Don't Let A Slip Become A Relapse

See the document on a single page

The best way to stay sober is to minimize the temptations to use, and to rely on the support network offered by family, friends and professional aftercare services. But sometimes, despite our best intentions, we do fail, and we do slip, and too often one day's use can destroy all of our hard work, as we let that one slip lead us back into full relapse; and all of the pain and suffering of addiction once again.

If you slip, it does not mean that you are a failure, and it does not mean that you need to start using again. Get immediate help from your support network, and start living one day at a time once again. The road to full recovery never ends, and a few bumps in the road are to be expected. Have the courage and the strength to get help when you need it, and never think that because you've slipped, you have to go back to abuse.

Most addicts that have successfully beaten their dependency have slipped or even relapsed once or more. Recovery is a journey, and there is no overnight cure. You should take steps to minimize the likelihood of a slip or relapse, and you do need to take responsibility for your actions and even your thoughts, but if a slip occurs, you also need to deal with it, and not use it as an excuse to throw away all of your hard work and fall back into your old ways.

The best way to maintain long term sobriety is to minimize the temptation to abuse, maintain appropriate family, peer and professional aftercare support, and live one day at a time with the goal of a day of sobriety above all else. The urge to use lessens with time, but you never know when that urge can come back with a vengeance, and often it’s after we think that the real danger has passed, that we are most vulnerable to a slip.

The two periods that are most dangerous are the period immediately after rehab, and the period a few months later, when our confidence increases to the point that we may let our guard down.