The complexities of addiction can make it difficult for some to get the right treatment, leading to repeated relapses. Engaging an intensive, holistic approach to address it can help better maintain recovery.
There is nothing easy about healing from an addiction, and when you have made that commitment to sobriety and started to rebuild your life apart from your previous dependency, a relapse can feel extraordinarily defeating. Repeated relapses will make you question if you can ever overcome your addiction, and the ensuing disappointment and frustration can tempt you into thinking that maybe for you, recovery is impossible.
The upside is that recovery is always possible – but it can take time to identify the right combination of tools you need to address the factors driving your addiction.
Why Do Repeated Relapses Happen?
For many people, repeated relapses feel like personal failures. However, it is important to remember that addiction is not about a lack of willpower or moral fortitude – this is a recognised, chronic disease like heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Like those complex conditions, addiction may require repeated attempts to find the right combination of treatment methods to successfully manage it and return to optimal health.
It is not uncommon for people to focus on the physical part of the addiction, the actual ingestion of alcohol or drugs, and commit to stopping it. But the act of quitting alone doesn’t address the many other aspects of life that addiction has influenced, or is influenced by. This can include co-occurring mental health issues like depression or anxiety, or past traumas or family history that contribute to the addiction. It can also include the lack of healthy coping mechanisms to deal with the stresses and pressures of daily life. Without directly identifying and addressing these, the potential for relapse greatly increases.
Additionally, because addiction changes the neural pathways in the brain by rewiring impulses to focus on and feed the addiction, any treatment has to have a psychological component in order to reroute these pathways. Otherwise, old entrenched patterns of thought and behaviour are likely to complicate long-term recovery, leading to repeated relapses.
Benefits of Inpatient Treatment for Repeated Relapses
In the early stages of recovery, people may try to overcome their addiction on their own, or to support their moves toward sobriety with outpatient therapy. For some people these methods will be effective, but if you are experiencing repeated relapses, it’s a good indicator that you need a more comprehensive treatment plan.
Inpatient residential programmes can be life-changing for those going through a prolonged struggle with addiction because they offer a variety of services under one roof to address all aspects of the dependency. This type of holistic treatment approach promotes physical, mental, and emotional healing with intensive professional support.
Benefit 1: A Variety of Therapies, All in One Place
An inpatient residential programme comes with an experienced team of professionals that specialises in addiction and co-occurring disorders. This means that after closely consulting with you and assessing your specific needs, they can put together a personalised plan that may combine several psychotherapeutic approaches to address the unique challenges you face in your recovery. These psychotherapies might include:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – a common, goal-oriented type of talk therapy that helps the client become aware of negative responses, feelings, and behaviours and to learn how to respond to these situations in a more effective way
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) – a type of cognitive behavioural therapy that specifically focuses on learning skills including mindfulness, stress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness
- Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) – a therapy addressing the physical effects of stress caused by traumatic events by building healthier pathways through the body using muscle memory
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) – an interactive psychotherapy that targets traumatic memories through therapist-led lateral eye movements to process these memories, eventually alleviating the negative emotions and responses associated with them
The psychotherapeutic treatment you receive will strive to help you understand your diagnosis (or diagnoses if you are found to also have a co-occurring disorder), identify the root causes behind it, and learn healthy ways to cope with it.
Benefit 2: A Supportive Community to Lean on Whenever You Need
Addiction is a lonely disease, one that tends to cut you off emotionally and sometimes physically from people you love and who support you. Emerging from this isolation is a very important part of recovery, and building a supportive, understanding community has positive impacts both on your ability to process what you are going through, as well as to feel encouraged and motivated through the challenges of sobriety.
Inpatient programmes include a group therapy component, which many people find to be invaluable to their treatment. Being able to share experiences and ask for advice from a group of people who not only support your recovery but who truly understand what you are going through is often deeply affirming for those who participate.
Benefit 3: A Schedule of Wellness-Oriented Activities for You to Learn and Practise
The link between stress and addiction is well-known, and stress plays a key role in relapse. In inpatient treatment, your programme will include developing new ways to manage and handle stress. You’ll often be exposed to different types of wellness activities, which may include yoga, meditation, fitness training, art, massage and journaling. This gives you the opportunity to identify which activity suits your particular tastes, and provides you with the time to incorporate it into your daily schedule so that you leave treatment with healthy habits firmly in place.
Benefit 4: A Safe, Trigger-Free Environment to Focus on Healing
Overcoming addiction is hard enough without constant reminders, temptations, and triggers distracting you as you work through your recovery. Inpatient treatment gives you a safe, peaceful environment where you can turn your attention completely to your recovery. This includes 24 hour medical support, which is particularly important if you are detoxing, as well as all-hours access to counselors and staff. Inpatient facilities typically are not in a hospital environment, and are designed to be comfortable, inviting and relaxing.
Benefit 5: A Clear, Personalised Aftercare Plan
While you are in inpatient treatment, you will work with your treatment team to develop a detailed relapse prevention plan that will utilise the knowledge and skills you’ve gained during your time in rehab, and help you connect with the people and resources you need to support you as you continue your recovery. In some cases, loved ones will also be brought in for educational or consultative sessions to increase their understanding of addiction and how they can play a positive role in your recovery.
This means that when you leave rehab, you aren’t suddenly on your own. You will be returning with a clear plan of how to tackle issues that come up, and a supportive community that is regularly reaching out to you.
All the Benefits of Holistic Treatment at The Dawn
At The Dawn Wellness Centre and Rehab in Thailand, we understand the complexities and nuances of addiction that can make it so difficult to treat. That is why our residential treatment programme offers a wide range of therapies, blending modern psychotherapeutic methods with proven wellness practises and cutting-edge technologies to tackle your addiction from every possible angle.
Our gorgeous riverside location just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand offers a peaceful respite from the stressors and triggers of daily life at home. Resort-like private accommodations include a variety of amenities, such as a yoga and meditation studio, swimming pool, games room, and fitness centre in a lush, garden setting.
Relapse Prevention and Aftercare Support at The Dawn
Whilst in treatment, each client will work with their focal therapist to create a personalised
relapse prevention plan. Upon completing treatment, The Dawn offers a formal and structured aftercare programme in the form of weekly online group counselling sessions to give clients the continued personal support that is so vital to long-term recovery.
Call The Dawn to learn more about how we can help you break the cycle of addiction and achieve a lasting recovery.
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