It can be extremely difficult to recover from Cocaine addiction. Detoxing and preventing relapse are the first steps in the process, but this process is ongoing. Addicts have to deal with the potential of relapsing for years and years after detox. Thankfully, there are many tips and tricks that can help addicts stay sober after recovering from their addiction. If you’re looking for help staying sober, keep reading.
Know Your Triggers
In learning how to prevent relapse from occurring, it’s incredibly important to know what your triggers are. A trigger is a person, place, or situation that makes an addict want to use. Learning about what your triggers are can help you avoid them. For example, if you have a friend that uses and always offers you Cocaine, staying away from them is a great choice. Or if there’s a certain location that reminds you of using, keep your distance.
At first, avoiding these triggers is your best bet. However, as you get further into the recovery process, you should be able to face these triggers head-on without feeling (or being able to ignore) temptation. For the most part, avoiding triggers is the best way to prevent relapse. Learning how to face them, however, is important with triggers that are unavoidable or could come up when you’re not expecting them. This is often the case with addicts who suffer from comorbid mental health problems.
Join a Support Group for Cocaine Addiction
After leaving treatment, whether it’s inpatient or outpatient, recovered addicts should continue treatment through support groups and therapy. These support groups give them the opportunity to speak about anything that might be hard throughout the process, such as triggers or near-relapses.
Having a community of people who are going through the same thing is a great way to inspire and connect, helping many addicts stay sober even during tough times.
Recognize Warning Signs of Relapse
As an addict, it’s important to recognize signs of relapse. If you can recognize the signs of a relapse, you still have the time to prevent it from happening. For example, if you begin to experience intense cravings or keep almost using, it might be time to check yourself into a treatment program or speak to your therapist about what’s going on. Even talking to a sponsor during this time can help to prevent a relapse from occurring. For many, warning signs of relapse include:
- Mood swings
- Poor self-care
- Avoiding your problems
- Unhealthy eating habits
- Cravings
- Glamorizing drug use
- Minimizing the consequences of using
- Saying it’ll be “just this once”
- Thinking or fantasizing about using
Build Healthy Relationships
Having healthy relationships is important when in recovery. Having people around you to support your journey and cheer on your successes can make all the difference. If you’re only surrounded by people who still use, you’ll constantly be thinking about using Cocaine instead of celebrating your sobriety.
By keeping yourself in good company, you’ll not only build a strong support system for yourself, but you’ll have people to confide in and people to trust. There will be people there for you when you need them, and people to listen to you. In exchange, you’ll get to help them too. Building this type of community is invaluable during recovery.
Know When to Reach Out for Additional Help
One of the most important things about recovery from Cocaine addiction is knowing when to reach out. If you’re beginning to experience emotional relapse or think that you might be in danger of using again, you should reach out to those close to you. In some cases, that might mean checking into rehab or a treatment center.
If you’re looking for rehab in North Carolina, Asheville Recovery Center is here to help. Call today to learn more about your treatment options and how we can help you on your recovery journey.
