Addiction is a Chronic Relapsing Disease
Addiction is a chronic relapsing disease, shown to exhibit relapse and re-treatment rates on a par with many other chronic medical conditions like kidney disease and diabetes. Likewise, staying symptom-free requires lifelong attention to healthy lifestyle behaviors. Most chronic disease relapse is triggered by voluntary choices. For example, for a person suffering from kidney failure, having an alcoholic drink at the office party or skipping dialysis to attend a social event could trigger renal failure. For a diabetic, eating or drinking the wrong things or lax monitoring of ones blood sugar could trigger insulin shock. For an alcoholic or drug addiction dallas addict, accepting the offer of a drink or drug addiction los angeles at a party, or misusing prescription rehab los angeless to cope with a stressful life event, could trigger addiction relapse. Thus, for most chronic disease sufferers, maintaining a healthy lifestyle depends on routine therapeutic and social support. That is why recovering addicts are encouraged to participate in long-term aftercare programs or recovery group meetings to help them avoid relapse. Many faith-based providers specialize in aftercare programs providing structure and activities that create supportive elements designed to remove recovering addicts from previous negative environments and influences.
