Dangerous Situations Of Relapse

“A lapse, or relapse can happen without having an urge. There are SIX danger situations that can set you up for this. Recognize them so you can be prepared.”

It doesn’t always require urges for a Relapse just to pop up out of nowhere and attacking us when we never even expected it. Relapse is the most scary thing in the world, especially for someone who has a solid history of Recovery and Sobriety. There are six danger situations that can fuel these unexpected attacks.

The first is Association. That can mean “exposure to something that was a trigger in the past or being in situations in which you used to use.” That can be so many things for me. For myself, this one can actually pertain to many different people too. Even when I’m trying my best, sometimes fate just makes it happen. It’s life’s little cruelties

The second one is quite the famous one, Boredom. So, boredom has a way of bringing up, and rehashing old way of thinking. I cannot say enough just how strong and powerful Boredom has always been is in my battles. It has been a major factor. It is something that is a factor in all the places in my life of addiction. It is something that makes me start using. It’s something that keep me going, when I’m in the middle of active addiction. And, lastly, it’s the thing that keeps me hanging onto the addiction like a thread, and often is the last thing I am stuck facing, as the final straw before overcoming addiction, and heading off into a world of Sobriety.

Now, we get to number 3, which is Emotions. Smart Recovery says for emotions, “Strong emotions may catapult you into old coping methods.” Just reading that gives me the chills, because it creates flashbacks in my mind, where I can almost see myself when I was back, at a decent place in my recovery, but I was also struggling to some degree. I took the dive back towards the devils side, and had dripped back into the world of drugs to solve whatever dilemma I was in, whatever trouble I was having at that particular moment. But at least in my case, usually when I dipped back once, it normally did its domino effect, and before you knew it, my emotions did indeed catapult me back into old coping methods.

The next is Fantasy. This actually isn’t one I really ever realized was one, nor was it one I ever put much thought to, however I think it might just be one, that absolutely falls under dangers that can effect me. Its official definition is “Romanticizing the fun part of addictive behaviors.” It’s a shame that there is even a category for this, because it kind of seems like its the immature one of the categories. It just seems at first glance to be something that no adult would allow themselves to lose control over. Something that wouldn’t be allowed to take control of an already subdued addiction. It just shows you how cunning,evil, and how sneaky addiction can be. People, please don’t let that fantasy take you over. Don’t romanticize any part of the addiction, cause there is nothing happy about it. Nothing romantic. It is no more romantic then a life sentence to hell is romantic.

The fifth, Frustration, with its description being “Like other strong emotions, frustration may hurl you backwards to old ways of coping.” It’s just another one that can be very cunning and sneaky in its tactics, and there have been many of times, where I allowed even the smallest of frustrations take me a million steps backwards, and dive right back into a relapse at the fastest of speeds. When you’re feeling that frustration that seems to just take its grip, and you think relapsing is the only answer for gratification, just stop, and tell somebody; talk to a loved one. Get that thought at out of your brain, and into verbalizing. Work through that frustration.

So, we end with Opportunity. “A time when there is seemingly no down side to acting out, and no one will know but you. Opportunity is a powerful enticement.” That’s quite the scary statement that comes with Opportunity. It’s a great explanation and it’s gives us the perspective of how sneaky it can be, and how fast it can overtake you, and can also probably almost immediately take a lapse, into more of a relapse. Also, in my opinion, if a lapse is just a lapse, it has only mere seconds to have the potential to move onto full relapses. It’s too scary to get mixed up in. It’s just as nasty as the Frustration and Fantasy categories. Like I said earlier, quite the cunning, when talking about it skill in creating relapses.

These dangerous situations all add up to such potential risky scenarios and show just how much relapse continues to stick its face in to even solid recoveries and sobriety’s. It’s greatly known to stick it’s business into places where it doesn’t belong. Its the disgusting truth that must be taken seriously. We who live Sober lives must keep fresh in our minds that there are indeed dangerous potentials around every corner. If we are vigilant, and mindful, then the risk can be greatly minimized.