What Are Your Chances of Relapse?
Written by brian on October 26, 2011
Everyone who is in recovery from addiction hears the statistics of the amount of people that will likely relapse. The Yale School of Medicine has been doing research in an attempt to predict the likelihood that a recovering alcoholic will relapse.
The study shows a connection between the chances of relapse and reducing the gray matter in an individual’s brain that is correlated to impulse control. Research was done with people who underwent four weeks of alcohol addiction treatment. The Yale research team used magnetic resonance imaging to measure the amount of gray matter in the recovering alcoholic’s brain over the course of their four week stay in treatment. The results concluded that the people with less gray matter in their brain were more apt to relapse.
When it comes to relapse an individual shouldn’t be so concerned about what statistics say. While there should always be a healthy fears that relapse is possible a recovering alcoholic’s energy is best focused on preventing relapse as opposed to worrying about statistics.
Addiction treatment centers should give each client that is discharging their facility an aftercare plan that is designed specifically for them. Since everyone is different it is important that they have an aftercare plan catered to their needs. If an aftercare plan is carefully followed and a recovering alcoholic keeps themselves in the middle of a twelve-step program while working through the twelve steps with a sponsor then they will give themselves a good chance at avoiding relapse.
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