Transcript Below
What practical steps can one take to prevent relapse the first key thing I think is embracing the fact that Relapse is very possible. Relapse is very likely, statistically speaking, it is the most probable outcome for individuals in sobriety. When I’m in a meeting or I’m talking to a client on an admission or an intake or running a group and I hear my friend relapsed and they died and they’re no longer with us, rest in peace, or I hear someone I know relapsed and now they’re homeless and on the street.
Or even a friend of mine relapsed not that long ago and he’s back in jail or prison and he’s looking at a lot of time he’s going to be gone for a long time. I’m not surprised when I hear these things. Because statistically speaking, that’s what happens when you relapse. What surprises me is the fact that I’m able to sit in a room full of people who are sober despite the odds being against them.
And I think that the room of sober people that I’m sitting with, when I have the pleasure of being in those situations, is because those people know relapse is possible at any moment. The first key thing to preventing relapse, Is knowing that it can happen because once you know that it can happen You’re not oblivious to the dangers and the red flags and the high risk situations and the unhealthy relationships that can uh Cause these triggers that can cause these cravings that can cause those impulsive and compulsive behaviors To take control over you.
That’s the moment that you fail to prepare to prevent relapse The best relapse prevention is knowing it could happen, being okay with that, because once you’re okay with that, then you know you have a problem. And once you know you have a problem, that’s the first step in moving towards a solution.
I think the hardest thing about recovery is really admitting defeat. No person, not a single person that I know, likes to admit that they failed. Unless, of course, they’re going to tell you how they overcame it later. So let me be the first person to say that I failed many times. Relapse was a huge part of my story.
I relapsed many times, more than I can count. And it’s completely normal, and it’s normal for a lot of people. So, if you can find that compassion within yourself, to admit that you have a problem, to admit that you don’t have this all under control, and to share that with other individuals, I think that you’ll be greeted with a community of people That have the same problem, that have the same defects, that struggle with the same exact issues.
That to me is one of the biggest ways to prevent relapse. Is to know that it could happen at any moment, to be honest and open about that. And then to start living in the solution.
What does the solution look like? The solution looks like going to meetings. Getting a sponsor, working the steps, and continuing to do so on a regular basis, honestly and thoroughly. But on a side note, you also don’t hang out at the bars and the clubs. You don’t hang out with the friends that drink and use.
And you don’t go into places and situations that you shouldn’t be. And you don’t do things that you shouldn’t be doing. These are things that I wish I would have known without figuring out for myself. I had to learn the hard way. Most of the people that I know had to learn the hard way. So if you can relate with this, if you can identify with this.
No, you’re not alone. People are struggling with the same exact thing, but that doesn’t mean that we failed this time. We’re here fighting this fight every single day.
