Avoiding a Relapse Over the Holidays

Many people don’t understand just how prevalent relapses are in the U.S. (and abroad). This is especially true over the holidays. However, a relapse does not have to be an inevitability or the norm. There are many ways to avoid a relapse. This is true over the holidays, as well as any time of the year. 

Better Understanding Addiction

Addiction affects millions of people around the world every day. This is true of people who struggle with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD). There are many reasons for this. One is that many people promote and minimize alcohol and substances in advertising and on social media. It’s also true that with the legalization of cannabis, many people are acquiring cannabis use disorder.

It is also true that there is an opioid epidemic still raging in the U.S. (and around the globe). This epidemic is only getting worse as the influx of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids continues to flood the market. 

One must also remember that there are many behavioral (“process”) addictions that also affect millions of people. This includes addictions like gambling addiction, shopping addiction, sex addiction, exercise addiction, and online addiction. Many people also consider certain types of eating disorders or disordered eating as addictions (though they are also often categorized on their own).

The reality is that many people are also unaware that they even have an addiction. This is often because they don’t know the signs and the symptoms to look out for.

The Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Many people struggle to see the signs and symptoms of addiction in themselves. This is why it can be so vital for loved ones to be able to spot these signs and symptoms. The following are just a few of those signs and symptoms:

• Isolating away from loved ones
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Losing interest in activities and hobbies once enjoyed
• Trouble sleeping, including sleeping too much and not sleeping enough (hypersomnia and insomnia)
• Starting to acquire co-occurring disorders of mental health
• Feeling overly anxious, and/or depressed
• Not being able to stop drinking or using once started
• Experiencing alcohol or drug-related problems at school or work
• Loss of appetite and a lack of care regarding one’s appearance
• Issues with short-term and long-term memory
• Engaging in risky behaviors
• Committing harm to oneself or others
• Mood swings
• Having suicidal ideations

As one can see, no one should be minimizing the effects of addiction. It is a very serious disease, and, yes, it is a “disease.”

Many people are under the misconception that addiction is some type of choice or moral failing. This is a fallacy. Addiction is a chronic disease that is more similar to other chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. 

It is also important to understand that addiction is a “family disease,” which just bolsters the importance of being able to recognize the signs and symptoms of addiction or a relapse in a loved one. As a family disease, it is important that addiction be treated with a family solution. This solution should always be focused on healing at the cellular level.

Healing at the Cellular Level

Many people might wonder what “healing at the cellular level” looks like. The biggest component of healing at the cellular level is that treatment be individualized and comprehensive. This is the only way that one is going to address all of their issues – the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Healing at the cellular level also means that many means, methods, and modalities should be used if one is to fully recover. This includes psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), experiential therapies like art therapy and horticulture therapy, and holistic healing methods like yoga, meditation, and acupuncture. These are also some of the best ways to get to the essential underlying issues of addiction (which can also help one to best avoid a relapse).

Getting to the Underlying Issues

It is important to remember that addiction is about much more than the drink or the drug. It is about the thoughts and feelings that occur before taking the drink or the drug. This is why many people say a relapse can happen days or even weeks before an individual actually drinks or uses substances. Also, this is why many people use the maxim, “It is about the thinking more than the drinking.”

Getting to the underlying issues also helps an individual get to the root/core causes of their problems. Often, these problems are associated with some type of trauma or post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) that has been buried deep down inside. If these traumas aren’t addressed, they can often be the cause of a relapse.

Better Understanding Relapses

As previously mentioned, relapses are more common than many people may think. This is especially true in early recovery. According to the VA and Whole Health Library, “Early recovery is often the most vulnerable time; approximately half of alcohol-dependent patients relapse within 3 months of detoxification, indicating that relapse prevention-oriented treatment should be introduced as early as possible. Because addiction is a chronic relapsing disease, relapse can occur, though, at any time in the recovery process some people relapse after having been in recovery for years.”

There are also many signs that someone may be on the verge of a relapse. The following are just a few of those signs:

• Isolating away from family and friends, especially in times of emotional distress
• Fantasizing about their previous alcohol and/or substance use
• No longer engaging in their recovery plan
• Starting to get back together with individuals that they used to drink or use with
• “Hanging out” in environments where they used to drink or use
• A resurgence of any of the previously mentioned signs and symptoms of addiction
• No longer attending recovery meetings or support groups

Avoiding a Relapse

There is a saying about relapses that goes, “If one hangs out in a barbershop long enough, they will eventually get a haircut.” What this means is that the longer one puts themselves in risky environments, the closer one will eventually come to a relapse.

This is why avoiding certain “people, places, and things” is so important for people who are in recovery. It is also a reminder of why connecting with other sober people is so important. These are the people who can be relied upon when one is experiencing “triggering times” in their recovery.

Working with others in recovery is so important that there is even a chapter entitled “Working With Others” in the primary text of 12-Step recovery (commonly referred to as the Big Book). The chapter states, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking [and using] as intensive work with other [people in recovery]. It works when other activities fail…. You can help when no one else can.” This advice is especially true for avoiding a relapse over the holidays.

Avoiding a Relapse Over the Holidays

The holidays can be a difficult time for many people. However, this can be especially true for individuals in recovery. This is often because many traumatic memories exist around the holidays from when they were in active addiction.

Avoiding a relapse over the holidays also has a lot to do with “people, places, and things.” This is why it can be so helpful to hold sober events over the holidays. This ensures that there are no triggering situations directly associated with alcohol, substances, or people using them to excess.

