Recovery From Alcohol Addiction - How to Avoid a Relapse

Relapse does not need to happen. When you are motivated to quit alcohol addiction there are some primary things you can do to increase your chances for recovery and avoid a relapse.

Know the risk

When you have finally become motivated to get free from alcohol addiction your life will be changed. Things you did before without a second thought are now being altered because you don't drink.

Your friends will act different. It will appear alcohol is everywhere...and it really is. Thing you used to do with alcohol you are now trying to do without alcohol. It will seem very different.

There is always risk when you do familiar activities or are hanging around with family and friends who still drink. The risk is in how easy it is to pick it up again and how difficult it is to refuse it.

You can get a better understanding of what to do if you begin to...

Understand relapse

Relapse happens when you are unprepared to remain sober. If you want recovery from alcohol addiction you need to keep away from relapse.

When you return to alcohol use it is not simply when you actually drink. It's when in your thoughts you decide you're going to drink. The thought always precedes the action.

That is why you need to...

Make a sobriety plan

A sobriety plan often is called a relapse prevention plan.

In it you need to:

Identify what triggers you to drink again.

By knowing what immediately precedes your use you can begin to put in alternate behaviors.

For example, you realize when you are all stressed out you are likely to drink. An alternate behavior could be spend time journaling about what is bothering you or focus on something you can DO something about.

Make a list of the places you go where you would drink if you go.

Your drinking happened in specific places. Those places can trigger you to drink again. What you can do about it is begin to have a plan of either removing alcohol from where you go or remove yourself from where the alcohol flows.

If it is written it will be more fixed in your mind. It needs to be a living document. I mean by this you need to keep adding to it as you identify more triggers and come up with more alternative choices

Develop a specific plan for each of these circumstances.

Don't try...just do it

I'll try is just a delay of action. If you really want to stay in recovery from alcohol addiction it is important for you to become a doer.

There are many actions you can do to prevent relapse:

Go to support meetingsGet a sponsorBe honest to yourself and othersStop excusesTake responsibility for your actionsMake your sobriety planGet professional help when you need it

Never stop quitting

Relapse happens even if it is preventable. The most important thing you can do is have a resolve within yourself to never stop quitting. Those addicted to alcohol don't have a problem with quitting...it the starting up again that is the real problem.

Nearly 30 years working with those who are addicted and their families. Owner of Great Divide Technologies, LLC the home of http://www.freemyaddict.com/, http://www.addictionrecoverysupports.com/ and other websites.

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