To maintain recovery long-term, you must be able to identify and cope with triggers healthily. Identifying triggers post-treatment is vital for your long-term recovery journey. Many things, including people, places, and situations, can trigger cravings. These instances can lead to relapses that can make you feel guilt or shame over the slip-up. While identifying triggers is vital to maintaining sobriety, we must also accept that we are human and sometimes make mistakes.
Identifying triggers and maintaining recovery requires seeking treatment and achieving sobriety before anything else. Time spent in treatment will teach you about triggers, how to recognize them, and ways to manage them without substance use. You are more than capable of abstaining from drugs and alcohol while avoiding triggers. Sometimes, you need some extra support to do so.
Simply put, triggers are things that cause an emotional reaction. Such reactions may include panic attacks, relapses, or emotional or mental breakdowns. Triggers typically worsen symptoms that are already present. In the case of addiction recovery, they may cause you to re-engage with drugs or alcohol.
In general, triggers are different for everyone, so identifying your particular ones is crucial. You may start going down a dark road if you encounter triggers without the proper coping tools. This can lead to many harmful outcomes, including the degradation of your mental health.
Furthermore, triggers can be more complex when co-occurring disorders are involved. Co-occurring disorders are when you struggle with a mental health condition in addition to substance use disorder (SUD). Conditions frequently co-occurring with SUD include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and many other illnesses. In any case, these issues can benefit from receiving dual diagnosis treatment. Dual diagnosis treatment addresses all conditions simultaneously and teaches you how to manage symptoms without substance use.
Co-occurring disorders can impact what triggers you and how intense those triggers are. For example, you may be able to avoid substance use triggers confidently when you're mentally healthy, but an unexpected panic attack or trauma flashback may increase your risk of relapse. Part of identifying triggers is acknowledging how co-occurring disorders may play into them.
You can begin identifying triggers during treatment. Working with therapists, recovery coaches, and other mental health professionals can be beneficial in this process.
Triggers can be internal or external. Internal triggers may include thoughts and feelings that lead to cravings. These thoughts or feelings may consist of negative thought patterns, though positive or celebratory thoughts can also be triggering.
Parties, celebrations, or a night out with friends are all generally positive. However, they can come with triggers. These are external triggers because they are situations outside yourself that may cause an intense desire for substance use. Other examples of external triggers include stress, financial issues, relationship tension, or returning to a place you associate with substance use.
Identifying triggers requires you to recognize both external and internal factors. You can determine them by recognizing the symptoms that appear in these situations. These symptoms can be physical and psychological, including:
Identifying your triggers is only the first step in a much longer process. Upon recognizing them, you must begin planning ways to manage them. Relapse prevention plans, support networks, and other resources can help you do that. However, relapse prevention plans are often easier said than done.
Try the following tips to promote trigger management:
Of course, many other factors can help you manage your triggers and maintain sobriety long-term. For example, attending therapy and support group meetings, going through the Twelve Steps, and participating in an aftercare program can all be beneficial.
Whatever the method, you can learn to manage your triggers. Consider a treatment program if you are actively struggling with SUD today.
Seeking addiction treatment is the first step in a much longer recovery journey. Life post-treatment comes with many challenges. That typically includes exposure to triggers. Triggers can harm your mental health and increase the risks of relapse. To prevent relapse, you must be able to identify your triggers and prepare for them accordingly. Identifying triggers is sometimes easier said than done, but with the proper tools and support system. You can successfully identify and cope with them constructively and healthily. However, you must seek treatment before you can identify and manage your triggers. Call NorthStar Transitions at (303) 558-6400 to learn about our treatment options. We can help you manage your triggers today.
