Many people with alcohol or drug use disorders started using in reaction to some stimulus – depression, anxiety, trauma – and will relapse for the same reason. This is one of the reasons that it’s so important to incorporate mental health care with addiction treatment. Unfortunately, some people simply don’t want to face their demons, and instead they will practice avoidance.
Most of us have attempted to bury our heads in the sand at some point rather than face bad news or negative consequences. It can be tempting to say, “I’m just not going to think about this today; I want to enjoy myself a little before everything goes down the drain.” Of course, this one day often turns into two, or a week, and before you know it things have gotten even worse. Consider your bank account as an example. You know your balance is always pretty low, and you just had to make an unexpected purchase. You’re maybe fifty percent sure that money was actually there to spend, but you’re afraid to check in case it wasn’t. Refusing to look isn’t going to magically make more money appear if you are overdrawn, and it can even make things worse. If you have to buy something else or if you have automatic payments set up, you’re going to keep going farther in the hole, probably paying some hefty overdraft fees while you’re at it.
Avoidance can take many forms. Apart from the Schrodinger’s Cat example with the bank account, you might be putting off a having conversation that you know will end in an argument, or attending an activity that you know will be a trigger (such as a night out with friends where you know there will be drinking). You might also be blocking painful memories rather than trying to deal with them. Any of these things just leads to a buildup of stress, and it’s all but inevitable that you’re going to snap one day. Whether this leads to a breakdown, a violent outburst, or a relapse in substance use, avoidance is only going to make things worse in the end.
It can be even more dangerous to avoid negative thoughts and emotions. It can be easy to end up in a downward spiral, where you keep telling yourself that you don’t have a real problem and there’s no need to do anything about it, then the next thing you know you’re too anxious to leave your house, or so depressed that you’re contemplating suicide. The same goes for drug use. If you struggled with mental help problems before recovery, avoiding them afterward is practically a ticket straight to relapse.
Instead of avoiding your problems, talk to someone about them. Whether it’s a therapist, a support group, or just a friend, you need to acknowledge your feelings and work out ways to cope with them that don’t involve turning to drugs.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504.
