You may have read the question of whether smoking marijuana is considered a relapse. Whenever substance abuse is being scrutinized, marijuana is a common mention. Relapse is among the most complicated setbacks in any recovery from drugs and alcohol, or any other substance. While it’s true that physicians and therapists consider smoking marijuana a relapse, it’s critical to understand what a relapse entails, how it occurs, and the treatment of addiction/alcoholism.
What is a Relapse?
No relapse occurs to a sober person. For it to happen, somebody must have struggled with particular substance abuse, leading to the a journey towards recovery from addiction and alcoholism. As various treatment methods exist, you’re likely to experience a relapse occurring among an addict for multiple reasons. It’s expected that they’re attracted by other people’s use of a drug or a triggering situation that forces them into abusing a particular substance, such as marijuana. A marijuana relapse occurs when a person recovering from its abuse restarts using it.
Why is Using Marijuana a Relapse?
Although therapists may not have directed the previous treatment of addiction/alcoholism towards recovering from marijuana, it’s uncommon that you’ll find people abusing alcohol and other substances without combining several of them. Abstaining from using a single drug and starting another one, like marijuana, is a relapse. In marijuana, active compounds alter a person’s hormonal balance and brain functioning, leading to changing moods. Substituting alcohol with marijuana does not qualify for any recovery from drugs/alcohol. Whenever such a relapse occurs, you’re likely to find such people already using the drug they had ceased using, influenced by marijuana’s effect on the brain.
How Does a Marijuana Relapse Occur?
There’re many reported cases of marijuana relapse in different kinds of people. It occurs to a previous addict who was already abusing marijuana or to an addict using alcohol and other drugs. However, you’re likely to experience these symptoms to a person experiencing this relapse:
- Maintaining the company of people abusing marijuana.
- Using alcohol or other drugs that were being abused before.
- Feelings of anxiety or stress, leading to depression if not handled fast.
What a Marijuana Relapse Treatments Entails
Whenever you experience such symptoms, it’s always appropriate to hold open conversations with an addict already or almost relapsing, encouraging them to achieve the objective of being sober. However, seeking appropriate action is always vital to arrest the relapsing situation. In some cases, you need to reinforce against the use of marijuana. A relapsing person sometimes needs guidance to cease any activities causing their relapse. By encouraging open conversations, you’re also able to discuss any factors contributing to a marijuana relapse. For instance, you might find that financial difficulties, another trigger for relapse, leading to stress, encouraging an addict on recovery to use marijuana that relieves them this stress. It’s also critical to hold such engagements, making it possible to understand any support that an addict needs to reinstate them to normal lives
While it’s always essential to find local remedies, they’re not always successful. Other instances of a relapse require you to take another action of sourcing a different treatment. However, you can’t seek an alternative before restarting another session with the therapists. They determine better what could have gone wrong during the treatment of addiction/alcoholism. If this method doesn’t relieve the situation, you can seek another therapist who can evaluate different factors, considering that relapse also occurs following severe mental illnesses.
How to Avoid a Marijuana Relapse
Although people attribute relapse to various factors, one fact is that it slows down the recovery from drugs/alcohol. You cannot assume that since your loved one had an alcohol addiction, using marijuana helps in any way. It’s imperative to educate a previous addict to avoid any drug or substance that causes a drastic change of mood. Although you may be using other mood-boosting compounds, and they aren’t drugs, their reaction time is slow, resulting in no serious harm. However, marijuana’s effect on your mood is drastic. Besides, it’s essential having conversations about recovery from drugs/addiction, helping to appreciate the progress made and the remaining aspects.
Understanding what a relapse entails, like starting again, encourages more conversations about avoiding it. You’ll realize that for most people relapsing, it happens within short periods after beginning their recovery therapies; it’s unlikely to relapse after realizing the need and happiness of staying sober. Experiencing a relapse delays a recovery from drugs/alcohol. Always take responsibility for helping a relapsing person stay away from people and situations that trigger their drug use. Whenever you need our help, we’re ready to walk you through this journey; contact us at 772-266-5320 .
