Stress is something that we all have to deal with in our everyday lives. It can make things more difficult, and heighten our vulnerability to problems and hiccups, but it can also seriously affect our health and mindset.
Those who are trying to recover from a substance use disorder are particularly susceptible to the influences of stress. For this reason, they need to understand the stress and know how it works in order to prevent it from hijacking their positive progress and triggering a relapse.
The reason why stress is so dangerous for recovering individuals lies in the way in which stress encourages unhealthy behaviours. To understand this better, we need to look more closely at addiction and how it works.
When an individual consumes drugs or alcohol, the pleasurable hormones that it releases in the brain are registered and remembered. The brain has evolved to attach significance to experiences which bring happiness or relaxation, so it doesn’t forget these substances.
As these substances are consumed more and more over time, the brain’s association between them and dopamine spikes become reinforced. As this association gets stronger, the brain adopts a firmer and firmer belief that this substance is a source of instant pleasure.
With this association developed, the brain immediately demands the substance when it craves a sudden spike in happiness. In moments of anxiety or sadness, the way it has developed across human evolution means that it immediately turns to what it knows.
Of course, some individuals are more at risk of developing psychological dependencies on drugs and alcohol than others. For example, genetic factors have been identified in determining how likely an individual’s brain is to forge a reliance on a substance [1].
Stress comes into things when we look at the triggers which prompt the brain to turn to drugs or alcohol in search of a pick-me-up.
When an individual experiences stress, it floods their brain and body with unpleasant chemicals designed to prompt a state of hyper-awareness and sensitivity. This can make us feel twitchy or restless, and humans are designed to act in order to end this feeling.
Taking a substance which alleviates this stress will not only make an individual feel better, but it will also draw up a new association in the brain. Now, taking drugs or alcohol can be seen as an effective means of dealing with stress, creating a new pattern of behaviour.
This is why many individuals discover during addiction rehab that stress is one of their primary addictive triggers. Their brain has learned to use substances as a way to combat stress, and so the slightest sensation of distress or anxiety becomes fuel for consumption.
Once an individual has been through rehab and alleviated their body and mind from addictive cravings, they are still at risk of slipping back into their unhealthy habits. There are multiple stages of relapse [2], and individuals become vulnerable to them when triggered.
If an individual has identified that stress is one of their addictive triggers, they are at risk of allowing the stresses of everyday life to push them backwards. Work, family, health – the worries and concerns that they were protected from during treatment can come back.
As a result, learning how to identify, understand, and manage stress is incredibly important. It could be the difference between continuing to live a healthy, substance-free lifestyle and relapsing.
The best place to begin is with understanding what stress actually is. From a fundamental knowledge of what stress does to the body and brain, individuals can optimise their chances of being able to identify where it comes from and how it can be handled.
At its most simple, stress is a survival response. It is triggered when we feel threatened by something, and its function is to encourage a fight or flight response in order to make ourselves safe again. Nowadays, however, it is something which really hurts mental health.
When we become stressed, a few chemical processes occur. One of these is a spike in adrenaline which floods our body and prepares us for action. Another is a spike in cortisol, another hormone which optimises glucose use and stimulates tissue repair.
These hormones are great at achieving their goal, but their real-life impact of them is that we feel uncomfortable, on edge, and frightened.
Some of the common symptoms of stress include:
But stress is not restricted to just psychological and emotional symptoms. It can also affect our body – triggering stomach problems, headaches, and nausea – as well as our behaviours. As many people know, stress can affect sleep, eating habits, and social life.
With a greater understanding of what stress is and how it can look, an individual is better prepared to identify where it might come from. Everyone will have different stress triggers, but being able to recognise them is key to preventing stress from hijacking recovery.
Prior to leaving rehab, most individuals will undergo work to prepare themselves for their return to everyday life. This work usually involves identifying where stress may come from and how it can be avoided.
Below are some of the most common sources to look out for:
Our professional lives place obvious demands on us. We need to meet deadlines, coordinate our work with colleagues, and perform at a consistent level to keep ourselves employed. For some, these stresses can mount up.
It can be easy to dismiss work stress as normal, but it’s healthy to recognise what constitutes too much stress. Losing sleep over work or actively fearing attending work is not right, and these things may point towards a serious source of stress.
As humans, we look at the family as our home, a place where we can be safe. In spite of this, the family can actually be a serious source of stress, and it’s important to be able to recognise when we are struggling at home.
The everyday demands of parenting can make us feel stressed, but so too can more serious issues. Domestic abuse, struggling to pay bills, caring for a vulnerable person – all of these problems can exist within the family and cause intense distress.
Health is the foundational level of our well-being. If we are unwell, we are not happy, and the difficulties we experience with physical and mental health can cause great stress.
Particularly with mental health, the combination of addiction with another condition such as anxiety disorder or depression can be incredibly distressing. Dual diagnosis – the co-existence of mental health disorders [3] – is very common amongst substance abusers.
The final step of ensuring stress is not able to hijack addiction recovery is to turn the understanding of stress and where it comes from into action.
Every individual must recognise where their stress comes from, and then they can incorporate coping mechanisms into their life which offer a healthier method of handling it when it arises.
Below are some common and effective strategies:
Stress is always harder to deal with when it is sudden and unexpected. When we don’t have a plan or routine to turn to, we can feel overwhelmed and become more susceptible to the influences of the resulting confusion and anxiety.
To help manage this, individuals can devise plans to organise their work, family, and personal life. Allocate tasks, appointments, and events to certain dates and times.
This can provide a structure to their life and give their mind something to rely on for guidance and support.
Physical exertion is a great way of flushing the body of stress hormones and re-establishing a state of calm. If we think about it in terms of evolution, stress is designed to get us moving, so it makes sense to use that energy in a positive way in order to feel better.
Going to the gym, playing a sport, jogging around your street – all of these things can rid the body of stress and, if done regularly, improve mental and physical health as well, providing a greater state of mind in general for combatting stress.
Stress thrives from individuals being insular and isolated. If we are alone, we are able to worry endlessly without interruption. To disrupt this process and restore context, therefore, it can help to talk to people.
Maintaining open communication channels with friends and family can reduce the chances of stress taking hold and pushing an individual into relapse. The same can be said for regularly meeting and socialising with friends – having fun makes everything better!
Mindfulness has become a very popular way for people to achieve calm and feel happier, and there really is something to it. Taking time to appreciate the present and what surrounds you can help dispel stress and calm the mind.
Starting out with mindfulness can be difficult, but there are lots of helpful resources out there. Individuals can attend classes which use yoga or Pilates as a means of becoming mindful, or there are plenty of mobile apps which help you to achieve calm at home.
If you want to know more about how stress can impact addiction recovery, be sure to get in touch with us at Rehab 4 Addiction.
We have lots of helpful resources available, and our friendly team are always on hand to lend support and advice.
Get in touch with us by calling 0800 140 4690, or check out some of our other blog posts on our website!
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2715956/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553654/
Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. Boris is an addiction expert with more than 20 years in the field. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. You can connect with Boris online at LinkedIn or X.com.
