Is Relapse Inevitable?

In the world of drug recovery it is a truism to say that “Everyone relapses” or “Relapse is inevitable”, but is that actually the case? Relapse rates lie somewhere between 40%-60% for recovering drug abusers. The chances of relapse are high, but certainly not inevitable. The notion that you will relapse, besides being patently false, also sets the recovering addict up for failure by embracing temptation as a natural part of the recovery process. This allows the recovering addict to rationalize away caprices that ultimately lead back to addiction.

It is often mistakenly believed that once you relapse that marks the end of the recovery process. This, too, is not true.  A relapse is a temporary set back on a journey towards a destination – sobriety. Progress is by no means linear. This is true in all things ,but especially so in the world of alcohol and drug recovery. This attitude that a relapse means that all the progress you have made is somehow nullified, all the experience, all the skills learned go back to zero is manifest nonsense.

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