I Used Again After Stopping: What Should I Do Now?

Using alcohol or another drug after a period of stopping can bring fear, shame and the belief that all previous progress has been lost.

It has not been erased.

What happens next matters. The immediate priorities are safety, contacting support and understanding what led to the use without turning the experience into evidence that recovery is impossible.

Check immediate safety first

Tolerance can decrease after a period without a substance. Returning to an amount previously used may increase overdose risk.

Call 000 if there is:

* loss of consciousness

* severe confusion

* a seizure

* difficulty breathing

* blue or grey lips

* chest pain

* extreme agitation

* another immediate threat to life or safety

Do not leave an unconscious person alone. Follow emergency instructions and provide accurate information about what may have been taken.

If alcohol, benzodiazepine or GHB dependence may be present, get medical advice before abruptly stopping again. Withdrawal from some substances can be dangerous and may require medical treatment.

Counselling does not replace detoxification or emergency medical care.

Lapse and relapse are not always the same

People sometimes use “relapse” to describe any return to use.

A lapse may mean a brief episode after a period of change. Relapse may describe a broader return to an earlier pattern of lost control. The distinction can help with planning, but it should not become another label used to judge yourself.

Whether the use happened once or continued for several days, take it seriously without assuming that nothing can be recovered.

Tell someone sooner rather than later

Secrecy gives shame more room to grow.

Contact someone from your support network, such as:

* your GP

* alcohol and other drug counsellor

* sponsor or peer-support contact

* trusted family member or friend

* rehabilitation or treatment service

* the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline

You do not need a polished explanation. You might say:

“I used again and I need help deciding what to do next.”

If the first person responds poorly, contact somebody else. One unhelpful response does not mean support is unavailable.

Stabilise the next 24 hours

Try to reduce the number of decisions you need to make.

Depending on the substance and your medical advice, the next steps may include:

* arranging a medical assessment

* moving away from people or places connected with using

* not driving

* ensuring children or dependent people are safely cared for

* removing access to additional substances where it is safe to do so

* staying with a trusted person

* attending a treatment or support appointment

* eating, hydrating and resting as medically appropriate

Avoid making major life decisions while intoxicated, withdrawing or overwhelmed.

Review what happened without conducting a trial

Once you are medically safe, examine the sequence leading to the lapse.

Ask:

* What was happening during the previous day or week?

* Was I hungry, angry, lonely, tired or in pain?

* Had I stopped attending support?

* Was I around a person, place or situation associated with using?

* What thought gave me permission in the final few minutes?

* What made the use stop?

* What support was missing?

* What needs to change before the same situation returns?

The aim is not to excuse the decision. It is to identify earlier points where a different response may be possible next time.

Watch the all-or-nothing thought

A lapse can trigger the thought:

“I have already ruined everything, so I may as well continue.”

That conclusion can turn a brief episode into a longer return to use.

Previous days, weeks or months of change still happened. The skills you developed still exist. The lapse provides information about where the plan needs strengthening.

Accountability and self-respect can exist together.

Update the recovery plan

A revised plan may include:

* more frequent counselling or medical appointments

* changing a route or routine connected with use

* reducing access to money during high-risk periods

* addressing sleep, pain, trauma, anxiety or depression

* rebuilding non-using social contact

* planning what to do during cravings

* involving family with clear consent and boundaries

* considering a different level of treatment

Repeated relapse may indicate that the current treatment plan or level of support is not sufficient. That calls for reassessment, not humiliation.

Drug and alcohol counselling in Bankstown

Advance Minds offers drug and alcohol counselling, including relapse-prevention support, in Bankstown and online across Australia.

You can attend while still using. You do not need to have completed detoxification before asking for counselling, although medical withdrawal care must be arranged separately when needed.

Explore drug and alcohol counselling or book an appointment.

For confidential Australian alcohol and drug information, call 0466 666 334

This article provides general information and is not personalised medical advice.