Our Chronic Relapse Treatment Centers

Get Help for Repeated Relapse at Icarus in Nevada Today

Chronic relapse treatment centers like Icarus in Nevada offer help with addiction when you need it most. We understand the struggles that come with addiction and that’s why our experienced team can help recovering individuals come up with a step-by-step plan for treatment.

Even if you (or your loved one) have relapsed repeatedly in the past, our proven programs are here to help make successful, lasting recovery a reality. It is what we do, day in and day out.

Whether you’re in active addiction or have already detoxed, our team can help you with chronic relapse. We’ll help you with every step of the recovery process from the decision to get sober to developing an individualized relapse prevention plan.

Keep reading to learn more about how we treat chronic relapse effectively and don’t hesitate to contact us today with any questions or to find out exactly how we can support you!

What is Chronic Relapse?

Chronic relapse describes when an individual tries quitting their substance of choice and remaining sober but fails, again and again. Often, it’s a cycle that begins with quitting and seeking treatment and ends with relapse again.

Oftentimes, substance use and addiction on its own is considered a “chronic relapsing disorder”. For individuals struggling with addiction, this means that there’s a chance of relapse all through their lives. Since relapse can happen at any time, addicts need to have effective treatment, positive lifestyle changes, and support to prevent relapse.

What Are the Signs of Chronic Relapse?

For individuals struggling with chronic relapse, the most obvious sign is falling back into old addiction habits. This doesn’t happen all at once, but more often than not, it happens because addiction is a lifelong disease. Many times, a person who quits and then relapses either doesn’t have the right support for recovery or doesn’t follow their treatment plan.

Overcoming addiction requires a comprehensive treatment plan that changes a lot of areas of your life. For a person struggling with chronic relapse, here are some warning signs that make it harder to maintain sobriety:

• Ignoring physical, emotional, or psychological needs
• Avoiding social situations or being social in the wrong situations
• Not attending support group meetings or therapy
• Not having a support network of friends or family members in place
• Failing to identify risk factors and have coping mechanisms in place
• Avoiding exercise, poor sleep patterns, or poor food choices
• Failing to practice self-care
• Not having hobbies or interests that chase away boredom
• Failure to follow the treatment plan put in place

Addiction may be a chronic illness, but by targeting all these areas, someone with an alcohol or substance use disorder, in even the most severe cases, can avoid relapse and experience lifelong recovery.

What is a Chronic Relapsing Disease?

Chronic relapse disease describes the cycle that substance users go through when they try to quit using and fail. Sometimes, addiction itself is considered a chronic relapsing disease of the brain.

This is because of the many changes that happen within the brain during active alcohol or drug addiction. While an individual may experience relapse at any time, the rate of relapse decreases with time.

What Are the 3 Stages of Chronic Relapse?

The stages of chronic relapse are emotional relapse, mental relapse, and physical relapse. Learning to recognize these, especially the earliest stages, can help you identify when you need the most help in preventing relapse.

1) Emotional Relapse Stage

Emotional relapse is the first stage of chronic relapsing disease. Some signs are not enjoying the sober life, social isolation or skipping meetings, bottling up emotions, mood swings, and denial about your continued recovery or how much substance use affected you in the first place. Learning to identify these warning signs of emotional relapse is critical for preventing drug or alcohol relapse.

2) Mental Relapse Stage

During the mental relapse stage, it gets harder to resist the urge to use. This might involve things like romanticizing drug or alcohol use, minimizing the negative influences past substance use has had on your life, or trying to justify that you are in control.

Some other signs of mental relapse are cravings, hanging out around people who use substances, or planning to use drugs or alcohol again. Recognizing this stage is critical to avoiding relapse and maintaining sobriety, as the next stage is physically relapsing.

3) Physical Relapse Stage

Physical relapse is the final stage of relapse when you slip up and use again. Even when you actively practice all you’ve learned in recovery, relapse is a possibility. This does not mean that you’ve failed and what is most important is that you move on from the slip-up and continue taking steps toward recovery.

For some people, physical relapse leads them down the same path as past drug use. For others, though, it is just a speed bump and they continue on the path to recovery.

Why Do Some People Relapse Frequently?

People can relapse for many reasons. In addition to the stages of relapse mentioned above, it’s important to be able to identify risk factors for relapse so preventative measures can be taken.

Here’s a look at some risk factors for relapse:

• Cravings for your substance of choice
• Stress or traumatic experiences
• Symptoms of depression
• Sensitivity to cortisol or adrenaline
• The amount of grey matter in one’s brain
• Not following up with aftercare treatment after alcohol or drug rehab
• Lack of a support system
• Poor lifestyle choices
• Having family members who have struggled with chronic relapsing disease

These are not the only risk factors but may contribute to the ongoing struggle that is addiction. Learning to identify these factors before they get out of hand is critical for relapse prevention.

Is Chronic Relapse Common?

Yes, chronic relapse is very common. People who struggle with substance use disorder are typically long-term users of their substance of choice. Any heavy and/or long-term use of drugs or alcohol comes with a high rate of relapse because of the changes that your body and brain go through when using those substances.

While our treatment center and programs will help, it’s equally important for individuals to recognize and overcome symptoms of relapse when provided with the proper tools and resources.

