Waco Relapse Prevention (877) 804-1531
Addiction is a chronic disease, just like chronic medical conditions including high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. For those conditions, a person does not simply take one medicine once and never consider their condition again. Instead, they make lifestyle changes and take medicines on a regular basis, checking in with their doctor periodically to make sure they are maintaining good health. In this way, addiction treatment is no different. A person should not only receive detox treatment programs in Waco to initially withdraw from the disease. They also must practice maintenance treatments to ensure they are managing their condition well. This is known as relapse prevention in Waco.
To the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addiction is a condition that can be treated, but can't necessarily be cured. Relapse prevention programs serve many purposes, including helping a person identify ways to resist temptations to return to drug and alcohol abuse as well as identify potential signs of relapse.
The relapse rates of drug addiction are somewhere between 40 and 60 percent, according to the NIDA. These mean that a person may often relapse once, twice, or another amount of time throughout their sobriety journey. Relapse shouldn't be viewed as a failure. Instead, a person should view relapse as an opportunity to get back into the programs that once helped them or to find new programs.
Why Are Relapse Prevention Tools Necessary?
Programs for relapse prevention in Waco utilize a number of tools to help a person stay sober. Examples of these programs techniques to address the following:
- Avoiding high-risk situations: A person in a relapse prevention program must learn to identify what situations could potentially cause a person to relapse, such as seeing old friends a person used to do drugs with. According to the National Institutes of Health, high-risk situations plus interpersonal conflict contribute to nearly 50 percent of all relapse situations.
- Recognizing warning signs of relapse: Often a person will experience warning signs of relapse before they ever even think about returning to drug abuse. For example, when a person stops taking care of themselves as well as they once did or starts skipping meetings, these can all be signs a person may be headed toward relapse.
- Participating in 12-step programs: 12-step programs are a time-tested method of reducing the likelihood a person will relapse. Examples of 12-step programs include Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. These programs have helped those struggling with addiction for nearly 100 years. They center around accepting responsibility for one's actions as well as making reparations for past wrongs.
- Learning how to resist temptation: Relapse prevention programs will often have a person "practice" situations they may be put in where they are tempted to use drugs again. These include having others ask them about returning to drug abuse. According to the National Institutes of Health, social pressures represent 20 percent of the times that a person relapses. Through learning how to better cope with the situation, a person is less likely to return to drug abuse.
Relapse Prevention Aftercare Services
In addition to counseling and group therapy, relapse prevention in Waco can also include aftercare services. These services are intended to help a person once they have returned home and are living on their own. Examples include:
- Sober living homes: Placement in a sober living home can help a person live with like-minded people who are also committed to a sober lifestyle. Sober living can help a person rebuild their life.
- Counseling: Group, family, or individual counseling can be an excellent way to check in with a person and make sure they are continuing in their sobriety.
- Outpatient treatment: After a stay in our inpatient rehab in Waco, a person may choose to participate in outpatient treatment. This includes going to a drug treatment facility daily or several times a week as a means to enhance their therapy and continue to actively engage in relapse prevention.
According to the National Institutes of Health, a person engaging in relapse prevention can learn to develop more effective coping responses than returning to drugs and/or alcohol. Examples of these coping responses include taking better care of themselves and identifying behaviors that can make them feel more relaxed without needing to use drugs and/or alcohol.
Examples include yoga, meditation, exercise, or more. When a person builds their self-efficacy, they have a decreased likelihood they will relapse. By developing better coping skills, they can remain motivated to continue stopping to abuse drugs and alcohol. Call Waco Alcohol Rehab Centers at (877) 804-1531.