Having an effective relapse prevention plan over the holidays is also crucial. This means setting viable boundaries around the home, sticking to a recovery plan, and staying connected to a recovery center via an alumni program.

Avoiding a Relapse: Starting With a Safe and Secure Detox

Detox can be one of the most important steps that one can take regarding recovery. This is especially true regarding relapse because many people relapse due to the physical and emotional pain that they feel during alcohol and/or substance withdrawals.

However, one should always remember that detoxing on one’s own can not only be unnecessarily painful but also deadly (especially with alcohol). This is why a detox should always occur in the care of addiction recovery professionals. They can ensure that the process is as safe and as painless as possible.

A safe and secure detox also ensures that one replenishes the essential nutrients and vitamins that one needs in recovery. Many people don’t realize just how vitamin- and nutrient-deprived one is prior to detox. According to the peer-reviewed journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, “Chronic alcoholic patients are frequently deficient in one or more vitamins. The deficiencies commonly involve folate, vitamin B6, thiamine, and vitamin A…. Alcoholism can affect the absorption, storage, metabolism, and activation of many of these vitamins.” 

This is why we focus so intently on nutrient replenishment at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab. We do this via pharmaceutical-grade supplements and optional infusion therapy. Also, we utilize many other types of evidence-based therapies.

Avoiding a Relapse: Focusing on Evidence-Based Therapies

While there should be many modalities utilized in a recovery plan, the primary modality should always be evidence-based. This includes psychotherapies like CBT and DBT. 

The reason that these therapies are considered “evidence-based” is that there is a long enough record of efficacy in helping with addiction and mental illness. Another one of these highly effective evidence-based therapies is group psychotherapy.

Avoiding a Relapse: Group Therapy

As previously mentioned, connecting with other people in recovery is essential for avoiding a relapse and having long-term success. This is just one of the reasons why group therapy can be so effective.

Group therapy is highly prevalent in treatment settings. According to the Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery, “[Based on] previous surveys, group therapy is offered by over 90% of SUD treatment facilities, and for many facilities, it is the overwhelming focus. Group therapy may include psychoeducational presentations, recovery skills training, interpersonal process groups, ‘check-in’ groups, motivational groups, and specialty topic groups. In addition to financial considerations, the dominance of group therapy is reflective of the massive infrastructure of mutual support groups (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous) and the historically dominant ‘Minnesota Model’ of SUD treatment (characterized by group-based didactic education and milieu support based on a disease model of addiction and 12-step principles).” 

Group therapy can also be highly effective because it integrates well with many other types of therapies. This includes experiential therapies and holistic healing methods.

Avoiding a Relapse: Focusing on Experiential Therapies

When one arrives on the Hamkua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, one soon discovers all of the amazing natural wonders that it has to offer. This includes majestic waterfalls, amazing overlooks, and expansive beaches (not to mention the incredible Pacific Ocean). There is even a live volcano that one can explore and be astounded by.

These are the perfect landscapes to engage in nature immersion therapy. Nature immersion therapy is when one better connects with nature so they can better connect with themselves. It is like a “Mother Earth homecoming.” Another way to make this natural connection is with horticulture therapy.

When one walks onto the luxury 30-acre property at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, one will be greeted with some of the most amazing citrus and coconut trees, guava bushes, pineapple patches, and vegetable boxes. These are all waiting to be cultivated by clients who wish to get their hands dirty and connect with Mother Nature.

When one is done engaging with the landscape, they can move on over to the seascape of the enchanting Pacific Ocean. Here one can swim with tropical fish and the incredible green sea turtle. They can also get all of the amazing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of surf therapy. A mere 15-minute journey from our property sits one of the best surf breaks in all of Hawaii. There is no better place or time to heal with the powerful act of surfing than right now on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Avoiding a Relapse: Holistic Healing Methods

One of the best ways to avoid a release over the holidays is to stay connected to a recovery plan via holistic healing methods. This includes the incredible healing method of yoga therapy and meditation.

The iconic yogi and spiritual meditation leader B.K.S. Iyengar famously said, “Meditation is oneness, when there is no longer time, sex, or country. The moment when, after you have concentrated on doing a pose (or anything else) perfectly, you hold it and then forget everything, not because you want to forget but because you are concentrated: this is meditation.” This concentration is an essential component of relapse prevention. One must be able to focus in order not to lose sight of their recovery.

Meditation also offers many other types of benefits for recovery and relapse prevention including “trait mindfulness.” According to the peer-reviewed journal Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, “As repeated mindfulness practice evokes the state of mindfulness, MBI [minfulness-based intervention] participants exhibit increases in trait mindfulness over time. Trait mindfulness may be defined as the tendency to exhibit mindful qualities in daily life, including nonreactivity to distressing thoughts and emotions, as well as the tendency to observe and accept one’s momentary thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and sensations. So, beyond the context of acute mindful states, mindful traits may decrease cognitive, emotional, and behavioral tendencies that help sustain substance misuse.”

Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we understand that the holidays can be difficult for many people in recovery. However, we also know that we have the means, methods, and modalities that can help to stop a relapse before it ever happens.

It is important to remember that recovery is about the journey, never the destination. That incredible journey can start right here on the Hamkua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. Recovery is within reach. The key is to go out there and grab it.

Relapses are highly common over the holidays. The key is to avoid the “people, places, and things” that often cause a relapse over the holidays. The good news is there are many effective relapse-prevention plans that can help individuals achieve long-term recovery. If you feel like you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring disorders, we can help get you on the positive path toward long-term recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this process alone. For more information about effective recovery methods and how to avoid a relapse over the holidays, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.