4 Common Relapse Triggers: Learning to Avoid Temptations

When the pain comes, the brain cells are tempted to cave in. Walking feels like a dire yet brilliant rat lost in a troubling maze who knows the easiest way to solve it. Then you are there, at your addiction. You try your best to survive the diabolical cure that will give you relief. However, you are mistaken if it can fulfill your never-ending search for comfort.

A competent clinical psychologist in Dubai refers to addiction as a complex disease that must be treated through professional guidance. However, people with addictions relapse at once during the recovery phase. Some even feel under the wagon several times before recovering fully. More than two-thirds of the people relapse after initial treatment despite the FDA-approved treatments for nicotine, alcohol, and opioid addiction.

Understanding what triggers you in the first place and having a suitable plan for coping with these triggers are the first step towards prevention. Here, we have identified five triggers about which you must talk to your therapist:

1.      Stress

Stress is on the top of the list. People who struggle with addiction turn to the substance of abuse as a maladaptive way of coping with stress. There is an increased desire for drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances and activities during stressful events.

Struggling to maintain a work-life balance, losing a loved one or job, being in a toxic relationship, health issues, and increased responsibility inflicts emotional and mental stress on the person. Such events encourage the individual to grab a bottle of wine from the cabinet and drown himself/herself in it until the stress level drops like temperature in winter.

The following steps are important for managing the stress:

1.       Practicing mindfulness and engaging in relaxation training.
2.       Managing time to avoid operating with a panicking mindset.
3.       Increasing healthy activities such as healthy exercising and healthy eating.

2.      Times of Celebration

Positive situations that bring joy and happiness, such as weddings and birthdays, can also be a trigger. You feel happy, energetic, and in control to handle the impact of one drink, one smoke, and a mild flirtation with an attractive stranger. It is never as easy as ABC.

It is very common among people to lose their capacity to know when to stop. As a result, one drink turns into binge drinking and treating yourself with one new pair of shoes turns into a shopping spree.

In such situations, it is advisable to have a companion escort who can stop you when you are at risk of relapse.

With the help of your psychologist in Dubai, come up with a plan on how to handle the temptations during events like parties, weddings, holidays and more.

3.      Seeing the Object of Your Addiction

When you are constantly reminded of your addiction, it can become tormenting to maintain self-control and resist the temptation. A whiff of a cigarette and watching people cocktails at a club or restaurant acts as a reminder and can trigger the desire.

The urge to fall back in your old life is tempting because it is a familiar place. But it is important to recover from the bad and unhealthy activities of the past. Hence, recovery is not just about quitting and restraining yourself. It is about building a new life where you are the main character.

To help you cope with the reminders, engage in substitute activities such as taking yoga classes, cooking a meal or taking a bath. Also, reciting positive mantras and doing relaxing exercises can help you come out of the world of constant falling from a cliff.

4.      Negative and Challenging Emotions

People with addiction encounter negative and challenging emotions such as agitation, anger, rage, and frustration while recovering. Therefore, they need to learn effective ways of tolerating and managing such unhealthy emotions. Alcohol, substance use and other addictive activities might give you relief from these emotions, and it is a temporary solution.

You can view these emotions as an opportunity to grow and develop understanding. Try journaling, meditating, or praying when you are feeling pessimistic. You can even find a healthy activity to release the negativity, such as cooking, painting or dancing, to boost your mood.

To sum up, triggers will never let you be free of addictions. They will carry you back to troubling life where your health drops like an autumn leaf each day. Therefore, reach out to the best psychiatrist in Dubai to increase the possibility of your recovery. It is time to build a healthy and happy life.