Luxury Detox Center Irvine: What Are the Symptoms of Relapse?

When most people quit using drugs or alcohol, it is not as simple as deciding to quit. Addiction is a complex disease of the brain that usually requires long-term management, so simply toughing out your withdrawal period will likely not be enough. The rates of relapse after attending the luxury drug detox center Irvine offers can vary depending on the substance being abused, as well as a variety of other factors like social support, a stable home life, and your physical and mental health, but the truth is that if you detox and then return to your normal life, you will be very likely to return to substance abuse.

There are three types of relapse:

1. A slip (using the substance one time then quitting again)
2. A lapse (substance abuse occurs several times, but you have not yet fallen back into old habits)
3. A relapse (substance abuse and related behaviors have returned and taken over your life)

Relapse has three phases, and if you know how to recognize these phases and catch yourself early, you may be able to avoid even slipping or lapsing. The phases are:

Emotional relapse

You may not even think about drugs or alcohol in this phase, but something feels off. You might stop taking care of yourself, start skipping classes, avoid friends and family, or stop working out. Lying to others or hiding things from them becomes the norm. This phase usually kicks in if you feel confident in your recovery and feel you don’t need to be as vigilant as you once were.

Mental relapse

This is when the thoughts of using drugs creep back in. You might start romanticizing drug use, telling yourself it wasn’t that bad, or trying to convince yourself you could use “just once” and you’d be fine. You may start talking to people you used to use or connecting with them online. You start allowing yourself to break self-imposed rules and bargain with yourself.

Physical relapse

You begin actively using drugs again and fall back into old behavior patterns. Drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms become part of your life once again.

If you know how to recognize these patterns and changes in yourself, you will be much more likely to turn things around and get help if needed.

10 Reasons Relapse Happens After Drug Detox

Several triggers cause relapse to occur after quitting drug use and after drug detox Irvine. These triggers may cause feelings of pain, despair, distress, or the “fight-or-flight” response. Each person has their own vulnerable areas and will have their own unique triggers, but some common ones include:

• The holiday season, or celebrations around birthdays, New Year’s, etc.
• Experiencing emotional distress or sadness
• Living with symptoms of untreated mental illness
• Being reminded of drug use
• Feeling unsafe or feeling a loss of control in life
• Feeling misunderstood or judged
• Boredom and loneliness
• Being around people you used to use drugs with or a place where you used to use drugs
• Conflict at home or at work
• Being around drugs

One of the major reasons for relapse after drug detox in Irvine is that a comprehensive rehab program did not follow it up. Most people do not realize how difficult staying sober will be without working on themselves, healing the underlying issues that caused addiction, addressing mental health, and gaining relapse prevention skills and coping tools. Rehab will definitely help anybody who is leaving a detox program to overcome addiction and stay sober long-term.

Luxury Detox Center Irvine: What Are the Withdrawal Symptoms During Detox?

The physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms most often associated with drug detox Irvine will be most intense if a person suddenly stops using drugs, especially if they have been using them for a long time or in large amounts. Each substance will cause its own set of withdrawal symptoms, but some commonly seen side effects of quitting drugs are:

• Intense or overpowering cravings
• Anxiety, restlessness, and agitation
• Suicidal or homicidal thoughts
• Muscle spasms, aches and pains
• Depression or dysphoria
• Uncontrollable mood swings
• Insomnia and sleep issues like nightmares
• Fever, chills, seating, and other flu-like symptoms
• Shakiness
• Hallucinations and paranoia
• High blood pressure, rapid heart rate, heart attack
• Seizures

Is Relapse Common After Drug Detox?

Relapse after attending a luxury drug detox center Irvine provides is very common. Most relapses occur within 90 days of quitting drugs, and according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, relapse rates are at around 60%. This is why it is not recommended to detox at home. Along with being dangerous to your health (or even life-threatening), you will likely relapse due to the extreme discomfort, cravings, and anxiety that withdrawal symptoms will produce. A professional medical detox program or period of hospitalization, followed by inpatient or outpatient rehab is your best bet for staying clean.

Luxury Detox Center Irvine: Learn the Next Steps to Take If Relapse Happens

If you have quit using drugs and started using again in a moment of weakness, that is ok. The first thing to do when you relapse after drug detox is to forgive yourself. Addiction is a very complex issue that is difficult to treat, and you have not “failed” at anything. What has happened is that you did not get the right types of treatment for your unique needs the first time around.

Whether you quit cold turkey on your own (not recommended!) or have been in and out of professional rehabilitation programs for years, it is possible to quit drugs for good with the right levels of care, support, and treatments.

At The Detox Center of Los Angeles, we offer inpatient detox and rehab programs that can help you safely and effectively quit using drugs through customized programs created to suit your unique needs. Our medically assisted detox program is there for you if you need 24-hour full-time support from doctors, nurses, and psychiatric staff. You will move into the detox center full-time, sleeping in a comfortable bed, eating healthy food, and getting the rest, you need as your body removes the toxins from your system. Somebody will be there for you 24 hours a day to offer support, medical care, or even prescription medications as needed to help you with pain, anxiety, and cravings.

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) detox programs are also available for people quitting alcohol, benzodiazepine drugs, and opioids, providing medications to help you gradually taper off of the addictive substance while staying safe and comfortable. The medications will remove the severe cravings, discomfort, and psychological symptoms often accompanying quitting these substances.

Detox usually lasts 5 to 10 days (but is sometimes longer), and then you will transition into our inpatient rehab program. Because substance abuse distorts thoughts and alters how the brain functions, therapy, behavioral changes, healthier habits, and new coping strategies might make all the difference in whether you relapse after drug detox.

Rehab will treat co-occurring mental health disorders, help you address underlying issues, and teach you new ways to think and act that are healthier and more productive. You will learn to prioritize your sobriety, gain a support system, and change your overall outlook, armed with helpful relapse prevention strategies and plenty of places to turn when times get tough.

After inpatient rehab we will keep you connected to a sober community through outpatient programs in Irvine, 12-step groups, alumni support, and other long-term aftercare. It is never too late to get started down your road to recovery. 

Contact The Detox Center of Los Angeles today at (888) 346-4350 to learn how to access our addiction treatment programs.