Relapse triggers are far more extreme for recovering addicts in the early recovery months of addiction treatment. Therapists experienced in substance use disorders can help you identify and analyze possible triggers. For people with past substance use disorder, triggers can be any internal or external stimulus that intensely and often uncontrollably reminds them of using drugs or alcohol. The Massachusetts Center for Addiction offers comprehensive addiction and mental health treatment programs that blend evidence-based therapies with personalized care. Our drug and alcohol rehab programs and mental health rehab services are tailored to each individual’s specific needs.
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- You, nor your loved one, are under any obligation to commit to a Legacy Healing Center treatment program when calling the helpline.
- Triggers may test your willpower and can be personal or shared with others in recovery.
- But one thing you can always do is ground yourself by balancing your physical energy, thoughts, and emotions, so you feel centered and safe in the moment.
- Pondering the consequences helps to activate the executive functions of the brain and helps to create a narrative to propel recovery.
- The trigger itself can range from smells and sounds to seeing people make sudden movements, running into someone who reminds you of past trauma, or more.
If you are suffering from, or have a history of trauma or psychiatric illness, it is recommended that you combine these services with treatment from a professional therapist. When it comes to making changes to your life to remove triggers, be realistic. There’s no way to prevent fireworks from occurring or certain words from being spoken around you.
How to Cope With Triggers
They come in the form of a feeling when someone makes a jokingly mean comment that is a big deal to another person, but it completely destabilizes you for the rest of the day. Now you found yourself feeling off-center, and the feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, or shame external triggers come about. One of the biggest risks during drug recovery is that someone who is recovering from using a substance will relapse and begin taking that substance again. To avoid relapse, it is important to understand the risk factors and causes that typically lead to relapse.
Seeking Help In Recovery
You cannot manage triggers if you do not know you are being triggered. Once you note the trigger, tell yourself that you are in trouble and act to protect your recovery. It’s valuable to work with your therapist to learn ways to manage your triggers in a healthy manner. This could include cognitive behavioral therapy, a method of learning how to change negative thoughts so you don’t relapse.
Former drug or alcohol users are in denial during emotional relapse, but they do not have thoughts of using. They are ashamed of the last time they relapsed and may have developed negative behaviors to cope with their thoughts. This state of mind is dangerous because it encourages bad health practices that can eventually lead to a full-blown relapse. These triggers can vary from person to person, but some common examples include stress, boredom, loneliness, and feeling overwhelmed. Other triggers may include seeing people who use drugs, being in certain places, or even certain smells or sounds. Relapse triggers are social, psychological, and emotional situations and events that may lead an addicted person to seek out their substance of choice and ultimately relapse.
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Reach out to one of our understanding team members today to learn how you can start on your path to recovery. Relapse is a common challenge for people in recovery, and external triggers can be a major factor in predicting relapse. However, understanding and managing these triggers can be a powerful tool for staying strong in recovery. To most benefit from mindfulness, be aware of two broad types of mindfulness and also be aware of the right time to use each one. First, the mindfulness toward self can be effective when someone feels safe and does not feel under threat.
Negative Emotions
Just the sight or smell of the substance can create deep, hard-to-stop thoughts of using. Generally speaking, they’re anything that causes you to want to use drugs or alcohol or make you feel the signs of your mental illness, such as panic attacks or bouts of depression. Not all memories are painful — memories of using a substance and the resulting feelings can be quite pleasant. Identifying your triggers so you can know to avoid them is just as important as learning to manage them.
- But external triggers can become internal triggers if they bring up experiences you haven’t processed.
- One of the most rewarding aspects of recovery is rediscovering your passions and finding new things that bring you joy.
- At Canyon Vista Recovery Center, located in Mesa, Arizona, you will learn the skills needed to gain sobriety.
- We have more information for you about the recovery process and how to get started.
- They often involve people with whom you engaged in alcohol and drug addiction or places where it occurred.
Triggers are a lasting, repetitive reminder of your substance use and are unique to you and your situation. They can also look different for each individual and could be a person, place, situation, or even an object. Learning to cope with external triggers involves developing strategies to avoid or deal with these triggering situations.
Tips to Dealing with Triggers in Recovery
Try a warm drink that does not have alcohol or caffeine in it like warm milk or herbal tea. Places may also set off triggers when going through places they used to drink or consume drugs, which brings back the feeling and memory of using. “First, assess your own state,” Harlich says, with an eye towards whether you feel over- or underaroused. “Hyperarousal can look like anxiety, nervousness, fear, anger, irritability, or an inability to slow down or stop. Hypoarousal might look like depression, feeling shut down, sadness, dissociation, or hopelessness,” explains Harlich. If it is a consistently specific sight, smell, or situation, chances are this is your trigger.