You’ve gotten through the roughest parts of opiate detox. You’re at home and you continue on your maintenance schedule according to the treatment plan that you’ve created with your doctor. You get up every morning and take your medication, be it Suboxone or methadone. If you have a job, then you head there and if you have small children, then you spend time with them. If not, maybe a meeting, out for coffee, take care of the house…. What are you supposed to do all day?

One of the problems with opiate detox is that it’s boring. I’ve heard so many people say that they ended up relapsing because they didn’t have anything to do. TV got old and they just weren’t getting any ideas about how to spend their time. The opportunity arose to get loaded, and so they did. This is where chaos comes in.

Chaos and Opiate Detox

It may seem counterintuitive, but just like you have to ingest some fats while you’re trying to lose weight, you also need a certain amount of chaos in your life in order to successfully navigate an opiate detox. Yes, you need to stay away from the negative elements and stressors that put you in a position to use in the first place, but you can’t bury yourself at home and hide for the rest of your life, either. Humans crave contact and contact breeds chaos. And a little chaos can help you fight off the boredom that may drive you to relapse.

Where to Find Chaos

Maybe a friend of yours is having issues with her boyfriend or husband and needs someone to listen. Maybe you have a niece or nephew who could use a little “auntie” time. You can always find someone who needs something at meetings, whether it’s advice, companionship or a ride somewhere. The point? Controlled chaos can help you take your mind off yourself, get you out of the house, appreciate your situation and your newfound sobriety.

How do you create balance in your life during opiate detox?

There are as many triggers to relapse during opiate detox as there are people undergoing opiate withdrawal treatment. It can be as simple as the mention of a certain drug or the description of using it or what it’s like under the influence. For others visual triggers like seeing someone use in a movie is enough where others only find themselves fade under pressure when someone is using in front of them. Being offered something to drink can trigger the desire to use, even if alcoholism isn’t a problem. That’s why so many find that abstinence from all mind altering substances is the best way to stay off their addictive drug of choice. So how do you avoid relapse when you’re faced with a trigger?

Get. Out.

There is only one way to avoid relapse during opiate detox: take yourself out of the situation. If you feel vulnerable or unsafe in any way no matter what the situation, get out. It’s easy enough if it’s a movie you’re watching: just turn the channel. But what about when it’s a more difficult situation, like roommates who use or have guests who get loaded in front of you or a negative work situation?

Though not easy to deal with, the answer is the same: If you live with people who are using around you or who often have people over who use despite your sensitivity to the situation, find a new place to live. If you work with people who are using around you, find a new job as soon as you can.

In the Meantime…

Getting out may not be as simple as walking away. It may take time for you to find a new job, a new home, new places to hang out. What do you do in the meantime? Though you may not be able to squash the trigger permanently—and really, that will never happen—you can always remove yourself from the situation for the moment. If you can’t leave the building for whatever reason, go to another room or step outside, put on headphones to drown out the conversation, go online. If you can leave the physical presence of the people or situation that is causing you stress, just take a walk or head out to a coffee shop, window shopping, anything to put some space between you and anything that could interfere with your opiate detox.
What are your triggers? What tempts you to use during opiate detox and recovery? How do you avoid temptation?

Because opiate addiction is so all-encompassing, the relationships that stick through the ordeal tend to be enabling relationships, that is, friends and family members who either help us to continue addictive behavior or those people who we use with. This can be a problem when we try to quit using essentially on our own.

When you choose an outpatient recovery like a Suboxone detox or methadone maintenance, you are also choosing to maintain the external status quo. That is, you continue to live in the same place, go to the same job and see the same people as you did during your addiction. In some instances, this can be a good thing. In others, especially in our friendships, this can be an added stressor that makes recovery so difficult.

It’s hard enough to deal with drug cravings without people coming over to your house and offering you exactly what you’re trying to stay away from. Here is a three-step process that will help you handle it if your friends come over and don’t respect your wishes that they leave their drugs at home:

• Let everyone know that you’re trying to stay clean. Make it common knowledge. Most people will respect this and stay away until they’re doing better as well. But if they don’t….
• Be polite but firm and ask them to leave if they show up under the influence, try to use in front of you or offer you anything. Make it clear that you’re not being judgmental but that you need to steer clear of all drugs and alcohol for awhile. And if that doesn’t work….
• Don’t be afraid to be rude. They’re being disrespectful to you by using in front of you. This is a life or death journey you’re on and to so blatantly flaunt their drug use when you are in such a vulnerable situation and in your house is unacceptable. Tell them so and make them leave.

Other than that, the best you can do is avoid the spots where you know people will be using and prepare yourself with the knowledge that your life is going to change in more ways than one. Friendships are just one thing that will change as you start a life without drugs but it can be one of the most difficult. Make use of your support system and try to rekindle old friendships that you lost while you were using.

How do you handle it when you see people who are using when you’re trying to stay clean?