What Substance is Most Likely to Cause Relapse?

While relapse can happen with any treatment, opioids are considered the most addictive drug. Opioids release endorphins, relieve pain, and activate the pleasure center of the brain. This includes substances like prescription pain relievers including morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, as well as drugs like heroin and fentanyl. One study indicated the risk for opiate relapse is as high as 91%.

For other substances, the relapse rate following substance abuse is around 40-60%. The rate of relapse for alcohol is 40-62%, while the rate of relapse for stimulants like cocaine is 50-75%. Marijuana has a relapse rate of 49%.

4 Factors That Make You More Likely to Relapse

While this is far from being a complete list, many factors lead to possible relapse. Identifying these risk factors as part of addiction treatment is crucial on your journey to remain sober.

1) Poor Mental Health

Relapse treatment often involves mental health care. Looking at mental health as part of addiction treatment helps with identifying triggers that might lead to relapse. At a treatment center, you’ll also learn healthy coping skills that help prevent chronic relapsing disease. Coping with and treating physical chronic illness is also important to avoid relapsing.

The effects of mental health on chronic relapsing disease are the reason that some chronic relapse treatment centers like ours focus on dual-diagnosis care. This type of addiction treatment improves mental health, helps with developing healthy coping mechanisms, and provides support for overcoming chronic relapsing disease.

2) Socializing with the Wrong Crowd After Treatment

Part of living a sober lifestyle is surrounding yourself with people who have similar interests to you. If you return to your same social circle after treatment, there is still access to your substances of choice. For people with substance use disorders, it may not be easy to have access and still stay sober.

Avoiding new romantic relationships is also important for relapse prevention. With new relationships, particularly those formed in recovery, it’s too easy for one person’s habits to affect their partner. There’s also a high chance that both partners will relapse if one person does.

3) Not Completing or Following a Treatment Plan

It’s easy to get excited about finally being able to detox and believe you can handle the rest of your treatment on your own. With a chronic disease like alcoholism or addiction, though, the negative effects on your brain are long-lasting. The temptation to abuse substances post-treatment can come on strong and without warning. This is why it’s so important to have the support in place that was established during your addiction treatment plan and continue to lead a lifestyle that supports recovery.

4) Lack of Goals or Personal Fulfillment

In recovery, it’s as important to add to your life as it is to remove your substance of choice. Following rehab and detox from alcohol or drugs, it’s important to develop post-treatment goals. This might include personal or professional goals, healing relationships damaged during substance use, or health goals, to name a few. You could also find new hobbies or learn to do something new. Boredom can be a major risk factor for chronic relapsing disease.

Chronic Relapse Treatment Centers: How Icarus Leads the Way

An effective treatment program for chronic relapsing disease often involves inpatient treatment during withdrawal, mental health treatment and support, and aftercare in the form of support meetings, therapy, or other programs.

In between a residential rehab program and an aftercare treatment program, it’s not uncommon for those with chronic relapsing disease to attend an intensive outpatient program or stay at a transitional sober living home.

Residential Addiction Treatment at Icarus in Nevada

For clients seeking an addiction treatment program for chronic relapsing disease, our team at Icarus is there to help. Residential treatment at our rehab center provides a safe place to detox from your substance of choice. It is also to focus on addiction treatment for chronic releasing disease without the stresses and temptations that exist on the outside.

We also offer long-term rehab options for clients who need additional structure over an extended period of time.

Following residential treatment, intensive outpatient therapy, partial hospitalization programs, or transitional living may be recommended. Any of these options can be part of a chronic relapse prevention plan because they help people struggling with addiction stay on the path to recovery, even after they leave the rehab center.

Individual Therapy and Support for Lasting Recovery

Improving mental health is a major component of a comprehensive rehab program. It’s not uncommon for individuals to self-medicate and treat mental illness or underlying trauma with alcohol or drug abuse. Even in cases where mental illness isn’t present, stopping a substance may cause depression or anxiety because of the effects that substances have on the brain.

Many rehab patients find that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for managing addiction. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches individuals to recognize those situations where they are most likely to use them by identifying habits and thought patterns. Additionally, this type of chronic relapse treatment allows addicts to either avoid or cope with these situations. Other aspects of individual and family therapy may also be explored.

Group Therapy Aimed at Relapse Prevention

In addition to individual therapy, aftercare of an addiction treatment program often involves attending support group meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous (known as NA), as well as for SMART Recovery. Other support groups are also an option.

Here, you’ll find a supportive environment of people who understand what you are going through. Support groups also provide the social environment many addicts need to stay sober, particularly if they do not have healthy social relationships.

Get Proven Chronic Relapse Prevention Programs at Icarus

Our team at Icarus Behavioral Health in Nevada has your best interests at heart when it comes to recovery. While detox and the decision to quit is a critical first step, everything that follows is critical for setting you up for success. We understand the importance of things like having a support system, lifestyle changes, and healthy coping mechanisms in preventing chronic relapses.

Contact us about our addiction treatment program today! While you have to take the first step in deciding to fight addiction, let us take it from there and help you put all those critical pieces in place that prevent chronic relapsing disease.

Taking back control of your life is easier than you think with our help, so reach out today!