Why does relapse happen to addicts?
Relapse happens to behavioral addicts because it’s very normal to relapse. No matter what it is that you’ve done for a long period of time, it is still difficult if you are asking yourself or someone is asking you to not do that. Let’s say we asked you not to brush your teeth; I think if we asked you not to do that, if you’d keep it in the forefront of your mind for a day or two but you might just relapse, pull out that toothbrush and put on the toothpaste and brush your teeth. It’s normal to relapse; it’s not bad to relapse. It’s funny the way relapse is discussed in the disease model as something evil or bad. If someone came in for cancer and the doctor got it into remission and it came back again, would we call that a relapse? Well, maybe, but there wouldn’t be the shame associated or as presently sort of conveyed to the client that they’re ‘bad’ because of relapse. Relapse is normal. If you were depressed for example, would you ever expect depression to come back? Of course you would; life is not a static state, you have to recognize that you’ve practiced this behavior, destructive as it maybe, many, many, many, many times, and to never fall back and to never default to it is somewhat impossible. The key, of course, is not to shame yourself, not to blame yourself, and to try to learn from what happened that led to this fall back.
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xSmuQIgxKU
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