If you’re in addiction recovery, you’re probably haunted by one question over and over: will I relapse again?
There’s no one-size-fits all solution when it comes to staying clean, but there are some things recovery experts recommend that could go a long way toward helping you avoid further relapse into addictive behavior.
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Know Your Triggers
“Relapse triggers” are any of a number of emotions, behaviors, or situations that are likely to put you at high risk of relapse.
Many triggers are connected to strong physical and emotional sensations. When you’re hungry or tired, you’re more likely to turn to addictive substances or behaviors to soothe those feelings. Healthy self-care (remembering to eat, hydrate, and rest) is key to recovery without relapse.
Although anger, stress, depression, or anxiety can feel overwhelming, negative emotions are a part of everyday life. Learning how to manage them with healthy coping techniques like therapy, mentorship, or the help of a support group (rather than turning to addictive behavior to numb them) can help you avoid relapsing.
This is particularly important if you have a preexisting physical or mental illness. Mental health diagnoses can make it more difficult to identify healthy coping mechanisms without help from a trained professional. But working with a mentor or therapist equips you with a plan unique to your needs, your goals, and your strengths.
Be Mindful of Places and People
As you grow in your recovery, more positive emotions will surface. You may even feel ready for life to “get back to normal”. But be very careful when it comes to choosing where and with whom you spend your time.
Experts recommend avoiding the people with whom you engaged in addictive behavior in the past. If you need help building new relationships, find a local support group or recovery meeting.
Spend time in places where there is little-to-no temptation to engage in your addictive behavior. For example, if you have an alcohol addiction, avoid bars and nightclubs. Try your favorite park, cafe, or museum instead.
It’s a good idea to avoid romantic or sexual relationships within the first year of your recovery. Sudden, heightened emotions – even positive ones – can trigger a relapse.
If you’re in a long-term relationship before beginning your recovery, make sure your partner is also willing to stay clean and sober. Whether or not they have an addiction, encourage them to come to recovery meetings with you. Make sure you communicate regularly about the support you need from them, and be sure to show appreciation for their support
It’s important to surround yourself with people who will promote, encourage, and prolong your recovery. Because they help you avoid social isolation, healthy, loving friendships and family relationships make relapse less likely.
Something to Celebrate
When you’re in recovery, every day clean and sober is a victory. But how do you celebrate without putting your sobriety in danger?
Be encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul:
“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” — Romans 12:3, NIV
Do your best to temper overconfidence with a realistic, healthy view of your struggles and limitations. This will help you be more mindful of your relapse triggers, more likely to share them with people you trust, and more likely to avoid them in the future.
While you certainly shouldn’t despair if you stumble during your recovery, it’s important to strike a balance. Ask for help when you’re struggling, rejoice when you succeed. Strengthening your faith and recommitting to prayer helps you avoid unhealthy extremes, like thinking you’re invincible during your recovery or reminiscing about “the good old days” in a way that minimizes the pain of your addiction. This sober mindset means you run less risk of hurting yourself or people you love further by relapsing into addictive behavior.
Getting support, avoiding isolation, and facing your feelings in a healthy way will empower you to better avoid relapse as you take charge of your recovery journey.
Celebrate your victories, no matter how small, with gratitude and humility. Give thanks in prayer each day. Let the people who love you know how important they are to your healing and wholeness. Pour your favorite tea, go for an afternoon walk, or sit down with your favorite movie. There are plenty of ways to celebrate while keeping yourself sober and safe.
Have a Plan
Knowing what triggers your addictive behavior can certainly help you avoid a relapse, but that’s not enough. you need a plan that includes:
- How you will replace unhealthy or addictive behaviors with healthy ones
- New places to go (and people to spend time with) that don’t tempt you toward addictive behavior
- How to deal with negative emotions or celebrate a victory without using or otherwise engaging in addictive behavior
Get Support
Recovery from addiction is never impossible, but getting and staying clean is a lot more attainable with the right support.
In fact, addiction research shows that treatment programs can help prevent relapses and decrease relapse rates, particularly if the entire treatment program is completed.
Whether it’s getting help through TheHopeLine, your faith community, a recovery meeting, or a close friend or family member, you can free yourself from past addiction and avoid future relapses.
We support people at every stage of addiction recovery. We can help you heal from addiction — starting now.
For more information on breaking addictions, download our free Understanding Substance Abuse eBook.
These and other statements prove the addict has not yet come out of denial and is not yet ready to start the long journey to freedom. Allie put it really well: You must admit you have an addiction and then have the will to change it. You must understand that it will not be easy.(Allie) When somebody who’s addicted says, “I can’t go on like this; I will do whatever it takes to be set free,” then you know there is hope for that person.
The most well-known and used program that helps people overcome addictions is the 12 Step Program. Five of the twelve steps deal directly with one’s relationship with God. Only God can empower an addict to make the changes necessary for freedom. I received a very moving story from a guy named Dan. Once you have read his story, you will see how important a relationship with God can be:
When you think of ways to help in your fight against 
Sufficient sleep is especially crucial for anyone wanting to find freedom from addiction. Not only does the brain recharge and repair during sleep, there are rippling effects that impact the whole body. Going without sleep has been connected to lower immune function, serious disease and weight gain – as well as impaired ability to reason and think clearly.
Alright, one more example. While recharging your body through rest and good fuel is important, if you really want to supercharge it, then try something really radical: move around more!
Like other addictive substances, pornography floods the brain with dopamine. This rush of chemicals over time can re-wire the pathways in your brain to increase your appetite for, and eventually dependence on, porn.[ii] Now you might be thinking Sure, I watch porn sometimes, but it’s not like I’m addicted. Well unfortunately, even moderate porn use is linked to damage in areas of the brain involved in motivation and decision-making.[iii] Not exactly what you’d want to sign up for.
None of our actions are in a vacuum. While most people think watching porn is a private act, there are actually many ways that it has broader social implications. Watching pornography, even the free videos, perpetuates the porn industry and the sex trafficking that occurs within it. In addition to this, pornography use is linked to increases in acceptance of sexual violence. 
