In this article we discuss the things that signal a potential relapse in the making:
There are key signs that the addict typically does not notice or will not acknowledge. Essentially the things that signal a coming relapse are not doing the things that keep us clean and sober.
- Probably the most prominent sign of a coming relapse is DENIAL which stands for Don’t Even Notice I Am Lying. So even if one were to call the addict on his slippery behaviour, he will minimize, evade, lie, blame a family member, or bad luck, on anyone but himself.
- Not getting a sponsor or not talking to him or her is an almost-sure sign that the addict’s program is adrift. That inaction goes hand in hand with not having a regular schedule of 12-step meetings.
- Not acknowledging and understanding the consequences of one’s actions is a sure sign that the addict has something else on his mind. It is a truism that the addict has begun relapsing in his head quite a while before he takes that drink or picks up that drug. Again. This is where the game of denial starts to play out.
- Best at this stage to have a talk with his therapist, counsellor, sponsor, or anyone else the addict might be close to in the recovery context. We get caught up in trying to help the addict any way we can that makes sense to us, and therefore it’s natural to try to “figure this out” without having an objective perspective on the disorder and how it works.
- Another danger sign is spending way too much time on regrets of what the addict did in the past, the “would have and should have” done this or that. By focusing on the past, and not letting it stay there with the occasional glimpse in the rear-view mirror as a learning tool, obsession with the past steals the present moment. We teach that the past (and the future) do not exist in reality and that the present moment is where we live. That concept is what gives the idea One Day at A Time such immense power.
