The number of times someone goes to treatment may not affect whether they’ll remain sober. Sobriety is something people have to work to maintain. There are plenty of ways you can support someone if they’re in recovery. But, at the end of the day, they’ve got to put in the effort as well. Attending a treatment facility would be a great start. They’ve got a lot of work to do afterward as well, though.
A high-quality treatment facility would teach them how to cope with stress. A lot of recovering people struggle with stress during their daily life. Most of the time, they’re willing to remain sober. Something overwhelms them, though. That’s the biggest reason people tend to relapse.
Learning how to cope with stress is key. Usually, people in recovery have developed unhealthy coping mechanisms. So, they’re not able to recover after something stressful happens. You could help them by showing them how to cope with stress better. Typically, getting treatment more than one time isn’t going to help them.
Staying Sober Takes a Lot of Work
Relapses tend to happen for several reasons. People might not be coping with stress well. Or, they might still be in contact with bad influences. Part of recovery is learning how to manage all this. At a treatment facility, they’ll learn how all this affects them.
They’ve got to learn who they can trust. People trying to tempt them shouldn’t be part of their lives. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time till they’ve slipped up. Creating new relationships is incredibly important. You’ve got to cut all the negative influences out of your life. Each one of them is only going to tempt you.
Besides your influences, you’ve also got to identify your triggers. Everyone doesn’t respond to stress the same. Sometimes, people respond much more strongly to it than others. A lot of these people have a particular trigger. It could be something simple, like answering the phone. No matter what, you’ve got to learn what’s triggering you. Then, you’ve got to develop a game plan for when it happens again. Learning how to respond to your triggers is crucial for long-term sobriety.
After you’ve identified all your triggers, you’ve got to learn how to cope with them. Not all coping mechanisms are healthy. Blaming yourself or others would be an unhealthy coping mechanism. There are a lot of healthy ones, though. For example, you could start going for a walk. Walking tends to help you clear your thoughts, making you feel less stressed. Going for a walk would be a much better reaction than blaming yourself.
If you’re concerned about a loved one, you could learn the signs of an impending relapse. Spotting them early could help you prevent your loved ones from making mistakes.
Here are a few signs someone might be at risk of relapsing.
- They’re hanging out with bad influences
- They’re not answering your questions honestly
- They’re spending more money than usual
- They’re acting like they’ve got something to hide
All these signs could indicate someone is about to relapse. However, they’re not hard rules. People might display these signs without having an issue. Still, it’s good to learn about them.
Supporting someone in recovery takes a lot of emotional effort. Speak to them as often as possible. A lot of recovering people don’t get enough social support.
You could also help them by taking them to ongoing treatment sessions. Ongoing treatment can make a huge difference in someone’s long-term outcome. Simply visiting a therapist could make the difference.
Another way you could help them would be by getting them to a support group. There are a lot of groups that meet to support peoples’ recoveries. You’ll be able to speak with other people going through similar problems. Most of them have a program designed to help you during your recovery. They’ll give you several steps to complete, aiming to heal your mind. Each step gets you to do something else. Completing all the steps can help someone maintain sobriety for a long time.
We’ve helped a lot of people during their recoveries. If you’re interested in learning more, then get in contact with us. Our team is ready to help at all hours. Just dial 833-846-5669.