In a previous meeting we talked about how easy it was to see the signs of a relapse when looking backward in time and how difficult it was to see them as they are occurring. Looking back on a relapse in your family, please leave a comment on some of the signs you saw before the relapse occurred. Also, you may want to check out the relapse information on the HBO site.
There is a lot of information on the HBO site. I plan on spending some time there.
The cartoon is from this months Readers Digest.
Relapse
Posted by:Ken Sutton--Sunday, March 18, 2007
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3 comments:
Good cartoon. I saw the red flags, but the one waving them was colorblind and undeterred. They were: fewer 12-step meetings, no contact w/sponsor (and lied about it), falling grades, obsession with earning $$, obsession w/opposite sex, no interest in celebrating a milestone clean date anniversary. Recovery was not #1. Parents need to know the relapse occurs in the mind long before they pick up the drug again.
I think this is really helpful, Ken. I love the cartoon too.
Hind sight is 20- 20; but there is a lot that we can learn from failure. One of the biggest signs that teens tell me they missed, is that their "we" of the program was telling them that they were not working a good 12-step program. At the time, the teens don't want to hear it, but looking back, they say, "Yeah, eveyone was telling me that I was in trouble."
Also, for dual diagnosis teens, not taking their medication seems to be a huge flag.
To help structure for success in recovery- it can help if we get our teens to identify their flags, and then decide (hopefully before they are released from treatment) on a plan of action that THEY will take if these same flags pop up.
Someone MUST be in RECOVERY in order to RELAPSE. If someone is not working a good, strong, program they are simply "not using" rather than being in recovery.
Three important things I learned about RELAPSE while my son was in outpatient:
1. Overconfidence can result in relapse- thinking "I have this licked"...
2. Resentment- being mad that you are an addict can result in relapse.
3. Forgetting the pain that brought you to the rooms of NA can also result in relapse. This is why 12 step meetings are so important & why they must work. Every time a new member comes to a meeting & shares their experience- that reminds someone else remember his/her own pain the first time they attended an NA meeting.
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