Treatment centers like Riverside Recovery of Tampa can also help you or your loved one determine if treatment is necessary and what the best options are to get back on track. Some people are able to recover from a relapse with the help of their support systems while others might benefit from a day/night program or outpatient treatment.
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Identify & Learn From Your Triggers
Learning from past experiences can help prevent future relapses. It’s important to identify any holiday relapse triggers before they can become an issue for you again. You need to ask yourself some hard questions about why you relapsed. Does your family cause you stress? How did purchasing gifts affect your finances? Were you around people who were drinking too much? What was happening when you relapsed?
If you’ve had a relapse, it’s not always easy to know what triggered it. Some people find that certain situations or places trigger them, but others don’t notice anything unusual. The best way to figure out what caused your last relapse is to look back at your life and see if there are any patterns.
Develop a Relapse Prevention Plan
Developing a relapse plan is helpful in preventing future relapses. With the help of a professional addiction clinical team, therapist, or sponsor, work through why you relapsed and create a prevention plan that outlines how to avoid those scenarios in the future.
It is essential to be aware of how to handle relapses during the holiday season because they often coincide with each other. You might feel discouraged right now but don’t give up hope yet. Recovery from addiction takes time and relapses can happen. It’s a lifelong journey.
No matter where you are in the recovery process, Riverside Recovery of Tampa is here to help you and your loved ones. Our admissions team can answer any questions about our treatment options and admissions process.
Contact us today to learn more about relapse and the options available for you or your loved one.