5 Relapse Triggers and How to Prepare for Them

Stress

Stress is the most common cause of a relapse. Many people who struggle with addiction turn to their substance or activity of choice as a maladaptive way of coping. In fact, research indicates there is an increased "wanting" for the drug, alcohol, or addictive activity during stressful situations—especially if the substance or activity was previously the person's primary coping mechanism.

One way to prevent stress from triggering you is to evaluate your stress levels. Although you can't eliminate everything and everyone from your life, you can avoid situations that cause you extreme stress. As a result, it may help to list all the people, places, and things that cause you excessive stress.

For instance, are you in a toxic relationship? Or do you have a financial situation that is stressing you out?

It's also important to learn ways to successfully cope with stress that are not drugs, alcohol, or another addictive behavior. You may be able to reduce or manage your stress by:

• Practicing mindfulness and engaging in relaxation training
• Managing your time more effectively to avoid operating in panic mode
• Increasing healthy behaviors by incorporating moderate exercise and healthy eating

Reducing the likelihood that stress will trigger a relapse not only involves finding healthier ways of dealing with stress, but also being able to recognize when you are in a stressful situation, and then doing something to alleviate the stress.

A therapist or counselor can help you learn to listen to your mind and body to identify when you're feeling stressed as well as help you develop healthy coping mechanisms.

People or Places Connected to the Addictive Behavior

People who participated in your addictive behavior are potential triggers for a relapse, regardless of whether or not they are still drinking, smoking, or using drugs. Likewise, certain places that remind you of your addiction may be triggering for you. Even some family members could be a trigger, especially if they make you feel more childlike and vulnerable.

When you're reminded of your addiction, it's important to have effective ways of handling your feelings. For instance, if you're an alcoholic and a group of drinking buddies ask you to go out, or you see people from work going to happy hour, it might help to have a specific response ready.

It also may help to have a healthy activity that you can do instead like going for a run, seeing a movie, having dinner with a sponsor, or reading a good book.

Negative or Challenging Emotions

People who struggle with addiction need effective ways of tolerating, managing, and making sense of the negative feelings encountered in daily life. Alcohol, drugs, or addictive behaviors may have provided temporary relief from those feelings in the past, but you can't rely on them anymore.

View these emotions as an opportunity for growth and understanding. You can learn a lot about yourself by taking an inventory of what you're feeling and asking yourself why. In fact, learning how to face your emotions without escaping into addiction is invaluable.

So, try journaling, meditating, or even praying when you are feeling negative. Find a healthy way to release your negativity and boost your mood. An addiction specialist or another mental health professional can help you develop additional coping strategies.

Seeing or Sensing the Object of Your Addiction

Reminders of your addiction can trigger relapse during recovery. A whiff of cigarette smoke, watching people sip cocktails in a bar or restaurant, or a couple locked in an erotic embrace are reminders that seem to be everywhere in the early stages of quitting.

Wanting to fall back into your addiction is normal. After all, it's a familiar place for you. But, recovery is not just about "quitting" and "abstaining" as much as it's about building a new life in which it is easier—and more desirable—not to use.

Try to focus on the new life you're building and the changes you're making. Think about the negative consequences that you experienced while participating in your addiction—the people you hurt and the relationships you lost. You may think you miss your old life when you see these reminders, but remember the pain and hardship your addiction brought you as well.

Having a substitute behavior like going to a yoga class or taking a long bath also can be helpful when you're feeling triggered. Reciting positive mantras or doing relaxation exercises may help you resist these urges as well. For additional support, work with your counselor or therapist on how to effectively deal with these reminders.

Times of Celebration

Positive situations, such as birthdays and holidays, can be triggers too. You may feel happy, in control, and confident you can handle one drink, one smoke, or one mild flirtation with an attractive stranger. But can you really keep it under control?

People who struggle with addiction frequently lose their capacity to know when to stop. Therefore, one drink or cigarette can more easily turn into a binge for someone who has struggled with addiction.

Having someone to support in situations where you are at risk of relapse can help. Find someone you trust and respect to kindly, but firmly, persuade you to stop what you're doing if you do start to relapse.

With your counselor or therapist, create a plan on how to handle the temptations that come with fun events like parties, weddings, holidays, and more. If you go into the situation unprepared, you're more likely to relapse.