Beginning treatment for an addiction or other mental health issue can take a significant amount of courage and commitment, and your decision to embark on this journey towards improving your well-being is truly commendable.
However, making the vital decision to go to rehab and take the necessary steps to abstain from a particular substance or behaviour is only one piece of a very complicated, albeit life-changing process – the other?
Protecting your recovery by staying sober and well.
Here, we will look at some relapse prevention steps you can take to protect your recovery while remaining accountable for your choices and behaviours as you navigate life after treatment.
If you or someone you love is struggling with a substance use disorder or other emotional difficulties such as depression, anxiety or trauma, remember that the Camino Recovery team is here to provide the support and care you need.
Speak to a specialist in confidence today.
What is relapse prevention?
Relapse prevention describes a range of techniques and strategies to help you maintain your sobriety while helping you avoid returning to substance use or other addictive behaviours.
These programmes often involve identifying situations that could potentially cause a person to relapse. Some common risk factors for relapse include:
- An individual’s internal experiences, such as any thoughts or emotions they may have related to substance use.
- External cues, including specific people, places, and scenarios associated with substance use.
Relapse prevention strategies typically focus on building healthy coping responses to help you manage any triggers or cravings effectively.
These programmes also involve developing cognitive-behavioural skills that allow you to take a proactive approach to any challenges you may face as you navigate life after treatment.
Most rehab centres in Spain, in fact, in most parts of the world, provide relapse prevention to clients as part of a broader, integrated treatment programme, allowing individuals to maintain sobriety and wellness once they return home.
Steps you can take to protect your recovery
If you’ve recently completed inpatient treatment for a substance use disorder or other mental health challenge, you deserve full commendation, as we know more than anyone just how anxiety-inducing entering rehab for the first time can be.
You’ve taken an incredibly courageous step toward improving your life and well-being, including that of your loved ones, and you deserve to be celebrated for this.
At Camino Recovery, we work with the ethos that recovery doesn’t end just because treatment does.
What this means is that an individual’s journey to lasting healing and wellness often begins once they return to daily life. Effective relapse prevention is at the heart of this transformative process.
If you’ve recently completed residential treatment, there are some steps you can take to protect your recovery once you return home, which are outlined below.
1. Understand your triggers
Understanding your unique triggers, which can vary significantly from person to person, is the first crucial step to avoiding relapse.
Knowing what puts your recovery at risk can be an effective way to manage cravings, urges or the potential for returning to substance use.
Below are some common triggers that many in recovery experience. You may be able to relate to some of these.
- Emotional triggers. This can include stress, anger, loneliness, boredom, sadness and financial worries or work pressures.
- Environmental triggers. Triggers here may include specific places, events, or people associated with substance use.
- Situational triggers. This may involve weddings, births, funerals, social pressure, and again, boredom.
Getting to know your triggers allows you to prepare some helpful coping strategies that you know can work for you before you find yourself in a vulnerable position.
2. Build a healthy support network
Another helpful step you can take to protect your recovery is to build a healthy support network of friends, family, and community.
Many individuals in recovery find that surrounding themselves with those who encourage their healing journey can be perhaps one of the most transformative, effective ways to avoid revisiting unhealthy behaviours like drinking or drug use.
Having people around you who see you, celebrate you and respect your decision not to drink, take drugs, gamble, etc, is imperative and can help you stay accountable for your own choices and behaviours.
There is no hard and fast rule as to what a healthy support network can look like, but they usually mirror something like this:
- Family and friends who respect your boundaries and decision not to engage in substance use.
- Recovery peers who understand your sobriety journey.
- Sober living communities.
- Counsellors or therapists who provide ongoing professional support.
At Camino Recovery, we offer comprehensive, bespoke continuing care programmes.
These programmes connect you with aftercare groups and community resources, ensuring you always have the support and grounding you need to remain sober and healthy.
3. Develop a structured routine
Aristotle’s infamous quote, ‘We are what we repeatedly do,’ is popular for a reason.
Structure and consistency are key in all areas of life, but especially when it comes to recovery.
Why?
Having a structured routine reduces temptation and uncertainty, meaning there is less room for unhealthy patterns to begin creeping back in.
