The video for this presentation is available on our Youtube channel:
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We review signs of relapse in the following areas: emotional, mental, physical, social. We explore triggers and how to eliminate negative triggers and add triggers for recovery behaviors.
2. Objectives
Define Relapse
Identify Relapse Warning Signs
Identify Strengths
Learn about how your issue developed
3. Relapse Definition
Relapse is the return to something that has been previously
stopped
Relapse is multidimensional
Emotional
Mental
Physical
Social
Review your Distress vs. Happiness worksheet.
A relapse is when you start returning to any of these people,
places, things, behaviors or feeling states.
4. Emotional Relapse
In emotional relapse, your emotions and behaviors
become negative and unpleasant.
You start finding it difficult to experience pleasure
What triggers your negative emotions
(Anger/resentment/jealousy/guilt; anxiety/fear/stress;
depression)
Things/Media
People
Places
Events
5. Emotional Relapse
Negative emotions make us uncomfortable
Identify the emotion, explore why you are feeling that way and take
steps to fix the problem
You can become stuck in the emotion, sometimes
Nurturing and blowing it out of proportion
Compounding it with other emotions like anger and guilt
Personalizing it
Trying to escape from it
Remember that emotions are just cues like a stoplight.
You feel how you feel in the moment
You can choose to change or improve the next moment
6. Preventing Emotional Relapse
Practice mindfulness
Increase positive experiences (real and guided imagery)
Keep a gratitude journal
Avoid personalizing something that may not be about you
Remember that…
Negative emotions are the mind’s way of telling us to get off our butts
and do something—Like our car’s idiot light or hunger pangs
Dwelling on, nurturing, avoiding or hiding from negative emotions
never makes anything better
You can *choose* to feel and fix, or relapse and repeat
7. Activity
List 10 things that you chose to get anxious or angry about over
the last week
Why did you get upset? (What was your mind telling you needed
to be fixed)
Did holding on to the upsetness do any good?
What was your initial reaction, and was it helpful?
What could you do differently next time to either
Change/fix the situation (Improve the next moment)
Change how you feel about the situation (Walk the middle path)
Let it go (Radical Acceptance)
8. Mental Relapse
In mental relapse there's a war going on in your mind.
Part of you wants to stay positive, but part of you is struggling
with tolerating the distress.
The signs of mental relapse are:
Focusing on the negative
Having a pessimistic/helpless/hopeless attitude
If you had an addiction, you may also be:
Thinking about people, places, and things you used with
Glamorizing your past use
Lying to yourself and others
Justifying your behaviors
Minimizing the impact of one (drink/hit/bet etc.)
“Screw It” attitude
9. Mental Relapse
What types of things trigger negative thoughts?
Things/Media
People
Places
Events
What thoughts do you have that make you feel
Angry/irritated/resentful
Guilty
Envious
Scared/Anxious/Worried/Stressed
10. Identifying Unpleasant Thoughts
Loss of Control/
The Unknown
Failure Isolation/
Rejection
Death
Angry/
Irritated
/Resentful
Guilty
Envious/
Jealous
Scared/
Anxious/
Worried/
Stressed
Identify and address the thoughts that trigger the emotions related to each
fear/threat
11. Preventing Mental Relapse
KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid
Trying to change too many things at once can lead to failure
Often some of simplest things can have the greatest impact
Prevent and address vulnerabilities that can make you
focus on negative or have a strong, negative emotional
reaction
Good Orderly Direction
Your life is a road map
The destination is recovery and happiness
Before you act, think whether that keeps you on the right road, or is
an unplanned detour
Maintain Head-Heart-Gut Honesty (Rational, Emotional, Wise Mind)
12. Social Relapse
Symptoms
You have returned to the old people and places who co-sign on your
b.s.
You have withdrawn from your social supports
You have become self-centered
You have withdrawn
What triggers your social relapse
People
Places
Things
Events
13. Preventing Social Relapse
Contact your social support(s) on a daily basis for the first
3 months
Keep a business card in your wallet with the names and
numbers of 3 social supports
Change your phone number (if possible) and destroy
contact information for people who might trigger a relapse
Find at least one prosocial activity to do each week ---
volunteer, church, go to the gym
14. Physical Relapse
Physical relapse is characterized by:
Fatigue
Increased anxiety
Difficulty sleeping
Neglecting physical health (sleep, exercise, nutrition, medication)
If there was also addiction…
Cravings
Dreams about the drug
15. Preventing Physical Relapse
HALT
Hungry
Nourish your body with proper nutrition
Nourish your mind with activities and things that increase “happy chemicals”
Angry/Anxious
Reduce chronic stress
Lonely
Nurture social supports to buffer stress
Be willing to ask for help
Tired
Get sufficient quality sleep
Address issues such as sickness and pain that prevent quality sleep
16. Review Strengths
What is life like when you are happy?
What is different?
What is the same?
List three ways you cope with stress.
What activities do you like to do?
What are your positive qualities and strengths?
17. Review Prior Relapses
What was happening before the relapse?
What triggered the relapse?
Relapses occur when old behaviors are more rewarding or
stronger than new ones.
What became more rewarding than your recovery program?
Before you relapse, what changes in
Your emotions
Your thoughts
Your behaviors
Your interactions with others?
What have you learned?
18. Relapse Prevention Planning
Include time in the morning and at night to use
mindfulness skills to “get grounded”
Identify and prevent or mitigate vulnerabilities each day
Avoid alone, idol time if your mind tends to wander to dark
places
Incorporate positive experiences each day
Set realistic daily goals
Give yourself credit for positive accomplishments
19. Summary
Relapse triggers can be emotional, mental, physical or
social
For each trigger you identified, describe at least 1 way you
can deal with it
Practice mindfulness each day can help you become aware
of your personal, daily vulnerabilities for relapse
For each general category, identify 3 things you can do to
continue on your journey toward happiness