What to Do When You Cannot Stop Using Drugs

Thank you for your question. You've relapsed because you made a common mistake. You said there was no reason for the relapse because you were having a good day when your dealer texted you. A text from a drug dealer is a common trigger. Triggers happen when something related to past drug use causes you to have a craving. Cravings are powerful and difficult to fight especially in early recovery. Since cravings are so hard to fight, it's important to avoid them whenever possible. This trigger could have been avoided by changing your phone number and only giving the new number to people who do not use drugs and/or are in recovery. This includes not giving the number to family or friends who use drugs. This may help you to not relapse in the future.

Since you have already relapsed, what you may need is to get back into treatment. Unfortunately, every time you use a drug, you are set back to the beginning again and have to start all over. You mentioned that you were in an outpatient program. Is it possible for you to go back to the outpatient program? You may know the material covered but you can still get help from the support of the group and counselors. I wonder how much support you have outside of the treatment program you were in. Support is an important part of recovery. Having someone to call when you have a craving can make all the difference.

If you do not have a support system, you need to begin developing one. You can attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings to develop support. You can begin to meet other people who are in recovery and collect phone numbers of people you can call when you feel like using drugs. After you find some people who you like and trust, you can develop a support system. A support system is a group of people who you not only call when you are in need but who you can have fun with and hang out with. Once you have some clean time, you will be able to help others in your support group as well.

As far a spending all your money, you may want to look into moving into a recovery house in case you lose your apartment. A recovery house would not only give you a place to live but you would be in a supportive environment which could help you stay on track and avoid relapse. You may be able to attend an outpatient program while living in a recovery house.

I hope this answers your question and I hope you can get back on track.