Unit 5 Discussion 2
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Ashford University *
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5273
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Medicine
Date
Nov 24, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by dpresswood1
In 2015, the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine released an article discussing
relapse prevention and the five rules of recovery. Within the article they discuss the four main
ideas in relapse prevention: relapse is a gradual process with distinct stages, recovery is a
process of personal growth with developmental milestones, the main tools of relapse
preventions are cognitive therapy and mind-body relaxation, and most relapses can be
explained in terms of a few basic rules (Melemis, 2015). Preventing relapse is why most
people seek treatment when they are suffering from addiction. This is due to them trying to
quit on their own but being unsuccessful and they are looking for a better solution. This
article also discusses emotional, mental, and physical relapse and how they all play a role in
relapse prevention. During an emotional relapse, the person is not thinking about using. They
are often thinking about times when they used, and this is setting them up to relapse down the
line.
Mental relapse refers to the “war” going on inside their minds. There is a part of them
that wants to use and a part that does not. As they go deeper into mental relapse, the ability to
resist relapsing diminishes and the need to escape increases[ CITATION Mel151 \l 1033 ].
Finally, in physical relapse this is when the person actually begins to use again. Preventing
relapses requires the client to redefine fun, learn from their setbacks, and become comfortable
with being uncomfortable.
The second theme to be discussed in this article is the five rules of recovery: change
your life, be completely honest, ask for help, practice self-care, and do not bend the rules
[ CITATION Mel151 \l 1033 ]. The article further discusses the importance of self-help
groups that allow the client to not feel alone, learn that they do have a voice, learn how others
have done recovery and what coping skills they found useful, and they have a safe place in
which they are not judged. This study further found that individuals who attended these
groups helped them overcome their feelings of guilt and shame which are common emotions
in addiction.
The author went on to say that people do not simply attain recovery by not using.
Recovery requires the client to create a new life in which they find it easier to not use. This
article pointed out the many facets of recovery and the struggles that individuals go through
as they make the journey to sobriety and abstinence. It was very eye opening to see how the
different types of relapses feed off each other and how hard clients have to work to rebuild a
sober life.
References
Melemis, S. (2015). Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery.
Yale Journal of
Biology and Medicine, 88
, 325-332.
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