Final High-Risk Situations and Relapse PDF

Preview

Summary

essay information has been added, please use wisely...

Description

Karina Cruz Grand Canyon University PCN-265 Relapse Prevention Dr. All’wyn Graham July 18, 2021

High-Risk Situations and Relapse Addiction is a mental and behavioral illness that causes people to compulsively display unhealthy behaviors and withdraw. Relapse happens when an addict, who is recovering, returns to destructive patterns from which they are trying to heal. While very preventable. relapse is unfortunately a very common occurrence. "The relapse rate in substance use disorders is estimated at 40 to 60%" (Thomas, undated) Relapses are more common in high-risk situations, especially if the individual is uneducated in prevention. To successfully treat clients, counselors need to know in which high-risk situations, how these situations can affect the individual, the relationship between high-risk situations and relapses, and when clients are most susceptible to relapse.

When a person is fighting a substance abuse disorder, there's the constant risk of relapse and derailing their progress. Relapse happens as a “gradual process with distinct stages,” that is progressively more challenging to escape and prevent the further the client progresses into each stage (Melemis, 2015). At any given stage experienced prior to relapse, high risk situations may be the active triggers that cause aa person to relapse. High risk situations are defined as when the recovering addict puts themselves in places or situations where the possibility of them reverting to using their drug of choice is higher than any other part of their daily life, which can result in the recovering addict experiencing triggers that may provoke a lapse. More frequently than not, those locations, people, or activities resemble the addicts’ surroundings from when they were actively using, which triggers the relapse (Common High Risk Situations in Recovery and How to Manage Them, 2017). The former addict may even seek out these high-risk scenarios or not understand how to control or keep away from them due to (1) their familiarity with this scenario, (2) they may be doing something they're used to doing, or (3) their coping abilities are

still underdeveloped or unpracticed. High-risk situations may be specific people, locations and events associated to the person’s addiction, such as having easy access to their drug of choice. Dwelling on one’s past, having euphoric recalls, a severely stressful homelife, and mental exhaustion examples of factors that could result in an issue coming back. By understanding what high-risk situations have an effect on their client personally and having the client talk through what triggers and environments may be harmful, a counselor can create a thorough prevention plan. It is vital for the counselor to speak to their client regarding different types of high-risk situations they may happen upon or may be unconsciously trying to find and how it is may result in a relapse, as well as explaining different criteria for what constitutes a high-risk situation. A counselor can refer to the Gorski’s HRS criteria and illustrate to their client that the more items they answer in the affirmative, the higher risk a situation is. Educating your client is the best way for a counselor to help prevent a relapse versus needing to help them get over one. For a person who has a past experience with alcoholism or various other drugs, attending a party where these items are present constitutes a high-risk situation. 35-year-old Todd has been invited to a party where his immediate and extended family members will be drinking. Todd's alcohol addiction developed in his preteen years which spiraled him into alcoholism for two oK prior to his best friends death causing him to choose a silver lifestyle. Todd is currently over 90 days sober and regularly attends weekly alcoholic anonymous meetings and knows that his entire family will be drinking as they are in denial of their own out of control drinking habits. Because of this denial, the family does not believe Todd ever had a drinking problem so they pressure him into partaking in the festivities. Although Todd remembers the pain brought to his life because of his substance-abuse, Todd feels that he may be cured of his alcoholism and neglects to call his

sponsor. Because he thoroughly believes that he has complete control over this incurable disease, Todd takes a drink.

24 year old Lotus, hello is recovering from a substance abuse addiction to cocaine, is invited to a New Year's Eve party buy some of her fellow college students. Lotuses substance abuse began by using drugs like Adderall and Vyvance To help her stay energized enough to keep up with school work and a busy work schedule. When she was 15, Lotus fell in love with a combination of alcohol and cocaine, And her use has spiraled out of control by the time she began her first semester of college. Lotus hit rock bottom when her scholarship was threatened and her family began threatening to withdraw all financial support, giving notice no other choice but you go to a drug rehabilitation center or risk losing her dreams, aspirations, and the love of her family. The day of the party, Lotus is 60 days clean and is looking forward to earning her 90 day sobriety medallion from her cocaine anonymous and alcoholics anonymous meetings. Because of this, Lotus invites a coworker to the party who drinks occasionally but who is very supportive of her sobriety. This helps her in that she has a person with her who will hold her accountable it's part of a support system and who will b able to guide Lotis away from a situation that may threaten her sobriety.

Both of you above mentioned clients have placed them selves in high-risk situations But have responded very differently. Todd placed him self in a situation with his drug of choice, a family experiencing active addiction, and no support system within reach yes, while lotus brought her support system with her in order to ensure that her sobriety will not be threatened in this high-risk situation. During his party, Todd is considering his addiction and sobriety, while

underestimating his options and what is happening to him. Even though he remembers vividly how bad the days of his alcoholism really work, he has placed himself in an Extremely high risk situation with no parachute. Being cognizant of the differences in these types of situations will help a counselor prepare their client for what they may counter outside of therapy.

Because they often appear to come out of nowhere, high risk behaviors are notorious Lee known to be the cause of relapse. However, a well-versed counselor can Recognize the signs of relapse based on interaction and observation of their client. Lotus and Todd have both experienced high-risk situation. Both formerly addictive people attended a party that could have triggered a relapse, but Todd was the only one who exhibited relapse behavior. Having put himself in a situation that was dangerous as a priority and denying his support system had a very dire consequences. Lotus was also in a situation where she was in a familiar environment and potentially catastrophic influences, but she made the wise decision of bringing an accountability partner to keep her sobriety on track. With regard to the different stages of relapse, Todd is in direct danger of a relapse. He was experiencing emotional and mental phase of relapse, which almost always is followed by the physical stage. Symptoms of the emotional stages of relapse are: suppressing emotions, isolating, skipping meetings, attending meetings but not sharing, focusing on others to divert attention, and bad eating and sleeping habits (Melemis, 2015). For drugs or alcohol, the mental stage includes: excessively thinking about the people, places and events associated with previous use, downplaying the effects of their previous use or making their previous use sound more attractive, bargain, lie, concocting plans to better control their addiction, seeking out relapse opportunities and plan for relapse

(Melemis, 2015) Todd's risky behavior leads him directly down the path of relapse. Lotus, on the other hand, decided that instead of isolating herself as the only sober person at the party, , planned for her high risk of relapse situation and brought in someone she could trust. A counselor working with a client who is in recovery is wise to be aware that there is a high possibility of relapse within the first few months. Their clients may experience of phenomena known as halt, which stands for hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness. This acronym it was Streets the mental states a recovering addict may experience, which, along with their triggers, can exponentially increase the risk of relapse. For a client, knowing how old and being cognizant of what their triggers are, can save them from experiencing relapse. Their counselor can also provide aftercare prevention and they successful strategy for prevention for the client to use in these high-risk situations.\

References 10 Most Common High Risk Situations for Ex-Addicts. (2012, February 20). https://destinationhope.com/10-most-common-high-risk-situations-forex-addicts/ Common High Risk Situations in Recovery and How to Manage Them. (2017, April 11). https://www.recovery.org/pro/articles/common-high-risk-situations-inrecovery-and-how-t-manage-them/ Melemis, S. M. (2015, September 3). Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553654/ Thomas, S. (n.d.). Addiction Statistics: Drug & Substance Abuse Statistics. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics...