What is an Emotional Relapse?

Everything You Need to Know About Preventing an Emotional Relapse

Almost all who have struggled with drug or alcohol abuse describe the recovery journey to other recovering addicts as a never-ending process. What is an emotional relapse? While the physical addiction treatment can remove the chemicals, the negative emotions associated with substance use can bubble to the top at any time. Many in recovery remain constantly vigilant to avoid relapsing.

That’s why it’s incredibly important to understand how to avoid emotional relapse and subsequent mental relapse before triggering full-blown self-destructive behavior. An effective prevention strategy is worth its weight in gold.

The compassionate staff at Icarus New Mexico, understands the progressive nature of substance abuse disorder. We’re passionate about helping people recover from substance abuse and get back to normal functioning. That’s why our Joint Commission-accredited trauma-informed addiction recovery programs focus not only on cessation of drug or alcohol use but also include a personal relapse prevention plan.

We encourage you to read to learn about the emotional conditions before a relapse occurs.

Relapse Prevention Starts With Understanding the Relapse Process

A relapse is not usually a single event. Instead, it usually unfolds across three stages. All stages of relapse come with definite warning signs that you should never ignore or assume will go away without proper attention.

The First Stage – Emotional Relapse

In the earliest stage of release, the person is not necessarily thinking about reigniting their substance abuse disorder. Instead, they are experiencing emotions and behaviors that may ignite the flames of relapse.

These are some of the warning signs of emotional relapse:

• Poor self-care: They may have developed poor eating or sleeping habits. These are common in early recovery, often after leaving the structure of a treatment center.
• Moodiness: The person may confide in loved ones when they start feeling negative emotions, such as overwhelming sadness, excessive fear, anxiety, lack of motivation, intolerance of others, intense criticism, mood swings, inflexible opinions, anger.
• Isolation: Some in the emotional stage of relapse start intensely rejecting the company of others, develop an uncompromising attitude, or have poor cooperation. They generally become a challenge to get along with and push away concerned loved ones.
• Denying the chronic disease: They will minimize or ignore the substance abuse problem, insisting that they have everything under control. But the truth is that their normal functioning is eroding.

It’s crucial to recognize signs when emotional relapse sets in. Dealing with the dangerous emotions as they emerge. Stopping and finding help can stop the progression of the vicious cycle.

The Most Dangerous Stage – Mental Relapse

If unable to control one’s feelings or emotional triggers, it can potentially trigger additional dysfunctional behaviors. Many mental health professionals consider mental relapse the most dangerous stage.

That’s because mental relapse is the tipping point where they experience an intense emotional struggle. They feel conflicting desires between staying sober and active drinking or drug abuse.

Signs that can identify a mental relapse often include:

• Cravings for their drug of choice
• Seeing past use as their glory days
• Rationalizing alcohol abuse or drug use
• Thinking about the people or places they associate with past use
• Lying about their activities
• Planning to relapse, often to hide the drinking or drugs from loved ones

This stage of relapse is the final stop before the person actively returns to substance abuse.

Final Stage – Physical Relapse

If the mental relapse escalates, it leads to the last stage – physical relapse. While there are clear dangers in the mental stage of relapse, another dangerous situation can arise from physical relapse – overdosing.

The body of a person in recovery is no longer accustomed to substances. They have a decreased tolerance for using drugs or consuming alcohol than they had during active addiction, putting them at a greater risk of overdose than before they got clean and sober.

The behaviors that identify a physical relapse are:

• Seeking substances
• Physically consuming alcohol, drugs, or both

At this point, it’s imperative to acknowledge the relapse and seek professional or peer support. Stay calm; don’t despair. There is still hope for continuing the recovery process.

Stop an Emotional Relapse Before It’s a Mental or Physical Relapse

Self-awareness is fundamental to relapse prevention. If you recognize signs of emotional relapse in yourself or a loved one, it’s time to take some serious measures to prevent relapse.

Revisit Self-Care Routines

Lacking self-care is one of the early signs of emotional relapse. You need to support both your physical and mental health.

Go back to eating well, revisit sleep hygiene, follow a healthful daily schedule, and get light daily exercise for your physical well-being. To restore a better mental state, watch a guided meditation video or try breathing exercises to calm the mind.

These steps can address the emotional spiral and help restore a calmer mind.

Attend Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or SMART Recovery

AA and NA 12-step programs provide you with a clear path to follow while you continue your recovery journey. The peer group support can help you interrupt the emotional relapse just by going; the weekly check-in provides accountability.

If you don’t like the religious aspects of AA to NA, consider a weekly SMART Recovery meeting, which uses evidence-based practices, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you hone your coping skills.

Recognize the Emotional Relapse

Practicing awareness, especially about the warning signs of an emotional relapse, can help you recognize and challenge those first thoughts of substance abuse.

Hold these thoughts accountable by writing about your thoughts and triggers in your journal. You might also consider speaking with a counselor, trusted friend, or loved one about your internal struggle.

Refer to Your Relapse Prevention Plan

The stirrings of an emotional relapse can create self-doubt. But remember that you developed a relapse prevention plan in the last days of treatment. This plan is your roadmap to staying clean and sober. It should contain “safe” people you can call, local support groups, and remind you of the coping tools you developed.

If some of those strategies no longer work for you, feel free to explore fresh ideas and add them to the plan. Your updates may offer you new solutions and motivate you to resist falling back into the trap of addiction.

Have You Relapsed? It Doesn’t Mean Failure

You have not failed. Addiction is a chronic disease.

You’ve probably never once heard a person who has asthma beating themself up over an asthma attack. Nor should you beat yourself up over your chronic illness. An asthma attack can be triggered by an environmental condition, like pollen, for example. Someone with substance use disorder can be triggered by something in their environment, like driving past a neighborhood bar where they used to meet up with drinking buddies.

The person with asthma may need to visit a lung specialist to get their health restored to peak condition. Similarly, your disease – substance use disorder – requires the help of addiction treatment in some form.

The main thing is that you recognize that you are living with a treatable disease. You just need help to manage it and minimize its impact on your life.

Reach Out to Icarus New Mexico for Robust Recovery Support

It’s okay if you’ve tried all the strategies we’ve listed but still need support – or if you’ve already relapsed. You prove you are still committed to getting clean and sober when you seek professional support.

It takes wisdom and strength to reach out for help, especially when you know you’re headed for trouble. The easier road is to give into the addiction; the harder, yet infinitely more rewarding road, is to get help.

Finally, your physical and mental safety are at risk when you start experiencing the symptoms of an emotional relapse. You are far safer getting professional therapy than living with an untreated relapse! Call Icarus New Mexico today to learn how we can support your continued sobriety.