Relapse can be one of the most defeating times for a person in recovery. Addiction is a powerful disease. Just as a person may begin to congratulate themselves on winning the addiction fight, relapse can happen. For anyone experiencing relapse, it’s extremely important not to lose hope and realize that there is a chance to have a new start.
How does it feel to relapse?
A person often beats himself or herself up when they relapse. They tend to dwell on what they’ve done and obsess about the situation. They can’t believe what they did or why they did it and many people want to punish themselves for it. The self-hatred that’s associated with relapse can lead to depression. The fact is that the relapse rate is high and it may take a time or two to stay on the road to recovery.
Aside from the personal anguish a person feels, they may get thrown into a deeper depression thinking about the people in their lives they’ve let down. How many times did they tell their friends or family they’d stop but couldn’t? After maintaining some sobriety and rebuilding the trust of loved ones, a relapse can make a person feel very guilty about what they’ve done. While some friends or family may be disappointed, many times the loved ones of the addict are very supportive of the situation and only want to know what they can do to help.
Relapse can strengthen one’s recovery
Although a person may feel hopeless, it’s important to take a look at the situation as a learning experience. There’s no need to beat oneself up over a relapse because there’s only a very small percentage of people who actually get sober and stay sober on their first try. Most of the people who struggle with addiction have relapsed before and there are millions of people around the world who have bounced back from a relapse and have managed to make their recovery stronger than ever.
What must happen is that a person needs to identify what happened leading up to the relapse and use it as an opportunity to not make the same mistake in the future. There are some people who come in and out of treatment like a revolving door and can’t understand why they keep relapsing, but a majority of the time it’s because they didn’t change anything in their recovery. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Those who succeed learn from their past mistakes and use it to strengthen their recovery.
If you’ve relapsed and need help, substance use treatment centers in Florida can help you get back on the right track. Even if you’ve been to rehab before, don’t give up hope. Those who return to treatment just need to realize that there must have been something that they missed and it’s important to acknowledge that when they return to treatment. Many people who have relapsed have come back to treatment in Florida and had an experience that changed their entire outlook on life. With the right mindset and open-mindedness to learn, you too can experience an incredible life free from active addiction.