After addiction recovery, it is not fully over yet. If an individual is not careful, there is a likely chance of a relapse.
Basically, a relapse is a condition whereby a person who recovered from addiction, is back to their old lifestyle.
There are some feelings known as triggers, and they make a person crave an addictive lifestyle that they have abstained from.
Triggers can come in various forms. Triggers could be your childhood friend who you are used to hanging out with.
Then, avoiding triggers would mean that your friendship is about to hit the rocks because you want to avoid addiction. A good number of times, avoiding an addiction means saying goodbye to some people.
This does not mean you will not communicate with them, but it would be done on a long-term basis. Before triggers can be identified, you need to know them, and this is why a counselor’s place comes in handy.
You will definitely be reminded of the experiences that make you feel good, and you will want to explore them again.
To perfectly substitute this, you need to seek an activity that will provide a replica of the experience you used to feel. However, you have to ensure they are devoid of features that will activate these triggers.
You can also discuss with a counselor to help you check these activities, and recommend the ones that would be beneficial to you.
Another trigger you need to work on avoiding, is the places that put your addiction in motion.
People who have recovered from either drug or alcohol addiction would need to avoid places where they are sold.
So, it would mean driving past such places and not making attempts to enter, even if it is just to greet an old friend.
Avoiding triggers seem impossible, but you need to arm yourself with the skills suited for this purpose.
So, asides taking part in other activities, you can talk about it with a counselor. You can also put measures in place that will help you change your thoughts.