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Road to Recovery

Mistaken Belief #1

Mistaken Belief #2

Mistaken Belief #3

Mistaken Belief #4

Mistaken Belief #5

Mistaken Belief #6

Mistaken Belief #7

Mistaken Belief #8

Mistaken Belief #9

Mistaken Belief #10

Mistaken Belief #11

Mistaken Belief #12

Mistaken Belief #13

Mistaken Belief #14

Mistaken Belief #15

Mistaken Belief #16

Mistaken Belief #17

 By: Terry Gorski with additions by: Lee Jamison

A MISTAKEN BELIEF IS SOMETHING THAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE TRUE AND ACT AS IF IT WERE TRUE WHEN, IN FACT, IT IS FALSE.

Mistaken Belief #6: Once addictive people are consciously aware of the warning signs of relapse, they can choose to take action to make them go away.

Fact: Just becoming aware of the warning signs of relapse does not enable a person to interrupt them. They may not know what to do about them. They may not know what action will interrupt them. In other instances they may know what to do to control the warning signs but be unable to do it. Relapse warning signs often build up slowly until they become overpowering and become so severe that they cause a loss of control of thinking, emotions, memory, judgement, and behavior. So even when relapse warning signs are recognized, the person may be unable to stop them even with an effort to do so.

Sobriety-based denial can affect not only the ability to recognize relapse warning signs, but the ability to change them. Some people believe that bringing something into conscious awareness will automatically take care of it. They say to themselves, “Now that I can see that I am angry, I just won’t be angry anymore.” Or they say, “It is obvious I am under too much stress so I will just calm down.” And they do nothing to change their long-term, habitual way of dealing with anger or stress.

For people who do not know what to do to interrupt relapse-warning signs, relapse prevention planning can help them learn. They can develop the skills to interrupt the relapse process.

Those who know what needs to be done but are unable to do it need people to support their relapse prevention plan who will help them take the necessary action. But they must plan ahead. Some people say, “I’ll go to AA/NA when I need to.” But before they become aware that they need to, the symptoms may be out of control. Some people believe that they should be able to take action to change their relapse warning signs alone. This creates an obstacle to asking for and receiving help. It also contributes to guilt when loss of control occurs. Part of relapse prevention planning is using other people to interrupt relapse-warning signs when they occur.