So, what does a structured routine look like?
Regular mealtimes and sleep.
Scheduled time for relaxation, exciting pursuits, and hobbies.
Healthy physical activities like yoga, meditation, and exercise.
This could also include a morning yoga session, a midday meditation break, and an evening walk or jog.
These activities not only promote physical health but also contribute to emotional well-being and stress management.
Social time with friends and family.
A healthy work/life balance.
Most relapse prevention programmes in Spain cultivate structured routines into an individual’s long-term treatment plan to help maintain stability, emotional regulation, and clarity around recovery goals and objectives.
4. Practice stress management
Stress is one of the most common reasons why people relapse after treatment.
Therefore, it’s vital you begin practising healthy stress management techniques to help you regulate your emotions and protect your recovery.
These techniques may include:
- Deep breathing exercises, particularly those that help regulate the nervous system, such as ocean breath.
- Mindfulness meditation.
- Gentle movement, like yoga or walking.
- Journalling, drawing or other creative expressions.
5. Stay aware of early warning signs
This is a crucial point – as relapse often begins long before substance use returns.
Being aware of and recognising early warning signs can help you stay informed and prepared, allowing you to protect your recovery.
Red flags to watch out for include:
- Neglecting self-care and/or healthy habits.
- Withdrawing from loved ones or isolating yourself from support.
- Revisiting old environments, situations, or people linked to substance use.
- Increased negative thinking or feelings of hopelessness.
- Obsessive thoughts about what it would feel like to drink again or re-use drugs.
- Increased feelings of anxiety, depression, irritability, or mood swings.
- Experiencing intense cravings, which are often accompanied by a desire to reconnect with old habits.
There are different stages of relapse, which often begin with a combination of mental and emotional symptoms (as listed above).
However, the final stage of relapse is when a person begins using substances again, marking a significant setback in their recovery journey.
If you or someone you love experiences any of the above symptoms, it’s essential that you take immediate action and speak to a professional, as early intervention can prevent a full relapse.
6. Continue therapy and aftercare
Another step to protecting your recovery is continuing with therapy and aftercare support measures once you return home.
Supportive strategies, such as ongoing counselling in online or group settings, help create a safe space for you to explore any challenges or setbacks as they arise.
This allows you to feel fully supported and heard as you work towards your recovery goals, enabling you to feel part of a community that focuses on growth and empowerment.
At Camino Recovery, our continuing care service is a core foundation of our recovery programmes, ensuring that each person leaves our centre with a clear relapse prevention plan in place.
This gives clients the peace of mind they need as they make the often daunting transition from inpatient treatment back into daily life, giving them the confidence and resilience they need to stay sober, healthy and go on to create meaningful lives.
Additional steps you can take to protect your recovery
As well as the steps already mentioned, there are some other things you can do to protect your recovery, including:
- Replacing old habits with healthy ones, such as learning a new skill, volunteering at a local charity or engaging in sports and creative arts.
- Prioritising your physical health. This may involve eating more nutritious meals, sticking to healthy sleep patterns, engaging in regular exercise, and staying hydrated.
- Cultivating gratitude and positive thinking. Daily journalling or simply reflecting on positive moments throughout the day can help create a growth mindset, particularly during the more challenging moments in recovery.
How we can help
Camino Recovery is proud to be a leader in the addiction treatment field, committed to providing the highest quality of care and support to our clients.
We offer a range of evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment programmes that not only treat the symptoms of a mental health disorder, but take a root-cause focused approach to recovery.
This allows us to look at the whole picture of a person, including their unique symptoms, lifestyle choices, background, and lived experience.
Continuing care and relapse prevention are at the heart of our recovery programmes, allowing clients to go on to lead healthy, meaningful lives after completing treatment at our rehab centre in Spain.
Meet our team
Our multidisciplinary team comprises experienced professionals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, including addiction specialists, trauma-informed professionals, and wellness practitioners.
We continually broaden our knowledge in addiction and mental health by engaging in research practices and staying up to date with new evidence-based treatments and approaches.
These practices, which are proven to be effective, help to further improve the lives of our clients and their recovery outcomes.
For further support and information about our continuing care programme or other treatments, reach out to our professional team today.
