Relapsing is a recovering addict’s greatest threat to achieving long-term sobriety. Unfortunately, receiving addiction treatment does not guarantee life-long sobriety. Those in recovery will without question face triggers that lead to cravings to abuse drugs and alcohol in recovery. In fact, 40-60% of people treated for substance use disorders relapse. However, planning ahead for triggers in recovery can help you not only reduce your exposure to triggers but also know what to do when you face a trigger so you don’t jeopardize your sobriety. Keep reading to learn more about how to plan ahead for triggers.
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How to Plan Ahead for Triggers in Recovery
There is a wide range of triggers, from stressors to specific places, that can put a recovering addict at risk of relapsing. This is why it’s critical in recovery to identify and understand what to do when you experience triggers so you can reduce your risk of jeopardizing your sobriety.
- Identify Your Triggers
First, in order to plan ahead for triggers when you return to everyday life after addiction treatment, it’s important to understand what your triggers are. Every patient’s triggers are different. While some triggers may be more common, like recovering alcoholics being triggered in bars where drinking is prevalent, other triggers are more unique. Triggers can include specific places, situations, and even people. Therefore, it’s important in recovery to reflect on your history with addiction and make note of triggers you need to be aware of as you progress in your recovery journey.
- Understand How to Avoid Your Triggers
While some triggers may not be avoidable, most triggers are. For example, if you used to abuse drugs around friends who also abuse drugs, it’s going to be critical to distance yourself from those friends. While you can offer support in helping them recover, it’s important to not constantly surround yourself around friends struggling with addiction as it can become easy to fall back into old unhealthy habits. Similarly, if you used to attend parties, bars, or clubs where drug and alcohol use was prevalent, it’s important to avoid those places as you will undoubtedly be faced with triggers there.
- Create a Plan for What to Do When You Are Faced with Triggers
As you can see, some triggers can be avoided. However, some triggers are unavoidable or unexpected. This is where planning ahead for triggers in recovery comes in and is so essential to maintaining your sobriety. In recovery, it’s important to create a plan of exactly what you will do and say when you are faced with triggers. Whether it’s someone offering you a drink at a social event or another more unexpected circumstance, it’s important to know what you’ll do and say when faced with triggers in everyday life. Addiction treatment and recovery is also a good time to establish a healthy support system that you can lean on for accountability and help support your recovery journey.
Ready to Break Free From Addiction?
Planning ahead for triggers in recovery can help you know what to do when you are faced with triggers after addiction treatment. Identifying your triggers, making an effort to avoid them, and knowing what to do when you are faced with them can help reduce your risk of relapse so you can maintain long-lasting sobriety.
At Maui Recovery, we are committed to helping you safely and effectively achieve long-lasting sobriety. Overcoming addiction all on your own can not only be difficult, but also overwhelming. Our team of addiction specialists are here to help guide you along your road to recovery so you safely overcome your addiction and achieve long-term sobriety. Contact us today to learn more about our relapse prevention programs.
