Tips to Follow When You Relapse, Apart From Attending AA Meetings

Relapse is a natural part of recovery. It is nothing to be ashamed of or to feel you have failed. It is nothing to hide about also. Take relapse as something positive. At least you tried to stay sober! 

You can safely share your relapse incident in an AA meeting in Kansas. The beauty of these meetings is that nobody judges you here. The meetings are to encourage each other and help march ahead in the journey of sobriety. 

As per National Institute on Drug Abuse and research were done on addiction relapse, people in the early stage of recovery are at a higher risk of relapsing than people who have maintained sobriety for some time. 

Studies also reveal that people who complete their recovery programs stay at risk of relapse in the first 3 months after completion of the program. The rate of relapse among recovering alcohol addicts is 90 percent! 

So, don’t be disheartened, if you have relapsed. You are not alone. 

What to do now? 

Is it possible to become sober again?

The answer is: YES. 

First, use the Sobriety Calculator tool and find out how many days you stayed sober. This would give you an idea of your progress. It would also encourage you to start all over again. 

Then, do the following: 

• Stop drinking. The more you delay, the harder it will be. Do it now. 
• Forgive yourselves. It’s okay. You are human. Guilt and shame will hinder your progress. Promise to be stronger now. 
• Ponder over what caused the relapse. This is important so that you can deal with the causative situation better, if it arises again in the future. 
• You might want to talk to your earlier recovery specialist and see if you need a detox again. 
• Search for “AA near me” and join the meetings. In case you already had but stopped attending after relapse, start attending again. 
• Share your relapse story in the meeting. This will help you get support, guidance, and positivity. 
• Learn from your mistakes and do better on sobriety this time. 

Relapse is not the end of recovery. 

Coping with relapse like a pro

Success comes to those who try again and never quit. This holds true for de-addiction too. Nobody is perfect. Relapse is common. 

However, relapse should not become your excuse to get back into drinking. 

When you decided to quit drinking you made a choice. Now when you have relapsed you again have a choice – to continue drinking or to restart your de-addiction. 

In fact, if you take relapse in your stride, this can make you stronger in your sobriety resolve than before. You have learned a lesson. Now, you are back. This time, you are more determined to kick alcohol from your life. 

Let the relapse episode make you invincible in your de-addiction. 

Are you ready to try sobriety again? 

If yes, then join the AA meeting today with new confidence. Admit your relapse and start all over again.