Author: Charles Frank
Alcohol Addiction: Signs, Complications, and Recovery
Friends and family members of people who have an alcohol addiction can benefit from professional support or by joining programs like Al-Anon. A doctor may prescribe drugs to help certain conditions. For example, antidepressants, if someone with an alcohol addiction were self-medicating to treat their depression. Or a doctor could prescribe drugs to assist with other emotions common in recovery.
You stop attending all meetings with counselors and your support groups and discontinue any pharmacotherapy treatments. You may feel loneliness, frustration, anger, resentment, and tension. You have trouble making decisions or start making unhealthy ones.
Alcohol or Drug Relapse Signs and Symptoms
People who go through emotional relapse tend to be defensive, angry, isolated, in denial, won’t ask for help, etc. In this first stage, the focus is on an individual’s emotions, and how they provoke us to become emotionally unstable and return to bad habits and act out. With CBT, you learn that recovery is based on practicing coping skills, not willpower. You can discuss trigger situations with your therapist and rehearse strategies to deal with them. If you can recognize the warning signs of each stage, you can take action to avoid a relapse.
Anyone with an addiction to drugs or alcohol is susceptible to experiencing a relapse. However, some drug addictions may be harder to treat than others. Because setbacks are shared among all types of drug addictions, it can be difficult to tell what drug has the highest relapse rate. Many people get triggered by high-stress situations, but others find celebrations and other positive experiences to be major triggers. A person should reflect on their thoughts, feelings and behaviors to learn what triggers them specifically. There is no standard definition because people experience setbacks in different ways.
Unfortunately, this usually results in leaving those family members feeling lonely and frustrated. Unlike cocaine or heroin, alcohol is widely available and accepted in many cultures. It’s often at the center of social situations and closely linked to celebrations and enjoyment. Remember that there’s no time limit on reaching out for help. Recovery is lifelong, and a relapse can happen at any time, even after years of not drinking. Think about things that led to or worsened this relapse and how to remove them from your life.
- Bridges of Hope is an accredited drug and alcohol detox and rehabilitation center with customized programs tailored to each individual patient.
- Signs of mental relapse include cravings, justifying their consequences, romanticizing the idea of drinking or using drugs, planning a relapse, blackmailing yourself or others to use, etc.
- Some people feel that relapse prevention is about saying no right before they take a drink.
- If you or a loved one are experiencing signs of a relapse, please reach out to an addiction or mental health professional today.
Keep in mind that someone with alcohol dependence usually goes through a few stages before they are ready to make a change. Until they begin to contemplate quitting, any actions you take to “help” them quit will often be met with resistance. Substance use disorder is a primary, chronic, and progressive disease that sometimes can be fatal. No matter your background or expertise, your loved one will likely need outside help. When someone with alcohol dependency promises they will never drink again but a short time later are back to drinking as much as always, it is easy to take the broken promises and lies personally.
Risk Factors for Relapse
We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Number one is to remember alcohol addiction is a disease and people relapse often.
If you can identify them, you can take action to keep them from progressing into a full-blown relapse. There may be very little you can do to help someone with AUD until they are ready to get help, but you can stop letting someone’s drinking problem dominate your thoughts and your life. It’s OK to make choices that are good for your own physical and mental health. Therapy is useful to help teach someone how to manage the stress of recovery and the skills needed to prevent a relapse. Also, a healthy diet can help undo damage alcohol may have done to the person’s health, like weight gain or loss. The severity of the disease, how often someone drinks, and the alcohol they consume varies from person to person.
Top 10 Warning Signs of Substance Abuse Relapse
Drinking regularly will lead to an increase in tolerance to the euphoric effects, meaning drinkers need more to get the same buzz. It is common that when alcoholics are drinking, they spend more and more money on booze, which can be noticeable to a partner, family member, or close friend. Alternatively, an alcoholic who has relapsed may struggle with or neglect work, and in turn, be fired or make less money. Alcohol significantly dulls the activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex, which controls thinking, planning, and the suppression of compulsive behavior.
In reality, it’s likely a gradual progression for most people, and there are typically three stages of relapse. Relapse is a process that can begin weeks or months before someone drinks. Former substance abusers might be ashamed of having relapsed, which will only make the situation worse. It’s your responsibility to stay on top of someone close to you recovering to prevent relapse, particularly if they’re in an early stage. When you’re recovering from alcohol use disorder, a relapse is when you start drinking again.
The aforementioned neural degeneration causes skewed thinking. We surveyed 2,136 American adults who either wanted to stop drinking alcohol or had already tried to (successfully or not). You may begin feeling uncomfortable around others and making excuses not to socialize. You stop going to your support group meetings, or cutting way back on the number of meetings you attend. However, for someone with an alcohol dependence, that expectation may turn out to be unreasonable. If the person is incapable of even being honest with themselves, it may not be reasonable to expect them to be honest with you.
Full Relapse
Self-care can also mean taking better care of your emotional needs. Take time out for yourself, treat yourself with compassion, and let yourself have fun. Drug and alcohol abuse quickly becomes the top priority in an abuser’s life, taking a toll on healthy, daily routines having to do with hygiene and appearance. These changes don’t only manifest themselves in the individual but in his or her living space as well.
If you experience a physical relapse, you might need to return to treatment or revisit your relapse prevention plan. Treatment didn’t fail, and you didn’t either, but a physical relapse can mean that your treatment plan may need to be adjusted or evolve with your changing needs. The third and final stage of the relapse process is physical relapse. Relapse means the return to uncontrollable substance abuse. Physical relapse is also known as a lapse, the prefix of the word relapse, meaning the isolated incident of use. Physical relapse occurs when one starts using drugs and drinking again.
Also, alcohol abuse can have an effect on appetite and therefore weight. Above all, see a relapse as a temporary setback and not a moral failure. American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.
Most addicts, unfortunately, will have future relapse once if not multiple times along the way. For people who have been in a rehab facility for at least 30 days, which is considered the beginning or early stage of recovery, the probability of relapsing is percent. Relapses occur when addicted individuals seek to use substances again. A person returning to treatment after even the slightest slip-up officially constitutes a relapse.
Treating alcohol addiction can be complex and challenging. In order for treatment to work, the person with an alcohol addiction must want to get sober. You can’t force them to stop drinking if they aren’t ready. These complications are reasons why it’s important to treat alcohol addiction early. Nearly all risks involved with alcohol addiction may be avoidable or treatable, with successful long-term recovery.