What is a Relapse Prevention Plan? 3 Essentials for Your Toolbox
Understanding how relapse occurs and how to prevent it is one of the wisest things you can do to protect your recovery. Putting a plan in place to prevent relapse is an excellent safety measure. You may have heard of them before, but what is a relapse prevention plan exactly? How do you learn how to do a relapse prevention plan? We’ll answer these questions and get you familiarized with the topic in this article. The first thing to know is that relapse is a part of many recovery journeys. It isn’t something to be ashamed of. Developing a plan to prevent future slips is a practical response.
How to Avoid Relapse: 3 Essential Tools
What is a relapse prevention plan designed to do? A good plan does a few significant things to help you avoid a relapse. First, they are meant to help you adopt and continue practices that strengthen your recovery and help you stay accountable. Second, they help you identify and understand your triggers.
Triggers are people, places, things or situations which may stimulate the desire to use. Finally, a relapse prevention plan helps you develop your sober support system. Knowing who you can rely on and who will help hold you accountable is helpful here. Here are three essential tools for avoiding relapse:
Step 1: Develop Good Habits
What is a relapse prevention plan if it doesn’t help you adopt new habits that will help you stay sober? If you want to know how to avoid relapse, you need to know what you should be doing. Knowing what situations to avoid alone isn’t enough. Adopting healthy behaviors, coping skills and setting attainable goals are all crucial to sustainable recovery. Some examples might include committing to regular support group meetings or therapy, incorporating mindfulness exercises like meditation and adopting new exercise and nutrition habits.
Step 2: Identify and Isolate Triggers
Every person living with addiction has triggers. What is a relapse prevention plan without a list of potential triggers? It would be incomplete because identifying the people, places and things which may trigger you to pick up is essential. Know your triggers and have strategies for neutralizing them. Using this tool to the best of your ability will help protect your recovery.
Step 3: Make People Part of Your Recovery
This one may sound simple, but it can be especially challenging for people new to recovery. It can mean going outside of your comfort zone. But there is no complete recovery without other people. People helping one another is a core recovery principle. It means developing sober supports for yourself, people you can trust and talk to, and who will hold you accountable. It also means helping others. If you’ve been to treatment, staying involved with an alumni network like Promises “Rooted” program is one good way to stay connected to people.
How to do a Relapse Prevention Plan
Now that we’ve answered the question “what is a relapse prevention plan,” it’s time to talk about how to do a relapse prevention plan. The ideal situation is to have help from a mental health professional and to put your plan down on paper. A counselor or therapist can help you identify your triggers by asking the right questions. They can help you develop a list of new behaviors and set realistic goals to keep your recovery growing.
Building a relapse prevention plan is an integral part of treatment here at Promises Brazos Valley. If you don’t have the benefit of professional help, then it’s a good idea to rely upon someone in recovery whom you trust and respect. You might also consider getting a book on the subject or doing more research online.
Getting Help in College Station, TX
However you may approach it, make sure a relapse prevention plan is part of your recovery strategy. If you or someone you love is living with a substance use disorder, Promises Brazos Valley is ready to help. Please give us a call anytime at 800-393-0391, and we’ll be happy to answer your questions and get you started down the road to recovery.