One of the most important things that people suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction must do in order to maintain recovery is avoid the triggers in their life. Without doing so, relapse becomes much more likely. Triggers are things in the individual’s daily life that tempt them to return to using drugs or alcohol. They can take many forms, from objects and smells to people and places.

For example, for an addict, seeing an old friend that they used to do drugs with brings up the memories of substance abuse and triggers cravings. Driving past a bar can be very difficult for someone who has suffered from alcoholism. Something even as simple as a news story about addiction can produce cravings to return to the old habit.

Drug and alcohol rehab programs teach patients how to deal with triggers. The first step is to identify the things in their life that make them want to use drugs or alcohol. Then, they should avoid these high-risk situations as much as possible in order to reduce the chance of relapse. When the addict leaves the treatment program and discovers new things that cause temptation to use drugs and alcohol, they have to learn to eliminate these things from their life whenever they can.

Over time, the cravings and temptations usually decrease. They might never go away completely, but the addict will be able to handle them. The individual will eventually be able to resume most of the activities that used to be overwhelming triggers without relapsing back to active drug and alcohol addiction.

It can be difficult to eliminate certain places and people from one’s life, but it is an essential step in addiction recovery. Allowing triggers to cause constant temptation is sure way for an individual recently out of a treatment program to relapse.

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