While negative feelings are known to be triggers, it’s important to know that positive feelings can be as well. When you want to celebrate or have fun, you may be tempted to get high or drink. “Certain underlying mental health conditions, including substance use disorder, depression, and anxiety, might make someone more prone to experiencing more severe reactions to triggers,” Top 5 Advantages of Staying in a Sober Living House McGeehan says. Former drug or alcohol users are in denial during emotional relapse, but they do not have thoughts of using. They are ashamed of the last time they relapsed and may have developed negative behaviors to cope with their thoughts. This state of mind is dangerous because it encourages bad health practices that can eventually lead to a full-blown relapse.

Stress Increases Vulnerability to Triggers and Relapse

• If you are in a self-help program, ask for help in a meeting or with a confidant.
• In addition, support groups can offer a safe space to share experiences and learn from others who are dealing with similar challenges.
• It requires vigilance, resilience, and a commitment to ongoing self-improvement.
• What may be a normal, everyday situation or minor inconvenience for some may be triggering to someone living with mental illness.
• For people with past substance use disorder, triggers can be any internal or external stimulus that intensely and often uncontrollably reminds them of using drugs or alcohol.

While some people manage difficult situations with ease, people in recovery can easily slip back into old habits when dealing with new situations. For instance, the death of a loved one can easily trigger a relapse in a recovering addict. Some, https://theillinois.news/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction feel as though they can’t mix and mingle without the use of substances. For individuals in recovery, navigating through complex and challenging emotions is a significant part of their journey.

Internal Triggers

When people in recovery succumb to triggers, their brains create reasons to use substances despite knowing that they must remain abstinent. This ongoing fight increases their vulnerability to cravings, which may result in a potential relapse. For those struggling with substance abuse and addiction, it isn’t uncommon for the affected person to return to alcohol or drug use.

• They are ashamed of the last time they relapsed and may have developed negative behaviors to cope with their thoughts.
• When you choose to get treatment at North Georgia Recovery Center, you can rest assured knowing that you will be treated by licensed therapists in our state-of-the-art facilities.
• They can also be effective outlets for stress and negative emotions that may have caused you to use in the past.
• Researchers followed the cocaine use patterns of stressed and unstressed rats and used a low dose of cocaine as a trigger.
• Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp.

Trigger Management: Healthy Coping Skills

While triggers can often tempt those in recovery to use substances, you can overcome them by learning to cope. Recovering from substance use disorder can be a life-changing journey for many people. Focusing on activities you love can fill the time you might have spent using substances. They can also be effective outlets for stress and negative emotions that may have caused you to use in the past.