How To Overcome The Fear Of Relapse In Your Recovery Journey

The Tea

One of the biggest hindrances to a successful recovery is the fear of relapse. This phobia, which is essentially another form of fear of failure, is one of the most human feelings ever, so don’t feel bad if you’re one of the millions of people experiencing it.

Recovery is a long and challenging journey that requires dedication, self-assurance, and most importantly, hope. Keeping these three traits, as well as other proven recovery techniques, at the forefront of your mind are sure to help you overcome the fear of relapse in your recovery journey.

The Brew

Using mindfulness to prevent relapse (MBRP)

Depending on the individual, the root of an addiction can come from different sources. The pleasure experienced by the addict fuels their addiction, since it provides them with a feeling of satisfaction. Cravings and urges have different meanings.

Cravings are the irrational desire to use an addictive substance
Urges are the intention or impulse to do so

Once the excitement is diminished or gone, one develops a craving for the same sensation, which develops into an addiction that is challenging to break. As tolerance grows for the particular addiction’s object, more exposure is required for the same amount of pleasure to be felt. The practice of mindfulness in MBRP may lessen the connection between craving and drug use and boost resistance to relapse.

Relapse prevention is seen to function well with behavioral therapy. Only recently has mindfulness been investigated as an addiction solution. Treatment options include mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy (MCBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction, and other approaches. MBSR and mindfulness help lessen anxiety and discomfort as well as psychological distress.

Tips to Begin Using Mindfulness Exercises

Being able to practice mindfulness any place and at any moment is one of the biggest benefits of the practice. You don’t need to accept a certain belief system or devote a lot of time and effort to benefit from this increased awareness. All you need to do is be open to trying out different ways of seeing the world.

Focus on the current situation

The majority of people who attend addiction treatment sought to escape the stress and worry of everyday life. They learned to excel at disappearing through their addictions. Being attentive and in the moment teaches us to face reality as it is, not how we interpret it. Concentrating on everyday experiences, like how your feet ascend and descend as you walk, the way soapy water slides across your hands as you wash yourself, and the texture and flavors of food as you consume a meal, can help you become more attentive. It may take some skill to do this frequently, but it’s one of the simplest mindfulness exercises we do. You will stay in the present, the space where you are now living, by taking notice of the tiny things.

Observe Your Breathing

Stress makes it simple to get into a destructive cycle of self-defeating ideas. In these circumstances, we must actively care for our emotional wellbeing. The restoration of calmness and discipline that keeps our rehabilitation on track can be achieved by concentrating on our breath. Try to take brief, deliberate “breathing pauses” throughout the day—for instance, when you’re stuck in a traffic or in a line, or before you check your emails, or leave for a meeting. All you need to do is inhale deeply and try to keep the length of the exhalation slightly longer than the inhalation. You can count out the inhales and exhales if that helps. Keep noticing how the feeling of air flowing into and out of your body keeps you calm and nourishes you.

How to Feel at Ease with Being Nervous

People in recovery need to have a comfort level with discomfort. They frequently believe that those who are not addicts don’t struggle with the same issues or feel the same unpleasant feelings. They believe that doing so is justifiable or essential in order to get rid of their unfavorable emotions. The mental hurdle is to show that unpleasant emotions are not indications of inadequacy, but rather a natural aspect of life and chances for development. Making people feel at ease in their discomfort might lessen the urge for them to turn to addiction as an alternative.

Understand Your Emotions

Anxiety, impatience, stress, wrath, and low self-esteem are examples of internal triggers. A good technique to become conscious of one’s triggers and lower the chance of relapsing is to make a list of both external and internal triggers.

A good technique to become conscious of one’s triggers, and lower the chance of relapsing is to make a list of both external and internal triggers.

Realize that you can only make plans for the future (not influence it)

Anxiety has its roots in the prospective; you stress and fear about what could happen. Adopting a mindfulness practice will help you stay in the moment and avoid being paralyzed by fear of the future. This involves deciding to view every situation as a chance. By practicing mindfulness, one may experience, observe, and respond to events in the present moment with awareness. You purposefully avoid engaging in self-talk about potential outcomes, actual outcomes, and potential future outcomes. Fear and concern are frequent signs of anxiety, a typical problem for those with addiction.

Since fear is a fleeting sensation fed by constant concentration, becoming consciously self-aware of the factors that create your fear and concern about the future helps reduce these anxious symptoms. Your obsessive thoughts feed the dread and keep it there. Focus on the here and now to get rid of anxiety about the future. Change, however, depends on the consciousness level. Without awareness, transformation is impossible. You will have the best health, mind, and spirit to take on life’s possibilities if you constantly practice being in the now rather than regularly worrying about the future.

The Pour

Relapse prevention is based on four major principles. First, relapse happens gradually and has a set progression. Helping people identify the early phases, when the odds of success are the highest, is the aim of treatment. Second, recovery is a stage-by-stage process of personal development. There is a danger of relapse at every level of rehabilitation. Third, cognitive therapy and mind-body relaxation are the key relapse prevention methods because they alter negative thinking and foster good coping mechanisms. Fourth, the majority of relapses are accounted for by a few fundamental principles. These few guidelines can help individuals concentrate on what’s essential by guiding their behavior.