124 - 5 things we are doing that could be leading us to a relapse

Here we are with Real Recovery Talk! Have you or someone you loved relapsed back into drug and alcohol addiction? Today, I’m going to talk about five different types of mindsets, which can lead to relapse. If you notice yourself or your loved one in one of these mindsets, make sure to reach out and get support and help - avoid the relapse cycle!

The first mindset to watch out for is complacency. We hear about this all the time in rehab. Complacency is the thought process that leads us to believe we don’t need to do much else to move forward. During the early stages of rehab, we get many of the things back that we lost, and then we can become complacent because we are now “OK.” Many people will stop going to meetings as regularly as they used to. Sometimes we even see our sponsors less, or we don’t return their calls. Whatever the case, stay diligent in your treatment and follow through with your responsibilities to have a successful rehab.

One solution is to challenge yourself in an activity you enjoy, experience a new experience, and allow yourself to move forward in different areas of your life.

The second mistake you can make is overconfidence. Don’t take your sobriety lightly. The “I’ve got this” mentality is when you feel you don’t need to go to meetings, volunteer, and see your mentor. Many of these people will be very defensive when their overconfidence is questioned. They feel that there is nothing that can come in between them and their sobriety.

The third mindset which can trap you is hanging out with old friends, people, places, and things. To get sober, you must develop a sober support network of others around you who are solemn and involve themselves in dry activities.

The fourth way to fall back into addiction is comparing yourself to others. I see this with people who are new to recovery. When you set the bar too high, especially in the beginning, you’ll see people comparing themselves to others who have been sober for a long time. As a result, they view their recovery activities as holding them back from getting what they want out of life.

A fifth mindset to avoid: 

Listen in to find out why you want to follow through with your recovery, be persistent, and have a positive attitude, which is essential to your recovery. Slow, consistent progress is critical to recovering fully from your addiction. Make sure to slow down and take enough time (more than 30 days) to move through the process of healing.

Check out my new website where you can download any episode right from my site along with other useful information for those in recovery. Look for our new daily shows, which are five minutes or under! Listen in for yourself or for a friend. You can also find our new short episodes on our Facebook page.

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Show Notes:

[02:00] Relapse starts before we re-engage with drugs and alcohol. [03:05] How you can connect with us on social media and our website. [04:05] Complacency and how this mindset can sneak into your life. [07:20] When you find that you’re being complacent, find an activity to challenge yourself! [08:33] Sobriety can lead to overconfidence, make sure you avoid this pitfall. [10:51] Make sure you’re not hanging out with old friends who are a negative influence on you. [13:53] Comparing yourself to others is not a positive mindset to have at any time, especially when you are becoming sober. [17:20] Don’t be an “Eeyore” and have a cloud of doom above your head all day! [20:37] Most people have a combination of one or more of the above mindsets.

Links and Resources:

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