Beginning with the “Big Book,” Alcoholics Anonymous, a solid foundation for comprehensive treatment was published in 1939 and has undergone some editing and relatively minor changes into its Fourth Edition.  The book, most often referred to by A.A. members as “The Big Book,” described a twelve-step program involving admission of powerlessness over alcohol, moral inventory, complete and direct restitution to those harmed, and asking for direction and guidance, from a higher power.

Essential to this process was the idea that the higher power be “of one’s own understanding.” In 1941, book sales and membership increased after interviews on American radio and favorable articles in US magazines, particularly by Jack Alexander in The Saturday Evening Post. Soon after the General Service Office of A.A. initiated a series of booklets explaining various aspects of the program that evolves to the present.

Reading recovery literature helps members understand and reinforce the many facets to A.A.  The written materials focus on recovery and guide readers away from cravings, restlesness and boredom. They also aid in providing solutions to daily challenges after a program of abstinance begins to take hold.  Many A.A. and Narcotics Anonymous members find that when read on a daily basis, the program literature further reinforces recovery and continues to bring new meaning to the Twelve Steps.

A.A, World Service Office recommends the following books for establishing a solid basis in recovery.  They have been published in English, Spanish and French. They are:

Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Big Book) and The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. In addition, a wide range of topical pamphlets is available on request and may also be obtained though local A.A. groups and regional offices.

For those who are seeking a broader range of written information of Alcoholism and Addiction the Internet provides thousands of references.  If however, the individual is concerned about possible abuse or alcoholic beverages or chemical substances, direct contact with treatment specialists, counselors, or referral agencies is encouraged.

Alcoholics and addicts in “recovery” soon recognize some of the warning signs that can lead to lapses in abstinence.  Most will take immediate steps to stay clean and sober by recalling the “tools” provided by sponsors or counselor/therapists. At the same time they will be following a plan that’s based on their emotional state or mental stresses that helped lead to dependence on alcohol or drugs.

The quicker the recovering person posts these signs and signals in their minds the sooner they can move forward with confidence.  Hundreds of factors can lead to “slips” or to conflicting emotions.  Sometimes referred to as “no-fault illnesses,” two of these include psychiatric symptoms and prescribed medications having the wrong effect.  Maintaining abstinence encourages growth as an individual and identifying “no-fault illness” is critical to that effort.  The recovering individual must retain awareness and identify limitations to the best of one’s ability.  Signal flags should be in place and ready to alert the recovering alcoholic or addict when old patterns are creeping to the fore.

In chemical dependency, slips and relapses are acts of taking that first drink or drug after being deliberately clean and sober for a significant time.  It is going back to sometimes fatal acts even when we know the consequences.  It is well to view relapse as a process that starts far ahead of the event.  Those who have slipped and slid away into relapse can nearly always point to the place where it started.  It might be traced to a pattern of stinkin’ thinkin’ or, old memories that had been keyed to dependency on mood altering substances.  It usually ties in with complacency over their recovery plan and a refusal to ask for help or communicate uncertainty to someone else.  Every person’s exact relapse menu is unique…yet many factors are shared by others.

The “slip” and the relapse include many combinations of circumstance and deliberate action.  The process is often subtle and subconscious past actions can come into play. Warning signs might include:

• Setting unrealistic goals – perfection expected – demands on the person that are impossible to meet.
• Thinking of things that induce anger and resentments.  Unresolved conflicts from past events and past associations.
• Stopping a treatment plan – skipping medical appointments – avoiding therapy and meetings of self-help groups.
• Visiting locations that were drinking haunts or places where street drugs are available.
• Retaining drugs or alcoholic beverages in the home…knowing “they are always there if we need them.”
• Feeling over-confident with the certainty our troubles are over and “we are cured.”
• Avoiding issues we should deal with promptly…ignoring financial matters that need immediate attention.  Often these are extremely important with severe penalties involved.
• Engaging in obsessive behaviors – working to extremes – gambling – sexual promiscuity.
• Ignoring the signs we have come to know from our past experiences as preludes to relapse and increased dependencies.

