6 Symptoms That Lead To Relapse

So often in recovery we can get so caught up in day to day living, that symptoms start forming in our being that we may not become aware of until the last minute or until its too late. These symptoms can be easily masked by daily activities. Sometimes it takes being around someone who knows us well, that we are called out on the symptoms and become aware of them.

Forgetting Recovery Disciplines — Early in recovery, we start making new habits and new routines. We get up, meditate, read devotions, or whatever we were taught early on that seems to work for us. In time, we may need to move things here or go to a different fellowship. The reasoning may be schedule conflict or even that we get burnt out doing same thing over and over. It is always important to make sure we continue in the disciplines that got us clean. Changing the time of day is fine, but we must never stop completely.

Impatience — In early part of recovery, it may seem that things aren’t moving fast enough. We need certain things, but we have to take certain steps to get there. A car for instance, but there is no license yet. Remember, we didn’t get where we are overnight.

Exhaustion — Some addicts can easily fall prey to work addiction because they feel like they are making up for the time lost. We must remember to get plenty of rest and keep up with our health. When you become too tired, a drink or hit might actually begin to sound good.

High Ego — After a little bit of time we can start to feel as though we have it; the recovery comes easy. We may even begin to feel that we are not even an addict or alcoholic. Having a high ego may make us feel that one drink or one pill will be ok. Before we know it, we are in full blown relapse.

Use of Prescription Medications — When we become clean, all of the sudden, we begin to want everything to be checked; eyes, teeth, and full physicals. We want to make sure that there was no permanent damage. We may need to have teeth extracted and the dentist may prescribe painkillers for short term use. If we are not careful, this too can lead to serious issues. A person of accountability is always nice in situations as these.

Forgetting Gratitude — Things can be going well for a while, and then all of the sudden, something happens that is very discouraging. This can completely change our perspective. We can start becoming ungrateful for where we are today. We can start feeling as though there is no hope. Checking our gratitude daily can keep us from losing gratitude altogether.

It is important to have a network of people very close to us. People we can always call when we are in need; people that are not scared to call us out when we begin to throw pity parties. We must always have and maintain a recovery plan. We must be willing to change as necessary without losing any of the actions that we originally committed to. We must always ask ourselves if we have at all let up on any part of our recovery plan.

By: Adriane Hammond

From I Have Will:

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