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Relapse Risk Assessment and Prevention

Smoking, drug addiction, alcohol abuse, depression and eating disorders are all conditions that can lead to relapse. Despite treatment that appears to be successful, patients are still at a risk for relapse. When dealing with individuals out of treatment, there a number of signs that may be an indicator of a relapse. Additionally, there are measures that can be taken to prevent the occurrence of a relapse.

  1. Relapse Signs

    • An individual who is heading toward a relapse may experience a variety of signs and symptoms. She may be stressed, experiencing sleep disturbances, overreact easily, are suddenly accident prone, and may have difficulty remembering things. Those heading toward a relapse are likely to have feelings that they do not care, their problems cannot be solved, or that they liked their old lives. These are signs that a relapse may occur.

    Relapse Dangers

    • Relapse dangers are indicators that a relapse is highly likely to occur or may already be occurring. Being in the presence of drugs and alcohol or around individuals who suffer from the same illnesses you used to suffer from is a key indicator of heading toward a relapse. Experiencing physical pain or boredom can commonly lead to a relapse. Coming into excessive cash can also be a key indicator of a relapse especially when it comes to the use of expensive drugs and alcohol.

    Assessment

    • When counselors suspect a relapse, they reverse the stages of recovery. Recovering typically requires abstaining from the activities that cause your addiction. The second step of recovering from an addiction is isolating yourself from the locations, things and individuals who you associate with your addiction. The third step is to stop feeling defeated, which can prevent the occurrence of irrational thoughts. The fourth step is learning how to manage your behaviors. The next step is to learn new ways of dealing with your problems. The sixth and final step is to change your beliefs, which can help to promote rational thinking. If a counselor notices any of these six steps starting to reverse themselves, there is cause for concern.

    Prevention

    • There are a number of steps you can take in order to prevent a relapse from occurring. The first step is stabilization. In order to prevent relapse, you need to live in a stable environment, including physically, mentally and socially. Leading a low-stress life can help to prevent relapse. The second step is self-assessment. You need to be able to self-assess all situations you find yourself in. By assessing all the situations you find yourself in, you can avoid risky situations that may prompt a relapse. The third step is relapse education. In order to prevent a relapse, you need to be educated on the signs and dangers of relapsing.

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