Cocaine Relapse usually happens because the person who once used becomes re-stimulated and gives into a craving for the drug. The feeling of craving for cocaine is much more intense then that of other drugs or alcohol. The chance of relapsing is usually most critical within the first 3 months of getting off cocaine.To avoid giving into one of these cravings and having a cocaine relapse, there are a few things you can watch for. 

 

If you accept cravings will come, and they will, then its important to look at ways to minimize their frequency and effectiveness. Cocaine has many debilitating effects on the body and mind. Taking care of both during recovery is essential in preventing cocaine relapse. 

 

Cocaine is damaging to the brain as well as mentally addictive. When recovering from cocaine addiction, mental stress of a recovering addict should be kept to a minimum as high moments of stress and anxiety are one of the things that will re-stimulate cravings. Avoid stressful situations and try not to do too much at once during recovery. Take things one at a time and at a speed that is comfortable and does not increase stress levels.

 

Cocaine also has a powerful physical addiction that is difficult to overcome. It is likely that anyone going through recovery from cocaine addiction did not take very good care of their body and had poor dieting and nutritional habits. They also may have had eating disorders as well. Making and keeping on a healthy diet and nutritional plan as well as addressing any prior eating disorders will be a smart move in staying on the road to recovery and preventing cocaine relapse.

 

Along with eating healthy and a good diet, a plan should be put in place to exercise routinely and help your body become healthy again. Exercise releases endorphins that make people feel happy and productive. This in turn will help reduce moments of depression and keeping a healthy exercise routine will reduce cravings for cocaine.

 

You can also help prevent cocaine relapse by avoiding subject matter or re-stimulative images of cocaine or cocaine use. Telling stories or reminiscing about prior drug use will inevitably trigger psychological cravings for cocaine. Avoiding conversations or thoughts about these moments will help prevent cocaine relapse.

 

Recovery is not an easy thing to do. There will be moments when it will be hard. During these moments, don't let your mind over-exaggerate the difficulties of recovery. This can cause many people to be re-stimulated by thinking of pleasurable moments while using and block out the negative effects cocaine has had on their lives. Accepting recovery will be a difficult process at times, but nowhere near as difficult as the situation cocaine addiction put you in so acceptance is a good step in cocaine relapse prevention. 

 

Many people started using cocaine to numb feelings of discomfort or unhappiness. During recovery, many of the issues that caused you to start using may still be there waiting to be confronted. Cocaine relapse occurs because of an unwillingness to confront these issues and deal with them. When these moments spring up, remember that cocaine did not solve these problems for you and relapsing and beginning to use again will have the same result. Confronting issues that were avoided by using can be dealt with during recovery. The decision to deal with these issues can be the most important thing you do during recovery because by handling that "THING" which made you start using and getting "IT" taken care of; you will remove the biggest need or feeling that made you use in the first place!

 

Relapse also occurs because recovering addicts can go into denial that they ever had a problem. The belief that one could control usage of cocaine after being an addict is a false one. If you are going through recovery from cocaine addiction, then it is important to accept that you are going through recovery because cocaine is something that controlled YOU, not the other way around.

 

If a person is willing to accept who and where they are, and why they are at that place, then they can confront and choose where they are and who they will be. Cocaine Relapse is preventable if all of this is taken into consideration.