Last weeks skill we discussed self-monitoring. There is an area that is very important to monitor: our relapse. Each of us will eventual relapse. We are not perfect and for us to consider it a failure to relapse would be short sighted.We need to understand how to fail well. Once we have come to grips with the reality that a relapse will happen the next step is to do everything in our power to avoid it and prepare for it.
Each of us should have a Relapse Prevention Plan. This plan should be kept with your Crisis Plan, Recovery Plan, and your assessments of your progress worksheets. It needs to be handy. I would recommend studying it on a regular basis. It is good for us to keep it close in mind as to what happens to us as a relapse is building up. It gives us many more opportunities to stop the relapse in its tracks. We will get more adept at stopping this relapse mid-stream the more familiar we are with the process and the more comfortable we are with the concept of failing well.
We should consider these aspects when developing our plan:
- List three warning signs of relapse that apply to you.
- What steps can you take to prevent a return to your self-destructive/impulsive behavior once you have become aware of the relapse symptoms?
- What are the three personal danger situations where you are most likely to act-out self-destructively or impulsively?
- What prevention steps can be taken to either avoid the above situations or reduce the change of making a bad situation worse?
- What changes have you made in your day-to-day life during your treatment that will help prevent a relapse or help you recover from a possible relapse?
- Coping with negative emotions: anger, frustration, fear, anxiety, tension, depression, loneliness, sadness, boredom, worry, apprehension, grief, loss and other distressing states.
- Coping with negative physical/physiological states: pain, illness, injury, hunger and fatigue.
- Enhancement of positive emotional states: pleasure, joy, fun, freedom, celebration.
- Coping with interpersonal conflict: fights, disagreements, discord, hassles.
- Minimizing: minimizing the potential negative consequences of engaging in target behavior, rationalizing why it is OK or not so bad.
- Testing personal control: going to high-risk places. Thinking you can "do it just once" or somehow do it differently, or have different results this time.
- Social pressure: direct or indirect (observation of others) social pressure. Associating with people who are "high risk" for you.
- Not working your program: not using skills, procrastinating, not practicing, skipping group or not participating when you do go.
Enjoy writing this plan. A lot has to do with your frame of mind. Don't begrudgingly do this, consider it a pleasure to set-up safety protocols. Cover the material with a safe support person, get their input and then put this plan in an easy to reach location and cover it often. Be very familiar with its content.