Almost all those in recovery have had times when thoughts of drinking or using drugs surfaced and were compelling.  Even dreams of using mood altering substances are not uncommon.  These incidents help to remind alcoholics and addicts of the reality of dependencies and underscore the problems still in place.  These demonstrate that no matter how bad things get, the benefits of staying abstinent will outweigh short term relief.  The cravings, relapse dreams and uncertainties of early recovery fade.  When we are committed to recovery we slowly but surely develop confidence in our new way of life without chemicals.

Staying clean and sober while managing psychiatric symptoms is an ongoing process.

Dealing with a duel disorder goes hand in hand with abstinence.  An individual is “in recovery” when actively following a program that focuses on every aspect of recovery.

The personal recovery tool kit serves as the best protection against such relapses! By identifying people, places and things that put us at risk for relapse we can counter with the proper skills and contacts to avoid trouble before it happens.  We should review our relapse prevention plans regularly with physicians, treatment professionals and our support network in AA or NA.  We change those plans as sobriety becomes better established and as situations adjust to our lives in recovery.

It’s important to remember that relapses are a part of recovery, alcoholism and addiction.  When and if they do happen we don’t judge or blame —we seek progress, not perfection. Sharing our experiences with sponsors, groups and therapists is an important way to identify where things went wrong. Our experiences told truthfully and in detail will absolutely help others fighting to remain clean and sober!

It is agreed by all that AA and NA are often the key to maintaining sobriety. It is considered very unlikely that a recovering alcoholic or substance abuser can stay clean and free of mood altering chemicals if they reject those proven fellowships.  One staff member at The Beachcomber proclaimed: “I’ve never counseled anyone who could remain sober on their own without the support of other recovering people.  It just can’t be done without friends and family and self-help programs always fill in the gaps.”

There are many trails for alcoholics and addicts that lead back to lives that became unmanageable.  Pathways laid down by our own experiences we seemed destined to follow to the bitter end are always there.  Once a course of treatment has been followed and the promise of a new life in recovery unfolds then warning signs must be posted for all to avoid relapse.  Relapse is a danger not recommended for recovery!

The ten most common relapse dangers are:

1. Visiting people, places and things where we know alcohol or the drug of choice is available or sold.
2. Feelings can trigger negative responses: Anger, sadness, guilt, stress and loneliness. The alcoholic or addict who is alone is usually in “very bad company.”
3. Feelings can also bring out excessive reasons for celebration.  Events and festive gatherings lead to familiar errors in judgment.
4. Boredom must be avoided and “telephone therapy” proves to be an excellent help. There is no better cure for boredom than visiting the AA or NA centers in most regions.
5. Tempting serious relapse by sipping a drink or going for just one more high with the personal assurance treatment will “clean things up if we get in too deep.”
6. Physical pain from accident or illness can’t be tolerated.  Medical aid must be sought when pain is strong enough to consider self-medicating.
7. Visiting with past friends in familiar locations leads to “war stories” and accounts of imagined conquests where alcohol or drugs played key roles.
8. Prosperity is one of the greatest enemies of recovery.  Sudden wealth and quick profits lead to old hazards, old habits and the “stinkin-thinkin’ we once knew so well.
9. The alcoholic and addict must inform physicians of their recovery program.  Prescription meds can lead to improper use and new dependencies.  It’s a frequent road to relapse!
10. After significant periods of sobriety a common enemy is complacency.  The recovering person can convince himself and sometimes others; he has “no problem” and relapses.

Perhaps the most important way to avoid relapse is to maintain solid contact with those who guided you through treatment and helped set your course for recovery.  Even those who have not been in programs such as those offered by The Beachcomber and other centers may seek guidance through AA and NA.

Both self-help fellowships encourage members to devote as much time as possible to helping those still looking for solutions to alcoholism and addiction.  Many millions have found a recovering way of life through such groups and they are open to all who want help with chemical dependency.

