Congratulations! – First, on the efforts that you’ve made thus far to lead a sober life, and second, on your recognition of the importance of lifelong awareness! As science learns more about addiction, the possibility of certain people having genetic predispositions to developing addictions to certain substances seems increasingly likely. It is important to think of addiction as a lifelong illness, and not to fall into the same destructive habits.

In an ideal world, after you left rehab, you would never be faced with an opportunity to use the substance again. Because this can never be a reality, you need to plan in advance for how to avoid relapsing. The 5 suggestions below might help you to reduce the risk of relapsing on your old substance of abuse. If you are a family member or friend, you may want to talk with your loved one about the importance of preparing for and preventing relapse.

1. Enlist an “on call” friend, family member, or sponsor to hold you accountable. Your family and friends were probably supportive while you were going through rehab. But what about six years later when you have a craving at 3 a.m. and can’t sleep? Approach one or two people you feel close to and trust, and ask if they would be willing to support you by listening any time you feel tempted to relapse. Have them ask you those difficult questions regularly to make sure that you are still committed to leading a sober life. Be careful to be respectful of their time, but confide in someone when you need to. Recovery requires hard work; don’t be afraid to ask for help.
2. Find new, positive friends and activities to replace the old, negative ones. It’s not enough to shake the addiction – you must also get rid of the environment that and people who encouraged the addiction. This means that you should not attend parties if the main purpose of the event is using the substance, and you should distance yourself from former friends who saw no problem with your addiction. Especially in the case of alcohol, it will be difficult to avoid some substances completely. However, this step emphasizes that you should take active steps to fill in the gaps left by leaving behind the life of addiction. Make it a point to try something new every day and develop hobbies you enjoy. If you don’t seek out new experiences, you may fall into a rut of self-pity and miss – not necessarily for the addiction – but those comfortable past experiences and social situations. Be confident in the new, sober person you have become and enjoy the chance to develop a new identity!
3. Have a plan for dealing with cravings or temptation. It is likely that you will, at some point, encounter a trigger – a craving, an old friend, something that reminds you of the substance. Before that happens, plan for such hypothetical situations. It may help to come up with a personal mantra that you will say whenever you are tempted – something like, “I am stronger than this substance.” Know that you will have an internal dialogue with the part of you that craves the substance at that moment – and that part of you isn’t looking out for your best interest! You can’t plan for everything, but even this work of the imagination will likely subconsciously reinforce your commitment to leading a drug- or alcohol-free life.
4. Speak with a therapist regularly or attend AA or NA meetings. As great as family and friends are, it is sometimes more comfortable to confess your deepest fears, urges, and failings to an anonymous and/or unbiased source. A therapist can help you put words around emotions that you don’t understand, give you insight into past and present behaviors, and equip you with conscious strategies to avoid relapsing and pursue a substance-free life. Also, continue to attend AA or NA meetings. Remember how comforting it was to hear the stories of others who had been in your exact situation but overcame addiction and gave you hope for the future? In addition to reinforcing your personal commitment, these meetings are an opportunity for you to inspire someone else – to show that although recovery may be difficult, it is possible.
5. Forgive yourself. If you have been through the 12 steps with AA or NA, you have probably made amends with numerous people that you had wronged in some way while the addiction was in control of your life. But you may have forgotten this crucial step. Not only will self-forgiveness improve your mental well-being and overall quality of life, it will prevent you from using past behaviors and your past sense of identity as an excuse for returning to the substance. Forgiving yourself will allow you to give shape to the future instead of regretting the past.