Relapse

Along the way to permanent change most people experience relapse. In fact, it is much more common to have at least one relapse than not. Relapse is often accompanied by feelings of discouragement and seeing oneself as a failure.

Relapse can be discouraging; however, most of our students who successfully change do not follow a straight path to a lifetime free of self-destructive behaviors. Rather, they will cycle through the five stages several times before achieving a stable lifestyle change. Consequently, the Stages of Change model considers relapse to be normal.

Students who relapse will experience an immediate sense of failure that can seriously undermine their self-confidence. The important thing if she does relapse is that she shouldn't see herself as a failure. Rather, she should analyze how the slip happened and use it as an opportunity to learn how to cope differently. In fact, relapses can be important opportunities for learning and becoming stronger.

Relapsing is like falling off a horse - the best thing you can do is get right back on again. However, if relapse occurs, it is important that your daughter not fall back to the precontemplation or contemplation stages. She needs to restart the process again at preparation, action, or even the maintenance stages.

Students who have relapsed may need to learn to anticipate high-risk situations more effectively, control environmental cues that tempt them to engage in bad habits, and learn how to handle unexpected episodes of stress without returning to old coping behaviors. This will give her a stronger sense of self-control and the ability to get back on track.