{"id":245,"date":"2026-03-23T22:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T22:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1-14088c5.ingress-daribow.ewp.live\/high-risk-situations-for-relapse-how-to-identify-and-navigate-them\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T22:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T22:41:25","slug":"high-risk-situations-for-relapse-how-to-identify-and-navigate-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/?p=245","title":{"rendered":"High-Risk Situations for Relapse: How to Identify and Navigate Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Relapse is a common part of addiction recovery \u2014 not a sign of failure. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse<\/a> (NIDA), relapse rates for substance use disorders range from 40% to 60%, comparable to relapse rates for other chronic conditions like hypertension and asthma. What separates people who recover from setbacks and those who don’t is rarely willpower. It’s preparation: knowing which situations put you at risk and having a concrete plan for when you face them.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article covers the most common high-risk situations for relapse, how to recognize your personal triggers, and the evidence-based strategies that help you navigate them \u2014 including what to do if a slip has already occurred.
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What Makes a Situation “High-Risk”?<\/b><\/h2>\n

A high-risk situation is any circumstance \u2014 internal or external \u2014 that significantly increases the likelihood of returning to substance use. Relapse Prevention Therapy (RPT), developed by G. Alan Marlatt and Judith Gordon in the 1980s and widely adopted across addiction treatment, identifies two categories of triggers that create these situations:<\/span><\/p>\n

Internal triggers<\/b> are emotional or psychological states, including:<\/span><\/p>\n