One of the principle causes of relapse is thinking that you don’t need help, or that you can manage recovery on your own. We hear lots of people say:
I understand how to manage my recovery. I don’t need a counselor or a sponsor.”
Relapse begins the moment a person in recovery thinks they can outsmart their addiction. Remember, alcoholics and addicts are handicapped by an addicted brain which has developed the neurological wiring to respond to a disease that is very cleaver.
The people who do best in recovery are those who realize their weaknesses. They are willing to ask for help and accept it. They practice surrendering their will in order to rely on the strength offered to them through programs like AA, NA, or Celebrate Recovery – programs that recognize a need for a spiritual solution to addiction by having the humility to depend on a “power greater than ourselves.”
