Tips for Preventing
Lapses and Relapses
TIP #1: Practice, practice,
practice!
The best way to prevent a lapse is to keep practicing
your CBT skills! If you are regularly practicing, you will be in good shape to
handle whatever situations you are faced with.
How do
you fit in practice?
Make a schedule for yourself of what skills you are going to work on every week. This might include exposure, or practicing some calm breathing and relaxation. Get friends and family to help!
Make a schedule for yourself of what skills you are going to work on every week. This might include exposure, or practicing some calm breathing and relaxation. Get friends and family to help!
TIP #2: Knowing Your Red
Flags
You are less likely to have a lapse if you know
when you are more vulnerable to having one. For example, most lapses occur
during times of stress or change.
o Make a
list of warning signs that tell you your anxiety might be increasing. This list
might include:
o More feelings of anxiety
o Increased responsibilities at home or at work
o More anxious thoughts
o Arguments with loved ones
o Major
life changes (e.g., wedding, childbirth, death in the family)
o Avoiding
more activities
o Make a
plan of action. When you know what your “red flags” or “danger signs” are,
you can make a plan for how to cope with them. This might involve:
o Practising
your CBT skills more often
o Taking
some time for yourself
o Relaxing
(reading a book, going shopping, talking to a friend)
TIP #3: Coming Up with New
Challenges
Like everyone else on this earth, you are a work
in progress. That is, there are always ways that you can improve yourself and
make your life more enjoyable and fulfilling. A good way to prevent future
lapses is to continue working on new challenges and new feared situations. You
can make a list of situations that are still scary or cause you anxiety, and
work on them in time. You are less
likely to slide back into old habits if you are continually working on new and
different ways of overcoming your anxiety.
TIP #4: Learn From Your
Lapses
Remember
that it is normal to occasionally have lapses. In our
daily lives, everyone has times of greater stress, and if you are coping with
anxiety, this can make you even more vulnerable to a lapse. The good news is
that you can learn a lot from these lapses. Try to figure out what the
situation was that led to you having a lapse by asking yourself:
o Were
you having upsetting or anxious thoughts?
o Was
your anxiety very high?
o Did you
do something different?
o Did you
know that the situation was going to be difficult or did it take you by
surprise?
Knowing why a situation was more difficult for
you can help you to prepare for the next time. You can make a plan to help you
better cope with difficult situations in the future.
TIP #5: Knowing the Facts!
We know that what you say to yourself after you
have a lapse has a huge impact on your later behavior. If you think that
you are a failure who has undone all your good work, you are more likely to
just give up, stop trying, and end up relapsing.
But here are a few facts:
But here are a few facts:
o It is
impossible to go back to square one: you cannot unlearn all the skills and
techniques that CBT teaches you. Being back at square one means having anxiety
and not knowing how to handle it. But once you have started using CBT, you DO
KNOW how to handle your anxiety!
o If you
relapse, you CAN get back on track. It might have taken
you months of practice to reduce your anxiety symptoms, but it won’t take you
that long to get back to where you were before the relapse. If you get back to practicing
your CBT skills, before you know it you will be mastering your anxiety again in
no time.
Like
riding a bike…
Think of your CBT skills as being like learning to ride a bike… it can take time to learn, but once you know how, you don’t forget how to bike. If you stop biking for a while, you might be a bit rusty, but it won’t be long until you are as good as before.
Think of your CBT skills as being like learning to ride a bike… it can take time to learn, but once you know how, you don’t forget how to bike. If you stop biking for a while, you might be a bit rusty, but it won’t be long until you are as good as before.
TIP #6: Being Kind to
Yourself
It is very important to remember that lapses are
normal. Don’t beat yourself up or call yourself names like “idiot” or “loser”,
because this doesn’t help. It is much more helpful to realize that we all make
mistakes sometimes. We don’t speak to other people in such a mean way, so it is
certainly not a good idea to speak to ourselves in this way. In fact, it can
actually be helpful to have a lapse, because it gives you a chance to learn
that lapses are normal and that lapses can be overcome if
you get back to practising your skills.
Remember to try to be patient with yourself, learn from your lapses, and move forward.
Remember to try to be patient with yourself, learn from your lapses, and move forward.
TIP #7: Rewarding Yourself
Make sure to always take the time to reward
yourself for all the hard work you are doing. It is very motivating to give
yourself a treat once in a while. A reward might be going out for a nice meal,
buying yourself something new, going out with friends, or just taking some time
to relax, enjoy yourself, or pamper yourself. Remember that managing anxiety is
hard work, and any progress you make is due to your own efforts. Doesn’t that
deserve a reward?
No comments:
Post a Comment