Far too often the actions of others and the influence of circumstances lead alcoholics and addicts to relapse.  Rather than “thinking it through” the patterned solutions found with mood altering chemicals in earlier times take over.  Alcohol is nearly always at hand or as close as the nearest bar.  Drugs may be a little more challenging if lines of contact have been disrupted but these are easy to restore.  The best way to avoid flare ups and returns to old “solutions” is to be on constant alert for Relapse Attitudes.  These are some of the leading sparks and triggers.  You may be able to compile your own additions to the list and post them for your reference.

Next time you begin to feel edgy, restless and unsure of your sobriety please consider a few of the things that could set you off.  Just a few are contained in the following list.

Relapse List of “Starters” –

• I can’t change the way I think.    I’m not as bad as: (name)
• Sobriety is Boring.     I’ll never drink or use again
• I’ve changed everything.       Now I can substitute!
• There’s got to be a better way than this.
• If nobody else cares why should I?  I wish I was happy.
• I owe this one to me!   I can do it myself without help.
• I don’t care I’ve already lost everything.
• Don’t think!  Things will never change.
• My problems can’t be solved.
• I’d rather be drunk or high than be like this.
• If I move everything will change for me.
• I like my old friends and they understand me.
• I can do things differently and still drink.
• Nobody knows how I feel and they don’t care.
• I’m depressed and feel hopeless.  I can handle it!
• Why try again…it’s useless.

When the alcoholic or substance abuser lets confirmed knowledge and experience lapse it is only a matter of time before old dependencies come into play.

Mood altering drugs do perform their work and they prove it time after time. It’s only after the invisible line is crossed that all control goes out the window. Then, our emotions and “attitudes” have taken over again and we know the eventual outcome.

Alcoholics and addicts cannot “start all over again.”  They can’t expect new solutions when the same chemicals are back in play leading us down the same paths.  Abstinence is the mode we must follow and once we have attained it all else will work with us.  To invite old patterns of thought and conduct back into our lives is not only an admission of failure but we open the door to relapse usually at a more intense level.

Review this list and consider some mental tricks you may be playing on yourself.  It is possible to insert warning flags into the mind. This list would be a good place to start that process!

When and if any of these warning signs come to the attention of the alcoholic or addict then immediate action should be taken.  If a former patient in a addiction treatment program then that facility should be contacted.  If a member of a self-help group recognizes any of these conditions then a call should be made to a sponsor or friend in the fellowship.  A well known suggestion applies immediately:  DO NOT TAKE THE FIRST DRINK OR DRUG!

Counselors at The Beachcomber with more than 125-years of combined experience in alcoholism and addiction treatment are familiar with the dangers of relapse.  They’ve found that those seeking help have experienced various routes to a “cure” and consequently have found themselves, or a loved one repeating some aspects of their search.  In most cases counselors have found treatment for substance abuses successful and all efforts rewarded. Statistics have generally set a pattern that’s been predictable:

One third of those treated respond immediately.  Another one third goes through multiple treatment experiences. The remaining third are constantly facing encounters with relapse and then temporary sobriety. In this later group a small percentage never accumulate enough sober time to overcome relapses tied to physical compulsion.

As with many serious illnesses our treatment team warns that statistics can help or hinder.  One underlying truth is that the majority of alcoholics and addicts will be likely to remain clean and sober as their abstinence times accumulate.  In other words, if the patient “works at the sobering process” then recovery will almost surely come about.

Some former residents at The Beachcomber have encountered relapses before gaining long-term sobriety.  With over 40-years in residential treatment, the oldest program in Florida, most counselors agree every individual has to want to be clean and sober. Long-term recovery results when an accepted support system is put in place to back that desire.

Treatment for alcoholism and substance abuse will succeed in almost every case if determination is part of the process.  Understanding by a caring network is of primary importance and one reason why counselors urge after-care contacts. They also encourage participation in Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous since these “twelve step” groups have proven their importance time-after-time.

AA & NA work best if friends and family members are supportive. Very often treatment programs, like The Beachcomber, provide family members and concerned friend’s special orientation meetings. These professionally presented classes point out some of the danger of relapses.
In after care sessions the warning signs of relapse are discussed and the importance of self-help programs is explained.  Many of the myths and misunderstandings concerning AA & NA are clarified for some who may doubt their importance after following a course of treatment either in-patient or out-patient.