relapse Archives - Stan Dokmanus, CCJP, CSAC, Addiction Services

AMA is another notation. It means against medical advice. Some patients who are in an acute hospital or residential program may get the urge to leave thinking “I’ve got this.”

Famous last words. Although you may have the right to discharge yourself it may not be in your best interest or the best for public safety either. If you want more information about the pros and cons you’ll find this link of value. https://www.verywellhealth.com/right-to-leave-the-hospital-3969768 .

Our beliefs and values play a huge part making this decision. Permission-granting beliefs can be the undoing for a person with a drug problem or alcohol problem. You may be having cravings for your drug of choice.

When you follow these and urges leading to relapse, the outcome can be deadly. Leave too soon and you put yourself, your family and society at risk.

All the progress and work you did – all that you accomplished in treatment can be wiped out with just one bad decision. Relapse is similar to being re-infected in today’s Coronavirus environment.

Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States – historically. But this could change. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics.

Similarly, re-opening businesses to soon, AMA, and too many people out and about is potentially causing a resurgence of the disease. Just like a relapse. As of this writing 58,000 Americans have died out of the 1,000,000 cases. Nuff already!

Here’s more information about that. https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2020-03-25/who-warns-of-reopening-businesses-schools-too-soon-amid-coronavirus-pandemic .

Covid-19 has surpassed the number of deaths during the war in Viet Nam.

Quality Assurance regarding treatment for SUD, Substance Use Disorder, requires fidelity in the use of Evidence Based Best Practices. Coronavirus has set its own rules and time table. It does not treat people differently in different states. It wants us all. It wants us dead. And it wants us now!

Just as alcoholism is a deadly and progressive disease, C-19 is devastating.

Following the C-19 mitigation advice of science professionals like Dr. Fauci could be a wise decision for individuals and municipalities.

If you are in an outpatient treatment program or getting residential services, the same is true for you. Go with the science of Evidence Based Best Practices.

Be safe. Stay healthy. Stay alive.

Anxiety and stress can create an imbalance leaving us vulnerable to alcohol and other drug problems, relapse and recidivism.

As you probably know, relapse is returning to thinking about or to using drugs of choice. Irrational thinking goes with substance use disorder.

The substances could be alcohol, other drugs or even food. Food is a substance.

Thinking that you can go back to binging, using or committing crime to feel better (self-medicate) is a classic example of the irrational thinking that goes with these challenges.

Irrational thinking goes with depression and other mental health issues such as ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder. It can cause us to feel frustrated, angry, anxious, etc.

The thoughts seem to be true and real at time. They are justified. Justification, mollifying, etc., are characteristics of what is going on with the person. They are the ‘tip of the iceberg’ so to speak.

Taking Control.

The key is to understand that this happens and your brain is playing tricks on you. Nobody is broken as I’ve pointed out earlier. It’s just a matter of finding how they work and knowing there is a better way to react. So, when we notice that we don’t feel good or right about a person, place or thing we can be on guard to the fact that it is time to use a coping skill.

Information sources.

As I’ve mentioned before, “Catch it. Check it. Change it” is a great tool to have at your disposal. Imagery too is a great way to feel better – some say – in an instant. psychologytools.com is the source of the check it piece.

If you’d like more information about imagery helping you, call me at 808 385 4550. We can do an exercise on the phone. It’s also available in the Catalog section of my site – Criminal Justice and Addictions Counseling.

Judith S. Beck has a whole chapter of her book dedicated to Imagery. The book is called Cognitive Behavior Theory.

Catch the problem, check and change it. When you change it, make a picture of a very satisfying situation about 10 feet in front of you. The way you see a happy, ideal outcome. It is a picture of a positive person, place or thing that makes you feel great – in charge.

Next, if it feels good to you, make it a little bigger, a little brighter and move it slowly closer to you. Experiment with that. You can try black and white vs in full rich color.

If it’s color that does it for you, experiment with different colors. Again, a little bigger, a little brighter, a little closer. Lock in that skill and you can turn a sad situation into a happy one – any time.