Why Do People Relapse?

Why Addicts Cannot Stop Using Drugs or Alcohol

Here is some vital information that you need to know in order to fully understand drug and alcohol addiction and to prevent addiction relapses. Once you understand addiction, you will see how simply it can be overcome using the Clearbrook Drug Rehabilitation Program. It would be best if you could read this section several times to get a full understanding of the cause of relapse. There are two basic causes for continued addiction:

1. The first of these is the long term effects of drug residuals in the body. The Mental and Physical cravings caused by drug residues which remain in the body, even long after a person quits using the drug, simply drives the addict to use more of the drug. This cause of continued addiction is thoroughly addressed and treated with great success.
2. The second of these causes is the “Biochemical Personality”. This is the “way of thinking” that is caused by drug addiction and the lifestyle an addict adopts to get drugs and live with a drug habit. This cause of continued addiction is also specifically addressed with great success.

These two situations are linked with one feeding the other, and both must be recognized and dealt with before a person can fully be free from the addictive effects of drugs.

Drug Residues: What They Are and How They Work

The addict can “just say no” a thousand times, but it only takes saying “yes” one time to start the cycle of addiction again.

Several decades ago, the biochemical aspect of drug addiction were discovered. This biochemical breakthrough has led to the most successful approach to rehabilitation in existence.

In essence, when a person uses drugs over a period of time, the body becomes unable to completely eliminate all traces of them. The traces that remain are stored in the fatty tissues. Called “drug metabolites”, these traces re-enter the system and trigger cravings for the drug along with the “Biochemical Personality” traits that are a non-optimum way of life.

Left unhandled, these manifestations will haunt a person for years even if they have sobered up. Left untreated, they can trigger a serious relapse.

These unresolved symptoms and manifestations, whether physical or mental in origin, create an underlying low-level type of stress which cannot be completely ignored by the addict. The addict can “just say no” a thousand times, but it only takes him saying “yes” one time to start the cycle of addiction again.

Drug Residues Remain in Fatty Tissues

Drugs are broken down in the liver into substances called metabolites. Although removed rapidly from the blood stream, metabolites can become trapped in the fatty tissues. The one thing in common—and the problem that needs to be addressed—is that these drug residues remain trapped for years.

Tissues in our bodies that are high in fats are turned over very slowly. When they are turned over, the stored drug metabolites are released into the bloodstream and reactivate the same brain centers as if the person actually took the drug. The former addict now experiences restimulation of a drug episode (or “flashback”) and subsequent drug craving. This is common in the months after an addict quits and can continue to occur for years, even decades.

If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction please reach out to us at 570-536-9621.