When an individual decides to enter rehab, he or she is making a lifelong commitment to maintain sobriety. Once in rehab, substance abusers learn that recovery isn't a destination, but a life-long journey, one that they must learn to navigate to avoid the danger of a relapse.

The Relapse Process

The warning signs of a return to addiction can be better understood in the context of a relapse process, which usually begins inside the individual’s mind long before they actually relapse:

When an individual is in the early months of addiction recovery, they often experience a kind of mental fuzziness. They may struggle to think clearly as their mind adjusts to life without substance abuse. This is also a time when their emotions are erratic. Those who fail to cope with these challenges in early recovery are more likely to relapse. Mindfulness meditation can be a great tool at all stages of sobriety. It gives people more control over their emotions and increases mental clarity.

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation involves purposely paying attention to the present moment. It also involves being aware of thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they occur without being carried away by them. Mindfulness is a non-judgmental form of observation that involves three elements: awareness, attention and remembering. The individual needs to be aware of the object they wish to focus on. They then need to focus their attention on this object, and remember to keep it there.

Addiction is a disease, right?

In today’s “now” society, many of us are looking for a quick solution to a problem. Addiction is a disease, right? Isn’t there a medication that can cure it?

While it is true that medication during treatment can help reduce cravings and withdrawal, addiction recovery requires the rewiring of the brain and medication alone is not enough. Addiction is more than just physical dependence. Even after detox and physical dependence is cured, addicts are at high risk for relapse. Psychological and social factors are often powerful factors which can trigger relapse. Things such as the following can create ongoing urges to use drugs or alcohol:

An intervention can be a powerful tool a family can use to encourage someone who is abusing drugs or alcohol to seek the treatment they need. However, a poorly executed intervention can actually make matters worse. Here are 5 things not to do during an intervention.

1. 1. Don’t plan an intervention without a professional.

Television shows glamorize interventions and have put them in the spotlight. However, it is important that you don’t move forward with an intervention without contacting an experienced interventionist. A professional can help ensure that you create a safe environment and give you the best chance at a successful outcome.

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Handling Emotions

Even without the problems that substance abuse brings, life can be a real struggle for an individual that is unable to handle their emotions. Without emotional maturity, it is virtually impossible to find real happiness. Adults who don’t mature emotionally are also more likely to engage in substance abuse. They turn to chemicals as a means to escape the pain caused by their emotions. It becomes a catch-22 situation, because addiction arrests further emotional development, and they become stuck.

When an addict decides to enter rehab facility and finally gives up alcohol or drug use, they will need to once again focus on their emotional development. If they fail to do so, they will struggle to build a comfortable life away from their addiction.

Finger-Pointing Doesn’t Help

“Whose fault is it that I’m an addict?” Depends who’s doing the asking… Many people with the disease of addiction or alcoholism believe they are born that way. Please note, this blogger does not intend to go into any kind of deep psychological essay about the nature of addiction or physiological aspects of the disease. I am here to share to my experience and strength and hope; that an addict, any addict can stop using, lose the desire to use and find a new way to live. That’s it. I, personally, do believe that I was born with this disease.

When I first came to the program of Narcotics Anonymous in the spring of 1995, I had no idea I was an addict or that I even had a disease. I learned in Step One that I’m powerless and that my life is unmanageable. Come to find out, I have a disease, not a moral deficiency. The disease model, in the NA definition, works for me (and countless others) in that we can see ourselves more humanly. We were slaves to the drugs. Rather than me being a bad person, I was a sick person that made bad choices. I have a disease that tells me that I don’t have disease. It is also the only disease which I can self-diagnose. The First Step frees me: Every day, I admit I’m powerless over my disease.

Prescriptions for Opioids, or Painkillers

Over the past 20 years, prescriptions for opioids, or painkillers, has increased more than tenfold. And, not surprisingly, painkiller addiction has also tripled in just the last decade alone. While you may think these drugs are not as dangerous as “illegal” drugs, the truth is, according to Centers for Disease Control, painkillers kill twice as many people as cocaine and five times as many as heroin.

High Risk of Addiction

Opioids, such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and meperidine (Demerol) are among the most powerful painkillers available. Originally designed to treat severe acute pain, such as following surgery, opioids are being increasingly used to treat chronic conditions such as arthritis, migraines, or back pain. This is highly controversial, however, because opioids target the the same brain receptors as heroin and carry a high risk of addiction.

You often hear that the first step to recovery is recognizing that you have a problem, and need help. But what if your loved one is resistant to drug treatment? What should you do?

The answer, unfortunately, is complicated. Family and loved ones typically advocate seeking help faster than a drug or alcohol addict. While this situation is normal, it is no less frustrating. Professionals call this stage “resistance” and admit that it is one of the most difficult and complicated situations to treat.

Pain is Subjective

A bad car accident, a slip and fall, a pulled muscle, surgery… the list is endless as to why we must take pain medication. As varied are the reasons, so are the different medications available, depending on the type of injury from over-the-counter pain relievers like plain old aspirin to Schedule 2 (Class 2) drugs like Morphine and Oxycodone. According to the US Department of Justice, Office of Diversion Control, Class 2 drugs “have a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.” 1 This is the US Government telling us that these drugs are highly addictive!

One of the first preventative measures begins with telling our doctor that we are in recovery. Although many, if not most doctors are aware of the precautions in prescribing pain medication, they may not be aware of your history of alcohol or drug abuse. This is why it’s imperative to be honest with our health-care providers, so as not to invite disaster.

How does one learn to be helpless?

Learned helplessness…sounds like an oxymoron, right?

The idea of ”learned helplessness” originated from experiments on animals. Researchers would put a hapless creature in a situation where they were faced with unpleasant stimuli from which they tried but could not escape. Eventually, they just accepted their situation and stopped trying to escape. Even when researchers added a means of escape, they would fail to make use of it. They had learned to be helpless.