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How Do We Feel When We Relapse?

If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

For many of us in recovery, the pain of relapse is something we’ve grown quite familiar with over the years. We may have successfully completed treatment and even maintained our sobriety for some time, only to find ourselves relapsing and falling back into old mental, emotional and behavioral patterns that fuel our addictions. When we relapse, we experience a broad spectrum of thoughts and feelings. Exploring our emotions in more depth can help us to have a better understanding of relapse and can help motivate us to stay sober. What are some of the emotions we feel when we relapse?

When we fall back on our commitment to our sobriety, we feel angry with ourselves. We judge ourselves harshly and have a hard time forgiving ourselves or having compassion for ourselves. We feel disappointed in ourselves and ashamed. Sometimes we’re filled with confusion as to why we relapsed when our sobriety was so important to us. Our confusion can be overwhelming and painful. We don’t understand how we defaulted on a commitment that meant so much to us. We hate ourselves. We feel like we don’t recognize ourselves. We’re filled with regret and remorse. When we relapse, we often tend to feel extremely sad. Many of us fall back into a depression, even after feeling on top of our mental health and feeling as though we had conquered our patterns of depression. We can experience intense anxiety and suicidal thoughts, feeling so sad and ashamed we want to die. We feel like our addictions and mental health problems make us a burden on the people we love. We might self-harm by cutting or hitting ourselves, by being risky and reckless, or by putting ourselves in dangerous situations.

As much we consciously want to get sober, we still have a lot of underlying pain to heal and important lessons about ourselves to learn. Many of us are resistant to doing this important inner healing work. We often want a quick fix, instant gratification, and relief from all of our mental and emotional pain. When we have more clarity and insight around all of our emotions, including the ones we feel when we relapse, we do a lot of that healing work and help prepare ourselves for recovery.

The Guest House Ocala provides unparalleled, premier-quality treatment to those who suffer from self-defeating behaviors brought on by trauma and its underlying issues. We are uniquely equipped to help our guests heal from trauma-induced substance abuse, process addiction, anxiety and depression in a safe, comfortable and confidential setting. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.