subject: Coping Strategies For Recovering Addicts [print this page] For people addicted to drugs or alcohol, recovery is a never-ending process. They begin their treatments with detoxifications that can take only days to remove physical dependencies on drugs. They then undergo intensive treatment programs which can last anywhere from thirty to ninety days. These are just the first steps on the road to long-term sobriety, however.
Even addicts who successfully engage their rehab therapies and make progress towards healthy, drug-free lives must constantly guard against urges to use drugs. The neurological pathways formed during the development of addictions are permanent, and relapse is an ever-present danger. Here are some of the most successful coping mechanisms recovering addicts use to deal with drug cravings.
Avoidance
During cognitive-behavioral therapies, addicts are taught that there are some situations they can control and others they cannot control. In cases where addicts can control their environments, it is often best to simply avoid temptations altogether. This can mean staying away from bars, clubs, and other places where drug and alcohol use is likely to occur. It can also mean avoiding high-stress or frustrating people whose behaviors often induce drug cravings.
However, avoidance can also require the careful management of physical and emotional states. For instance, hunger and sleepiness induce certain behaviors in everybody. In healthy people, these feelings prompt eating and sleeping. In addicts, however, such physical feelings may lead to drug use. Such unfulfilled physical requirements can also compromise addicts willpower. Overall, addicts in this example would make sure to get quality nutrition and rest in order to avoid drug cravings altogether.
Relaxation Techniques
Anxiety, depression, and other unsettling emotional states often lead people to use drugs in the first place. When such users develop addictions, the pattern of emotional instability and subsequent drug use becomes hardwired in their brains.
To put a stop to this cycle, recovering addicts must learn to make themselves relax during stressful or depressing situations. Meditation, vigorous exercise, and talking with close friends are relaxation techniques which have helped thousands of addicts avoid relapse.
Continued Support
Intensive inpatient, outpatient, and partial hospitalization treatment plans are not always enough for addicts to achieve lasting recoveries. Though these programs can successfully uncover the root causes of peoples addictions, rehab clinicians cannot guide patients through the rests of their lives.
Many addicts thus turn to support groups to remain connected to the valuable lessons they learned during treatment. Discussions with peers who face similar problems allow addicts to share effective coping strategies. Group therapy also provides them with reminders that they are not alone in their struggles.
Self-Reflection
During evidence-based rehab therapies, addicts uncover the root causes of their addictions. They learn the thoughts and emotions which lead them down the path of drug abuse in the first place, and which continue to produce strong drug cravings.
Even after treatment is complete, addicts must constantly be mindful of their mental and emotional states to avoid relapse. For instance, addicts whose panic attacks drive them to drink excessively must vigilantly remain calm in stressful situations. By remaining in control of their emotions and avoiding attacks, they can ward off cravings before they even occur.
Addicts who seek help can learn these coping mechanisms and others long-term sobriety strategies when they attend treatment programs at clinics across the country. If you or someone you love is struggling with an addiction, follow the links below for a confidential, toll-free consultation. We can help you take the first steps on the road to recovery but youve got to ask for help.
