How To Overcome Heroin Addiction With Relapse Prevention Groups
by Julia Gregory
Heroin is one of the most powerful drugs on the streets. Addicts abuse this drug by smoking it, snorting it, and injecting it. IV injection is one of the most damaging ways to abuse heroin.
This drug can destroy your relationships, your reputation, and your ability to hold down a job. It also hurts you emotionally and physically. For these reasons, heroin is very hard to overcome without help. Over 90 percent of addicts in recovery are going to relapse at some point. It is essential that you take advantage of an addiction outpatient service through a place like Ember Lodge.
Get Support
Relapse prevention groups are for addicts who are already going through the recovery process. Some recovering addicts have concerns about relapsing. These groups can help you sustain sobriety long-term. Group work consists of developing goals, clarifying goals, assessing current recovery status, educating you about the relapse process and how to identify high-risk situations. You also cover how these factors affect your recovery process.
Functional Analysis Exercise
A functional analysis exercise is one of the activities for a relapse prevention group session. It consists of identifying feelings, thoughts, and behaviors related to your addiction. It is things that you feel, think, or the way you behave when you get an urge to use heroin. These emotions usually occur before, during, and after drug use. Group sessions help you to identify this risky behavior to prevent relapse.
The Centering Exercise
At times, you are going to experience racing thoughts and have a hard time relaxing. Centering exercises help you to find focus and relax your body. You should sit down and close your eyes with your feet on the floor. Your counselor will ask you to breathe slowly through your nose, hold it for a moment and release it through your mouth. He or she will then ask you about any negative thoughts that come to your mind. This exercise helps you to get rid of any negative thoughts about the past or anxiety about your future.
The hold of heroin is so strong that victims find it very hard to walk away. The withdrawal process is also very painful. For these reasons, it is important find resources to help with maintaining tour sobriety. Knowing your triggers and finding a positive way to deal with them can stop you from going back to the drug. Relapse prevention group will help you to develop coping strategies to overcome negative behaviors.
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About Me
The decision to move one of my parents into assisted living was one of the most difficult I have ever made. I had extreme feelings of guilt that led to me being at the facility with my parent practically around the clock. It took a few months before I realized that I could not let my own life fall apart from the guilt I was feeling. I also learned that my parent was fine without me constantly hovering around. Since that time, I have had several friends express similar feelings of guilt. I started this blog to help others in the same situation understand not only their feelings about assisted living, but those of their parents.