Conversation Traps to Avoid While in Addiction Recovery
Conversation Traps to Avoid While in Addiction Recovery
One of the pitfalls of addiction recovery that can lead to relapse is becoming a part of groups or activities that are not conducive to sobriety and recovery. Another pitfall is receding into conversations and social interactions that can lead to relapse.
The greatest challenge addicts face might not come until after he or she has beaten the problem with addiction recovery and rehabilitation. Many people don’t understand this to be true, but it is often the case. Once an addict beats addiction in rehab, in a lot of ways the problem has just begun. Now that person has to face life as a recovering addict. Now that person has to face the real world and real life as a responsible adult, with none of the help and support, safety, and security that they had while in an inpatient rehab center.
Any recovering addict’s greatest fear is the threat of relapse. It is a legitimate fear to have. Having conversations that revolve around drugs or alcohol or about substance abuse should be avoided. Recovering addicts who put themselves in situations that could bring about substance abuse are being careless.
Addiction Recovery Pitfalls to Avoid
The threat of relapse is any recovering addict’s greatest fear. This fear is why they must avoid conversations and situations that might cause a relapse. Some of the statistics on relapse show why it is key to do whatever is necessary to avoid the threat of such an occurrence.
- Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction have been a concerning issue in recent years. By far, the most prevalent of these matters is prescription drug use and abuse among young adults. Relapse rates are also high for this age range and demographic, which is concerning for the future of the nation.
- Substance abuse is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in America, killing over 570,000 people a year. These deaths come from overdoses, relapses, drunk driving, drugged driving, drug crime, violence, and other accidents and injuries and incidents of poisoning of some kind. Substance abuse is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States, ranking only behind smoking and obesity.
- Approximately 25 to 50 percent of substance abusers return to using drugs or alcohol within two years of receiving treatment. Regardless of which rehab center they went to or how successful they were, relapses happen often.
Many studies have been performed on this subject of addiction recovery that highlight that abstinence, or refraining from using the substance at all, is the only true way to prevent relapse. This conclusion means that a pot head can never smoke again, a pill abuser can never take another pill, a hard drug user can never touch the stuff again, and an alcoholic can never have another drink again.
Words Can Do Great Harm to Recovering Addicts
The key, in fact, is not only abstaining from the different aspects of substance abuse. It includes refraining from conversations and avoiding situations and environments that could lead to relapse. A recovered addict has to try their best to stay away from drugs and alcohol in the future and to do their best to lead lives of happiness and complete sobriety from drugs and alcohol.
