How to Avoid a Drug Addiction Relapse

Many people think that just because they have worked to eliminate drugs in their life through a recovery program that all of the work is completed. There are a great many more problems that they must overcome before they can rebuild their life and start over. It will take some time to get used to the new way of life and all of the changes that have been made. The person who is recovering from a drug addiction will have times when they are feeling good about their lifestyle change and other times when they are not. They might be upset over losing friends that they had when they were using drugs. They will question their decision frequently when they are upset over losing friends.

It is during these times that a person is the most susceptible to a relapse. A good drug treatment program will have a plan in place to address these times. If you take the time to think and plan for the times when you will be questioning your recovery, you will be able to get through it that much easier. It will be expected and you should have a plan to tell you what you should do.

Some of the things that you can do to avoid a relapse:

Address the feelings that you are having as they come instead of letting them build up and hit you all at once.
Find some things that you enjoy to help you relax and enjoy your life at present.
Keep people who are supportive of your efforts to remain drug free around you. They will see if you are beginning to slip and will help you get back on track.
Try to plan for the situations that will cause you to doubt your commitment to a drug treatment program. If you are involved in a high risk situation you should have a plan in place to deal with it.
You should understand that not everyone is going to be in control of their feelings at all times. You should be prepared for the times when you are feeling out of control and you must make sure you know how to deal with it.
You should consider any slip that you have as a chance to learn what not to do next time. You should not just fall back into your old habits and let the problem happen again and again.

With these in place, you can help yourself greatly in avoiding a drug addiction relapse.