Author: Gary Jackson

Coping Skills for Addiction Triggers and Recovery

Understanding relapse triggers and coping with cravings is essential in maintaining sobriety and developing better habits. One of the most important things to understand in addiction recovery is the triggers that can lead to relapse. Triggers provide a perfect example of why staying sober isn’t as simple as it seems. For many individuals, recognizing and preventing relapse is one of the most challenging aspects of recovery. Unless you have experienced them personally, you cannot imagine how difficult it can be to navigate a trigger without giving in to temptation.

  • Mindfulness is a practice that encourages focus on the present moment and can help to reduce stress, improve concentration and increase emotional regulation.
  • Triggers may test your willpower and can be personal or shared with others in recovery.
  • This can include education on triggers, coping mechanisms, and developing a plan for maintaining sobriety.

All research on the Coastal Detox website, including images, texts and graphics, is strictly for informational purposes. Please do not ignore information from your doctor because of something you saw on the Coastal Detox website. If you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. While being a recovering addict, the cravings may be so high that the probability of relapse is very significant. It’s important to recognize when your thoughts are leading in a direction that could make sobriety more difficult. Mindfulness is something that can be difficult at first, but that’s why it’s important to practice.

Addiction Treatment Programs

Another useful side effect of our technology-steeped society is that distraction is easy to come by. Pull up a video on YouTube, play a mobile game or scroll social media until you can get away from the trigger. A relapse may consist of one single use followed by a realization of the mistake, while others may last any length of time.

These triggers can include people, places, events, and emotions that remind of the addiction. People aren’t often taught healthy coping mechanisms in school, and parents may not be available to do so or might not have been taught these mechanisms themselves. When this is combined with serious stress from financial troubles, mental illnesses such as anxiety, abuse, and other common issues, people turn to whatever they can to cope. Unfortunately, in most communities, alcohol and drugs are readily available and many people turn to them. Recovery is a journey with no end, yet some people begin to feel that they are cured and don’t have to worry about triggers anymore. It’s important to develop a healthy level of self-confidence, but humility is necessary too.

Mental relapse:

Mindfulness and meditation are two of the most effective coping strategies for managing addiction triggers. Mindfulness is a practice that encourages focus on the present moment and can help to reduce stress, improve concentration and increase emotional regulation. Meditation is a practice of focusing on quieting the mind to cultivate clarity, serenity, and insight. Identifying and managing addiction triggers is also a vital component of relapse prevention.

  • Meaning-making coping skills encourage you to look at stressors and situations and find the meaning or positives in them.
  • Often, these negative coping skills involve avoiding issues rather than tackling them head-on.
  • Environmental addiction triggers are external factors that can lead to a relapse in recovery.
  • Scheduling can also get stressful, as patients in treatment or aftercare may think about skipping therapy or support group meetings to attend family events they consider obligatory.
  • Find something wholesome and nutritional to eat with a good friend or loved one.