How You Can Prevent Going Back to Your Old Ways of Drinking and Drugging.

Relapse is a cardinal feature of addiction, and one of the most painful.

Most people who struggle with addiction will have one or more relapses - the return to drug use after a drug-free period - during their ongoing attempts to recover. This can be extremely frustrating for patients and for families, as they have already experienced great pain.

What leads to relapse?

Multiple - and often interactive - factors can increase the likelihood of relapse. These are some of the commonly cited precursors:

* drug-related "reminder" cues (sights, sounds, smells, drug thoughts or drug dreams) tightly linked 

   to use of the preferred drug(s) can trigger craving and drug seeking

* negative mood states or stress

* positive mood states or celebrations

* sampling the drug itself, even in very small amounts

The motivation to seek a drug, once triggered, can feel overwhelming and sometimes leads to very poor decision making: the user will pursue the drug, despite potentially disastrous future negative consequences (and many past negative consequences).

Individuals have different brain circuitry

Brain-imaging is helping us to understand the paradox of the decision to pursue a drug reward despite such consequences. For example, very recent imaging research shows that visual drug cues as short as 33 milliseconds can activate the ancient reward ("go") circuitry, and that this process does not require conscious processing - it can begin outside awareness.

By the time the motivation does reach awareness, and is recognized and labeled, the reward circuit has a strong head start. This head start means the frontal brain regions may be less effective. This area of the brain is responsible for weighing the consequences of a decision and for helping to "stop" or inhibit the impulses toward drug reward.

Imaging research also shows that some individuals have less effective "stop" circuitry. For these people, the job of managing the powerful impulses toward drug reward may be even more difficult.

 

When it comes to the vulnerability to relapse, and to addiction itself, we are not all created equal. We differ both in our brain response to drug rewards and in our ability to manage the powerful impulses toward drug reward.

Hope through research

Relapse is a long-term vulnerability, but intensive ongoing research is targeting the problem. The tools of brain imaging and genetics promise to help us understand our vulnerabilities - and our strengths - to help us realize more effective relapse prevention.

Relapse prevent is a major feature of our program so if you or someone you love is in the grips of ANY addiction, call us for immediate HELP and begin the admission process into the your recovery.

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN THE GRIPS OF AN ADDICTION CALL US TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE, PHONE 07 560 66315

Web: www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au

Email: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

ABOUT COACHING WITH SUBSTANCE (WINNER Best Not-for-Profit 2014)

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency for Australasia and New Zealand. Call us on 07 5606 6315 if you want to speak to an Addiction Specialist.

Our Founder, Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first of its kind in Australia as registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association that focuses on wellness using coaching principles of peak performance. She is currently completing her PhD on Recovery Coaching and is the first registered Recovery Coach in Australia.

We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance.

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Taoist Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome.

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.