Stepaway News Blog

Why can’t you just stop? Why can’t I just stop?

Both are questions exhausted by family members and yourself every day.

There is no one way to avoid relapsing however there are guidelines that should be followed in order to maintain a successful recovery.

Commit and stay committed to your recovery

• Ambiguity during your addiction treatment means you are not fully committed to your recovery.
• If you still think that one day you will be able to have a few beers with friends then you are not fully dedicated to your new life of sobriety.
• Addiction rehabilitation only works when all of you decides to stop.

Make a commitment to do whatever it takes to stop

• Remove yourself from possible relapse situations and environments.
• Eliminate your list of recovery preconditions and accept that you have to make positive changes in your life.
• Stay away from toxic relationships – the friends and loved ones you once used with will be the people you will use with again.

Take responsibility for your sobriety

• Take responsibility for your life instead of blaming others for things going wrong in your life.
• “Your life is the result of the choices you make, if you don’t like your life it is time to start making better choices.”
• Make positive changes – enrich your life with positivity and growth.
• Attend and participate in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) & Narcotics Anonymous NA meetings regularly with the intention to learn, grow and use the support of others.
• Use counselling sessions to address emotions and possible feelings of relapse.

Reflect honestly on your life prior to your addiction recovery

• Often the “good times” memories and thoughts start to filter back.
• When life is going smoothly we often forget how bad things were and why we decided to stop in the first place.
• Therefore we have to frequently remind ourselves of what we do not want for our life.

Addiction is a selfish disease even after recovery

If you feel like you may relapse call a friend, reach out for help and talk to someone, it is times like these that you most need support.

Often we may feel isolated and alone, removing these feelings and using the available resources such as groups, meetings and sponsors is essential to the recovery process.

Relapsing is not a failure.

Please contact us today for more information on our drug and alcohol rehabilitation aftercare programme.