Relapse Prevention After a Heroin Rehab Program East Providence
They say old habits die hard, and it’s somehow true with substance use. Even if you receive proper treatment and do everything the experts ask you to, you can slip into old habits. This can either happen when life is difficult or simply when you don’t know how to go on without depending on drugs.
And with a thing as addictive as heroin, relapse (resuming doing drugs) is always a big risk. It hacks your brain and makes you believe that life cannot go on without it, which may make you use it again.
That’s why a heroin rehab program in East Providence educates you about relapse and its prevention in detail. When you leave the rehab center, you know what can trigger your old habits and how you can stay strong to not let your guard down.
This blog explains how a heroin rehab program East Providence works on relapse prevention to keep you safe. Keep reading.
Why are There Chances of Relapse After Heroin Rehab Program?
We need to remember that addiction is an illness, not a simple failure of willpower. Think of it like a chronic illness, where setbacks are sometimes part of the healing process.
Since heroin deeply changes the parts of your brain that handle rewards and self-control, you can relapse.
Even after a successful heroin rehab program in East Providence, the brain may crave the drug intensely during difficult times. Therefore, maintaining sobriety is a constant and exhausting battle.
Sometimes, when a person is emotionally tired, feels deep loneliness, or faces anxiety in a stressful situation, their defenses wear down and their self-control slips. And that’s where a lapse can turn into a full relapse.
Let’s talk about a girl who has been clean for months. But suddenly, she gets into a terrible fight with her family. Overwhelmed and in pain (a huge trigger), she might use heroin, thinking she’ll do it only once. But this first small mistake is the lapse.
After she has done it, immediate and crushing shame follows soon after. She might tell herself, “I ruined everything, I’m a failure, so there’s no point in trying anymore.” Then, that feeling of hopelessness causes her to completely give up the self-control she’d fought so hard for. Eventually, she might return to regular use.
This situation highlights how the emotional reaction to a slip can be the thing that truly locks a person into a relapse. Having said that, here are some triggers that can cause someone to use even after a successful heroin rehab program in East Providence:
- Depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles
- Stress & anger
- Loneliness
- Guilt or shame because of a one-time lapse
- Feeling overwhelmed or hopeless
- Grief (loss of a loved one or job)
- Fatigue and sleep disturbances
- Chronic pain or being physically ill
- Peer pressure or being with people who are still using
- Relationship issues or family conflicts
- Financial problems
- “Halting” (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) states
Relapse Prevention Strategies After a Heroin Rehab Program
One of the most important things about a heroin rehab program East Providence is preparing someone for what happens after they leave. You learn relapse prevention because going back home to face the world is challenging.
For instance, when you run into old places, worries, and feelings like stress or loneliness, it’s very easy to slip up. Therefore, the following few skills help you stay strong long after a heroin rehab program in East Providence is completed:
Identifying and Avoiding Triggers
Triggers are people, places, things, or strong feelings that remind your brain of using heroin. For example, feeling overwhelming loneliness can flip a switch in your mind and cause a powerful urge to use.
That’s why a heroin rehab program East Providence teaches you how to make a list of these danger signs and remove a temptation before it begins.
Developing Healthy Coping Skills
Before recovery, heroin served as your solution for stress, anger, or anxiety. However, you have to re-train your brain to respond differently when these pressures arise. Developing healthy coping skills means you learn and practice new actions, such as controlled breathing exercises, physical activity, or mindfulness.
These actions replace the destructive cycle of drug use with non-addictive ways to process tension and find relief.
H.A.L.T. Awareness
The acronym H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) points to four common physical and emotional states that can make you vulnerable to relapse. When you are suffering from any of these feelings, your mind is stressed and isn’t strong enough to fight off a craving.
That’s why H.A.L.T. teaches you to be proactive instead of reactive. Instead of waiting for a strong craving to hit, you learn to ask yourself, “Am I H.A.L.T. right now?” If the answer is yes, you stop what you are doing and immediately address that need. You eat a snack, talk out your anger, call a friend, or take a nap, depending on the situation.
Practicing Self-Care
Self-care builds the foundation your sobriety stands on. When you get good sleep, eat healthy food, and exercise, you protect your mind and body from stress. This aspect is important because when you are exhausted or poorly nourished, you’re highly vulnerable to triggers.
And when you take care of these basic needs, you stabilize your mood and increase your mental toughness.
Practicing Urge Surfing
Urge surfing changes how you respond to intense cravings. Instead of fighting a craving or giving in, you use mindfulness to observe the feeling. You treat the craving like a wave in the ocean: it starts small, swells up to an intense peak, and then crashes and fades away.
During heroin rehab East Providence, you learn that a craving is a temporary sensation, it’s not a command you must obey. This skill alone can help you prevent a relapse.
Conclusion
Besides making you quit, a rehab equips you with information you can use all your life to stay away from drugs. The staff makes sure you understand how to stay strong when the chances of a relapse are high.
If you also want to kick this nasty substance out of your life for good, call Rhode Island Addiction Treatment Center today, and let’s do it together.