Battling an alcohol addiction is no fun, but it’s necessary. What’s even less fun is heading toward a relapse. You’ve been putting all that work in for nothing.
The sad truth is that most people that struggle with substance use will have 1 or even more relapses during their attemps to recover.
But what should you watch out for? How can you see these relapses before they happened? Here are some signs that you need to watch for.
Thinking about the ”good old days”
You might start to think how your life was when you were still drinking alcohol. You probably associate this time with having plenty of fun. Note that the fun you had at that time was with the people you’re spending your time with. Not so much with the liquor you were drinking.
At some point you became too dependent on the substance and a consequences piled up. Your life was so dependent on it, that in the end you were in a bad, negative place. It’s good to remember this as well. Because that can be a great tool to put things into perspective. You might remember again why you are clean and sober today, and why your life has been better because of it.
Maybe I should just drink one
One of the most common phrases with people that are on the verge of relapsing. ”For sure, one beer won’t hurt me”. If you are talking about ”just one”, that’s usually not a good idea. It’s one of the most obvious signs of a relapse.
As you know it usually doesn’t stay with one anyway. And because you already drank one, it’s easier to drink another one and another one.
In short, people who relapse just pick up right where they left off. It might take a while, but just because of that ”one drink”, you might be back in the place where it all started in the first place. Don’t start with drinking, not even one. In the end it can do more harm than good.
Stopping All Meetings and Related Activities
If you decide to stop going to meetings and related activities that help you, this might be a sign that you are prone to relapse soon.
Usually people doing this start with making excuses. They are too tired, it’s too far, or they don’t like it. They might even start to lie to their friends and family about it.
Meetings are very helpful for a lot of people. Usually it’s necessary because it keeps people accountable. You need to be fully committed. Stopping when it gets hard is a sign that you were never fully commited.
Another thing that might happen is ”recovery burnout”. Some people try to hard at first, and then get sick of it. It’s ok to take a break as long as you stay healthy in other areas of your life.
Acting selfish and moody
This can also be called ”dry drunk”. You still act the same way as when you used to drink in the past. Usually those in recovery attempt to change their attitudes. If you have been working on improving your behaviour, but suddenly you see your old habits and behaviour reappaear, this can be a warning sign too.
Connecting with Old Friends
Sometimes it’s best just to avoid old negative relationship such as ”drinking buddies”. If these people are only friends when you are in a bar drinking, then they are not really great friends anyway.
It’s best to find and make new friends that have the same goals as you. Try to build new positive relationships since this will also help you with accountability.
These are just some warning signs that relapse could happen soon. What do you think of our list? Let us know in the comments or find more posts on Soberlink reviews.