The Dangerous Doctrine Of Relapse
Relapse is often treated as a sign of defeat, instead of a stepping stone through the recovery process.
There couldn’t be a more harmful doctrine to an addict than to think that all the days, weeks, months or even years of sobriety didn’t mean a thing because he slipped.
When relapse occurs, many 12 step programs and therapy groups are under the impression that you HAVE to start all over again and that you made no significant strides. This is dangerous because research tells us that relapse is mostly caused by emotional states, not physical cravings (as once thought).1
