Addiction is a powerful disease affecting different aspects of a person’s health and those around them. However, this disease can be treated effectively, and the recovering individuals can go on to live a healthy life.
When a person recovers from addiction, there is a chance that they might relapse. This makes relapse prevention a crucial part of addiction recovery. When recovering individuals know the essential relapse prevention tips, they can solidify their recovery.
Below are some tips to prevent a relapse
Understand what relapse means
Not everyone understands what a relapse means, and this is why some of them get confused and discouraged when they return to their addiction.
It is essential to mention that relapse is likely to occur when the recovering individual does not apply some coping skills and tips learned during addiction recovery. When you know what a relapse means it becomes easier to be proactive in preventing addiction from reoccurring.
Build healthy relationships
Another way to prevent a relapse is to form healthy relationships. Recovering individuals need the right people around them so that they can sustain their sobriety. They need people who will encourage them not to give up, and keep reminding them to apply coping skills to fight off cravings and triggers.
If a recovering individual hangs out with old set of friends who are addicted, there is a likely chance that they will relapse.
Find healthy hobbies
When it comes to preventing relapse, it is vital to find healthy hobbies that will replace addictive habits. Some of these healthy habits prevent recovering individuals from being bored and isolated so that they won’t return to their addiction. Interestingly, these healthy habits will also add to the quality of life in the long run.
If you have a friend or family member who recently recovered from addiction, it is important to keep an eagle eye on them to ensure that they do not relapse. Therefore, watch out for some of the warning signs that tell a relapse is about to occur.